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Police & Fire
Woman In Teaneck Street Fight Arrested, Victim Douses Her, Several Others With Pepper Spray Woman In Teaneck Street Fight Arrested, Victim Douses Her, Several Others With Pepper Spray
Woman In Teaneck Street Fight Arrested, Victim Douses Her, Several Others With Pepper Spray Teaneck police responding to a street fight between two women arrested one of them and summoned EMS after the other discharged pepper spray, authorities said. Fransheska Liriano-Benitez, 32, of Palisades Park had punched the other woman in the head outside a Palisade Avenue home between Griggs and Sherman avenues shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Police Chief Andrew R. McGurr said. The victim then tried to blast her with pepper spray, which affected Liriano-Benitz and several bystanders, the chief said. Members of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps treated Liriano-Benitez and tā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
George Washington Bridge Climber, Not Protestors, Jams NYC-Bound Traffic For Hours George Washington Bridge Climber, Not Protestors, Jams NYC-Bound Traffic For Hours
George Washington Bridge Climber, Not Protestors, Jams Nyc-bound Traffic For Hours Police expected a protest that would throw the George Washington Bridge into chaos on Saturday and got something else entirely. A 24-year-old climber partially caused massive delays when he started climbing the Manhattan tower's south side shortly before noon May 18. What began as half-hour backups quickly stretched to more than 90 minutes on both levels during one of the busiest times of the average GWB weekend. All eastbound lanes were eventually closed at one point as Port Authority and NYPD emergency services officers with rappelling ropes and other rescue gear eventually got him down ā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Man Throws Bleach In Mechanic's Face, Smashes Windshield: Rochelle Park PD Hackensack Man Throws Bleach In Mechanic's Face, Smashes Windshield: Rochelle Park PD
Hackensack Man Throws Bleach In Mechanic's Face, Smashes Windshield: Rochelle Park PD Surveillance cameras recorded a Hackensack man throwing bleach in the face of a mechanic at a Rochelle Park service station, then smashing his windshield, authorities said. Alonge Jones, 33, went to the station at the corner of Rochelle and Central avenues after his girlfriend purportedly had some type of ā€œnegative interactionā€ with the mechanic a day earlier, Rochelle Park Police Capt. James M. DePreta said. Jones then assaulted the victim and smashed the windshield with a tool when he showed up, the captain said. The worker as taken to a local hospital with an eye injury. Meanwhile, Detā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Member Of Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners On 'Hit List' In NJ, NY, PA, Sentenced Member Of Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners On 'Hit List' In NJ, NY, PA, Sentenced
Member Of Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners On 'Hit List' In NJ, NY, PA, Sentenced š—Øš—£š——š—”š—§š—˜: A confessed member of a burglary ring that targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. Kevin Jackson, 57, of Rahway, NJ, must serve a little over two years before he'll be eligible for release because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Jackson was part of a second-story crew that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on ā€œstereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019. One of Jackson's associates told detectives tā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey City Police Cruiser, Civilian Vehicle Damaged, Multiple Victims Injured In Crash Jersey City Police Cruiser, Civilian Vehicle Damaged, Multiple Victims Injured In Crash
Jersey City Police Cruiser, Civilian Vehicle Damaged, Multiple Victims Injured In Crash Two Jersey City police officers and at least one civilian were injured in a crash that sent a cruiser into a fire hydrant. The vehicles collided at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Stegman Street at 11:15 a.m. Friday, May 17, according to Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione. It wasn't the result of a pursuit, she emphasized. Victims said the collision triggered the police car's airbags. The victims were taken to Jersey City Medical Center with what responders said were all minor injuries. An investigation into the cause was continuing.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Video Shows Serial Groper Trying To Drag Woman Behind Garfield Church, Hero Saving Her Video Shows Serial Groper Trying To Drag Woman Behind Garfield Church, Hero Saving Her
Video Shows Serial Groper Trying To Drag Woman Behind Garfield Church, Hero Saving Her UPDATE: A serial groper who was captured by a SWAT team after a civilian stopped him from dragging a woman behind a church in Garfield earlier this month had been stalking the victim at least since April, authorities said. Garfield police have surveillance video of Michael Hernandez, 25, following, running up and grabbing the woman outside Praise Assembly church at the corner of Main Street and Banta Avenue shortly after 12 noon May 8, investigators said. Grabbing her by her neck and backpack, Hernandez tries to drag the woman behind the church, they said. But a good Samaritan comes tā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
North Bergen Man Busted In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Hudson Prosecutor North Bergen Man Busted In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Hudson Prosecutor
North Bergen Man Busted In Murder-For-Hire Plot: Hudson Prosecutor A North Bergen man was charged with a murder-for-hire scheme involving ā€œa female known toā€ him. Miguel Cortes, 37, was arrested outside his Paterson Plank Road home on Tuesday, May 14, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. North Bergen police caught wind of Cortesā€™s alleged offer of money for the deed, the prosecutor said in announcing the arrest on Friday. Suarez didnā€™t characterize the person to whom Cortes allegedly offered the cash or explain his relationship to the intended target, whom she said wasnā€™t injured. Members of the prosecutorā€™s Major Case Unit charged Cortes with coā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Giant Among Volunteers, Ramsey's Charles Schucht, 75, To Be Laid To Rest Giant Among Volunteers, Ramsey's Charles Schucht, 75, To Be Laid To Rest
Giant Among Volunteers, Ramsey's Charles Schucht, 75, To Be Laid To Rest š—§š—„š—œš—•š—Øš—§š—˜: It's a measure of Charles Schucht's well-known dedication to helping others that he volunteered for the Ramsey Ambulance Corps in his late 60s. "Many people knew Chuck volunteered at RAC, but few realized the extent of his involvement due to his humility," Corps Chief Marc Greenwood said. "Chuck prided himself on participating in almost every single birthday drive by during COVID," Greenwood said. "When he wasnā€™t spreading cheer, he was helping transport critically ill COVID patients when many other volunteers had to step back for their families." Schucht was on duty in uniform whā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Arrest Made In Theft Of $62,000 Worth Of Parts From BMW HQ: Woodcliff Lake PD GOTCHA! Arrest Made In Theft Of $62,000 Worth Of Parts From BMW HQ: Woodcliff Lake PD
Gotcha! Arrest Made In Theft Of $62,000 Worth Of Parts From BMW HQ: Woodcliff Lake PD š—Øš—£š——š—”š—§š—˜: Thieves stole and then sold $62,000 worth of parts from vehicles at BMW North Americaā€™s corporate headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, police said in announcing the arrest of a suspect. Joseph Domenico Varano, 21, of Bloomfield and his cohorts hit the parking lot of the campus off Chestnut Ridge Road near the Garden State Parkway on May 4, Woodcliff Lake Police Chief Stephen Regula said. Borough police identified Varano and arrested him at his home on Thursday, May 16, with help from Bloomfield police. They charged him with six counts of motor vehicle burglary, theft, criminal miscā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Chemical Extinguisher Helps At Northvale Machine Shop Fire Chemical Extinguisher Helps At Northvale Machine Shop Fire
Chemical Extinguisher Helps At Northvale Machine Shop Fire Firefighters used a high-volume dry chemical extinguisher to help with a machine shop blaze in Northvale. The Livingston Street fire ignited shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, May 16. The Paramus Fire Departmentā€™s Foam Unit provided a significant assist extinguishing flames on aluminum shavings that were placed in metal barrels and brought outside. Crews remained at the scene until about 7:30 p.m. Firefighters who went into the building were sent to a decon station due to burning metals and materials. Other mutual aid companies at the scene and in coverage included firefighters from Closterā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Police Chief Admits Coverup of Sex Affair With Subordinate NJ Police Chief Admits Coverup of Sex Affair With Subordinate
NJ Police Chief Admits Coverup of Sex Affair With Subordinate A retired New Jersey police chief admitted trying to cover up a sexual affair with a subordinate, authorities said. Andrew Kudrick, 50, will be banned for life from public employment and will receive probation instead of prison time in exchange, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Kudrick, of Farmingdale, lied to Howell Township officials about the affair and ā€œthreatened to launch an improper internal affairs investigationā€ of a captain who called him on it, the attorney general said. A confrontation between the chiefā€™s wife and his alleged mistress during a 2021 retirement party ā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Rapist Told 15-Year-Old They Can Do It Again If She's 'Not A Snitch,' Police Papers Say NJ Rapist Told 15-Year-Old They Can Do It Again If She's 'Not A Snitch,' Police Papers Say
NJ Rapist Told 15-Year-Old They Can Do It Again If She's 'Not A Snitch,' Police Papers Say Disturbing details have come to light in the case of a 41-year-old man arrested for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl this month in North Jersey. According to the affidavit for probable cause obtained by Daily Voice, Solomon Blay was in a white SUV when he approached his victim, who was walking home from school. Blay called the girl over to his vehicle, asked her age, and if she wanted a ride home, police papers said. She agreed, but instead of taking the girl home, Blay took her to his home, a basement of a home on Brighton Street in Union, the affidavit says. ** WARNING: The followiā€¦

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by Cecilia Levine