Fog/Mist 48°
Police & Fire
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial A Mercer County high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student several times at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve was released from jail to await her trial, authorities said. A judge denied a request on Wednesday, Apr. 17 to keep 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach in jail through her trial, a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Sawicki was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, according to an affidavit obtai…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die
License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die UPDATE: An ER doctor had her medical license permanently revoked by the state of New Jersey for allowing a 20-year-old patient to die on her watch and then trying to cover it up, authorities said. Shar Kennett, 66, of Wayne was on duty in the emergency room at Overlook Medical Center in Summit when the patient was brought in with urgent "respiratory distress" on June 29, 2017, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Kennett failed to examine him and didn't order any diagnostics, "despite his parents' urgent requests for assistance," Platkin said on Thursday, April 18. The patient died in…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Injured In Crash Caused By 17-Year-Old: Montgomery Police Man Injured In Crash Caused By 17-Year-Old: Montgomery Police
Man Injured In Crash Caused By 17-Year-Old: Montgomery Police A 17-year-old Skillman resident was cited following a two-car crash that injured a 32-year-old Illinois man in Montgomery, police said. At 1:56 p.m., police responded to the crash at County Road 601 near Skillman Road. A 17-year-old from Skillman was traveling north on County Route 601 in a Lexus GX when he failed to maintain his travel lane while negotiating the "S" curve portion of the roadway, Montgomery police said in a release. His vehicle entered the opposite lane of travel and struck a southbound 2021 Toyota Tacoma, police said. The 17-year-old and his 16-year-old passenger were not …

SHARE

by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Sayreville Dad Accused Of Killing 9-Year-Old Son Dies: Prosecutor Sayreville Dad Accused Of Killing 9-Year-Old Son Dies: Prosecutor
Sayreville Dad Accused Of Killing 9-Year-Old Son Dies: Prosecutor The 43-year-old Sayreville man accused of killing his 9-year-old has died, authorities announced. Manuel Rivera had been charged with arson and murder for killing his 9-year-old son, Christian, near Sayreville High School on March 28. ALSO SEE: Body Of 'Superstar' NJ 9-Year-Old Believed Killed By Dad Not Yet Released Rivera died on Wednesday, April 17 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He had suffered from self-inflicted stab wounds and burns and remained in critical condition until his death, the prosecutor said. R…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Feds: NJ Longshoreman Gets 2½ Years For Ducking Taxes On $2.5M Of Income Feds: NJ Longshoreman Gets 2½ Years For Ducking Taxes On $2.5M Of Income
Feds: NJ Longshoreman Gets 2½ Years For Ducking Taxes On $2.5M Of Income A Port Newark mechanic who was convicted of ducking taxes on $2.5 million of income was sentenced to nearly 2½ years in federal prison. Jonathan Michael, 55, of Springfield had filed returns and paid his taxes without fail for decades, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release. In 2014, however, he gave his employer in the machine shop at the Port Newark Container Terminal a bogus W-4 form, claiming that he was exempt from any federal income tax withholding from his pay, federal authorities said. The IRS notified Michael in 2016 that he wasn't entitled to exempt status, but he wrote…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN HER? Concerns Grow Following Bogus Call That Missing NJ Woman Had Died SEEN HER? Concerns Grow Following Bogus Call That Missing NJ Woman Had Died
Seen HER? Concerns Grow Following Bogus Call That Missing NJ Woman Had Died 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚: A caller's claim that a missing single mom had died hasn't been confirmed, said authorities in Englewood who've stepped up their search for her. Concerns initially were raised when Cynthia Anderson, 33, who'd recently been homeless, stopped communicating with friends, police said. They became extremely worried when none of them could find her, Lt. Fred Pulice said. "No one's been in touch with her for a while," the lieutenant said on Wednesday, April 17, nine days after Anderson was last heard from. "There's genuine concern." One of the friends got a call from a masked number tha…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Clifton Man Used Messenger Service To Meet Kids For Sex: Morris County Prosecutor Clifton Man Used Messenger Service To Meet Kids For Sex: Morris County Prosecutor
Clifton Man Used Messenger Service To Meet Kids For Sex: Morris County Prosecutor A 41-year-old Clifton man was arrested and charged after he used a messenger service to make plans to meet children for sex in Morris County, authorities said.  Last month, Brian Stewart engaged in sexual communications with two children on KIK Messenger and made plans to meet up with them in Boontown Township for the purpose of having sexual intercourse, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll said. Stewart used the handle "Brian Being Brian" on KIK, authorities said. He was charged with two counts of luring, four counts of attempted aggravate sexual assault, attempted endangerin…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Reservist Admits Scamming Grieving Army Families Out Of $3.7M In Death Benefits Jersey Shore Reservist Admits Scamming Grieving Army Families Out Of $3.7M In Death Benefits
Jersey Shore Reservist Admits Scamming Grieving Army Families Out Of $3.7M In Death Benefits UPDATE: A ruthless now-former military reservist from Monmouth County admitted scamming the survivors of soldiers killed in war out of $3.7 million. Caz Craffy, 41, of Colts Neck, used his role as a counselor with the United States Army to pocket $1.4 million by exploiting the grief of Gold Star families, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Craffy – who’s also known as “Carz Craffey” – “used lies and deception” to defraud two dozen families of what he told them were investments, the U.S. attorney said. For many, it was the only money they had. Whenever a member of the a…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Burglar Validates $9,300 In Lotto Tickets Stolen From Convenience Store In Franklin Twp: Cops Burglar Validates $9,300 In Lotto Tickets Stolen From Convenience Store In Franklin Twp: Cops
Burglar Validates $9,300 In Lotto Tickets Stolen From Convenience Store In Franklin Twp: Cops A 41-year-old man has been arrested for stealing $9,300 worth of lottery tickets and then validating them, police in Somerset County said. Joseph Holman, of Willingboro, broke the glass door of a convenience shop on Easton Avenue in Franklin Township sometime overnight Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14, and snatched the New Jersey Lottery tickets, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Holman was later identified as a suspect, and it was discovered he'd validated the stolen tickets, McDonald said alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Det…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Scooter Rider Killed In Jersey Shore Crash Involving Police Officer, State AG Says Scooter Rider Killed In Jersey Shore Crash Involving Police Officer, State AG Says
Scooter Rider Killed In Jersey Shore Crash Involving Police Officer, State AG Says A man riding a motorized scooter was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Route 35 in Monmouth County that involved a local police officer, state authorities said. The crash occurred on the highway's southbound side near Sunset Avenue in Ocean Township shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, April 15, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Tuesday. The identity of the scooter rider, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was temporarily being withheld, as was the name of the on-duty Ocean Township officer, Platkin said. Neither the officer nor anyone else involved in the crash was injured, …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Teacher Admits Having Unprotected Sex With Student 5X Or More: Affidavit NJ Teacher Admits Having Unprotected Sex With Student 5X Or More: Affidavit
NJ Teacher Admits Having Unprotected Sex With Student 5X Or More: Affidavit A Mercer County high school teacher admitted to sexually assaulting a student multiple times times in a vehicle at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve, according to police paperwork obtained by Daily Voice. Jessica Sawicki, 37, of Point Pleasant, was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, and charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officers found Sawicki and the victim "in states of undress" in the back of the victim's car at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Upper…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Police ID Woman, Montclair Officer Wounded In Shootout (UPDATE) Police ID Woman, Montclair Officer Wounded In Shootout (UPDATE)
Police ID Woman, Montclair Officer Wounded In Shootout (Update) Authorities have identified the alleged gunman and released details in a police-involved shooting Monday in Montclair. Maryann Swain, 39, a township resident, struck Montclair Police Officer Michael J. Medrano, 33, in the shoulder on the 100 block of Forest Street around 1:10 p.m. Monday, April 15, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said. Medrano and other officers were responding to the scene on reports of an armed person and "were met with gunfire," Stephens said. Another Montclair officer returned fire, striking Swain, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries and wa…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine