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Maplewood Man At Large After Torching Nypd Vehicles: Police
A 21-year-old Maplewood man is wanted by New York City police after he damaged 11 NYPD vehicles by lighting them on fire, authorities said.
On Thursday, June 12, at 1 a.m., Jakhi Lodgson-McCray climbed over a gate and entered a parking parking lot at the 83rd Precinct in Bushwick, ABC7 reported. He placed fire starters on the windshields, hoods and tires of the vehicles, starting a fire, damaging 11 vehicles, ABC7 said.
This is not Lodgson-McCray's first brush with the law, having been arrested at several pro-Palestinian protests and causing $1,000 worth of damage to a statue at Columbia Un…
BMWs, Mercedes: Newark Members Of $1 Mil NJ Stolen Car Ring Learn Fate, Prosecutor Says
Five members, including two juveniles were sentenced for their involvement in an auto theft trafficking network that pilfered luxury vehicles throughout North Jersey, authorities announced Thursday, May 22.
Tikeem Shearin, 19, Carlos Espinal, 20 and Sincere Sims, 21, Newark residents, were each sentenced to five years in prison after previously pleading guilty to leader of an auto trafficking ring, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said.
Two juveniles were sentenced to three years in Jamesburg Juvenile Detention Center for their involvement in the ring.
A four-month investigation by n…
Man Tried To Meet With Boy In Suffern For Sex, Was Arrested Instead In Hotel Parking Lot: DA
A New Jersey man arrested in an undercover child exploitation operation in the parking lot of a Rockland County hotel has now been formally indicted on charges including attempted rape, prosecutors announced.
Essex County resident Carl Ellis, 55, of Maplewood, NJ, was arraigned Wednesday, May 21, in Rockland County Court on an indictment charging him with several felonies, the Rockland County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday, May 22.
According to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II, Ellis engaged in sexually explicit text conversations between Ap…
Pair Wanted In Wayne Walgreens Shoplifting Spree: Cops
Police in Wayne are asking for the public’s help tracking down two people wanted for shoplifting at a local Walgreens, with a third woman still unidentified, authorities said.
Tiffany Vasto, 34, of Lyndhurst, and John Howlett, 51, of Maplewood, have been charged in connection to a theft at the Walgreens on Valley Road that happened on March 9, according to Detective Capt. Dan Daly of the Wayne Police Department.
The two are currently wanted and at large, police said.
The department credited help from the public in identifying the suspects. “With assistance from the public, Wayne Police Det…
Exclusive: SZA Allegedly Scammed By NJ Woman Wanted For $600K+ Lancaster County Hospital Fraud
A New Jersey woman accused of defrauding Pennsylvania hospitals out of more than $600,000 while raising money for assisted suicide has also been accused of scamming Grammy-winning singer SZA.
Taleah McKnight, 30, also known as Abygail Brooks, Chemory Brooks, Taleah Brooks, Leah Osei, and Leah Javon has an active arrest warrant for theft by deception and theft of services, East Hempfield Township Police in Lancaster County announced and Daily Voice previously reported.
McKnight has lived at addresses in Roselle Park and Rahway in Union County as well as Carteret, Middlesex County, New…
Maplewood Man Convicted Of Beating Mom Dead As She Slept, Prosecutor Says
A 38-year-old Maplewood resident was convicted on Monday, Oct. 21 of murder charges in his mother's death, which he then framed as a suicide, authorities said.
Benjamin Avrut was found guilty of first-degree murder after beating his 70-year-old-mothe Gwen to death, Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said. The jury had rejected Avrut's insanity defense.
On Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, Avrut entered his sleeping mother's apartment at The Top, a luxury condominium in Maplewood, Stephens said. When she awoke, Avrut beat her to death with his fists, Stephens said.
Avrut, who had a hist…
14-Year-Old Apprehended After Attempted Armed Robbery, Pursuit: Maplewood PD
A 14-year-old boy was apprehended after an attempted robbery at knifepoint in Maplewood on Thursday, Sept. 26, authorities said.
At 8:06 p.m., officers responded to Park Avenue where a woman said she was approached by three unknown Black boys wearing all black clothing, Maplewood police said in a release.
One of the juveniles brandished a knife toward her and said, "Let me get in the car," police said.
The three boys fled the area when they observed the woman calling 9-1-1, police said. Police observed a suspect matching the description, and he fled on foot when ordered to stop, officers s…
Maplewood Man Assaults Officer After Attack At Local Home, Police Say
A 32-year-old man was jailed on assault charges after an incident in Maplewood last week, police said.
Steven Hemmings, a local resident, is accused of attacking someone at a Florida Street home, and then attacking an officer, on Monday, Aug. 12, Maplewood according to police and charges filed against him.
He was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault on an officer, and a weapons offense.
Hemmings was subsequently lodged in the Essex County Jail.
Single Mom Struck, Killed By Vehicle In Maplewood, Prosecutor Says
A 28-year-old Irvington resident was killed after she was struck by a vehicle in Maplewood on Monday, May 13, authorities said.
At 9:10 a.m., Maria Ganzhi Zhao was struck by a vehicle on the 1400 block of Springfield Avenue and pronounced dead at the scene, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.
Zhao, a native of Ecuador, was a single mother who is survived by her two daughters, Noemi, 7 and Genesis, 9 months, according to a fundraiser set up to support the family.
A viewing will be held on Saturday, May 18 at Mt. Alvarez Funeral Home in Newark from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., a…
Paul Auster, Acclaimed Author, North Jersey Native, Dead At 77
Paul Auster, who won numerous literary awards and published "The New York Trilogy" died on Tuesday, April 30, at the age of 77, his literary representatives announced.
Born in Newark, Auster was raised in South Orange before graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood. He initially garnered attention after publishing his memoir "The Invention of Solitude," which discussed his father's death.
Auster's most acclaimed work came next: "The New York Trilogy," a series of three novels including "City of Glass," "Ghosts" and "The Locked Room," mixing post modernism with detective fiction. Th…
'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her
A film producer from New Jersey is under fire after saying Sydney Sweeney can't act and isn't pretty.
Carol Baum, who graduated Columbia High School in Maplewood, disparaged the "Euphoria" star during a Q-n-A at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, on Thursday, April, 11.
Baum, who has produced movies like "Father of the Bride" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," was on hand to discuss her experiences producing the 1988 David Cronenberg film "Dead Calm," which came out nine years before Sweeney was born.
"I don't get Sydney Sweeney," Baum reportedly said. "I was watching on …
Miriam Mychalczak, Formerly Of Short Hills, Maplewood, Dies At 52
Miriam "Miriasia" Mychalczak, a North Jersey native, died on Friday, Feb. 16 at the age of 56. according to her obituary.
Mychalczak was born in Orange and grew up in Maplewood and Short Hills, later attending McGill University and getting her Masters degree at Columbia University, her obituary reads.
She is being remembered for her persistence, optimism and grit in the wake of numerous health issues, according to her obituary. She is survived by her children, Sofia and Nicolas, her mother Bohdanna, her sister Roma, and other family and friends, her obituary reads.
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