ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced on June 16 that five defendants were indicted on charges that they conspired to operate a Newark-based stolen-automobile–trafficking ring that fenced stolen luxury vehicles. They were charged in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Motor Vehicle Crimes North Unit and the New Jersey […]
NEWARK, NJ — Latysha Simmons, 29, of Newark, has been arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of Darien Wharton, also 29 and of Newark, according to a June 14 press release from the Essex County Prosucutor’s Office. It is alleged that Simmons fatally stabbed Wharton during an altercation at his home on […]
NEWARK, NJ — A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips appeared in court June 16 on charges that include attempted murder and murder as part of a RICO conspiracy, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced the day of the court appearance. Elijah Williams, aka “Lil Smith,” 21; Jason Franklin, aka “Freak” and “OG […]
NEWARK, NJ — Jahaad Flip, 20, of Newark, admitted to conspiracy to commit bank fraud by soliciting U.S. Postal Service employees to steal checkbooks and credit cards from the mail; depositing fraudulent checks, including pandemic relief checks; and using stolen credit cards without authorization, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced June 16. Flip pleaded […]
CEDAR GROVE, NJ — A member of the Lucchese crime family was sentenced to 30 months in prison for planning and carrying out an aggravated assault on the husband of one of the former stars of the Bravo television show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced June 10. […]
NEWARK, NJ — The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the fatal shooting of a teenager in Newark on June 10, according to a June 11 press release from the ECPO. At approximately noon on Thursday, June 10, Newark police officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Seymour Avenue on […]
NEWARK, NJ — A Peruvian woman admitted smuggling approximately 7 kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Peru, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced June 10. Yolanda Fonseca Melgarejo, 59, a legal permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of Peru, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in […]
NEWARK, NJ — A Jamaican man admitted that he smuggled approximately 2.8 kilograms of cocaine into the United States, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced June 8. Perez Omar Gibbs, 38, of Trelawny, Jamaica, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of […]
WEST ORANGE, NJ — A teenager driving a stolen car was killed in a car crash on I-280 eastbound in West Orange on Sunday, June 6, and his passenger was seriously injured, according to authorities. Shakur Young, 17, of Newark, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at approximately 1:15 p.m. […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A Columbia High School student died following a shooting on June 6 at Underhill Field and another was injured, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office on June 7. Moussa Fofana, 18, a CHS junior and star soccer player, was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:24 p.m., after Maplewood Police Department […]