2+ week, 2+ day ago (277+ words) A manhunt was underway on Friday for a man who ransacked the New Jersey federal prosecutor's office building after being denied a meeting with acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, according to reports. The suspect showed up outside the Newark office on Wednesday evening, but he was barred entry by security because he had a bat with him, sources told the New York Times. When he returned a short time later without the bat, he was ultimately allowed to enter the building. He then traveled up to the floor where Habba's office is and started yelling and smashing property. "He literally went crazy," a source told CNN. The man was incoherent at the time, and it is unclear whether he specifically threatened Habba. In a statement shared on social media Thursday, U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi confirmed the man had "destroyed property" and…...

1+ week, 6+ hour ago (224+ words) A South Jersey teenager fatally stabbed his mother Saturday night in Mays Landing, authorities said Sunday. The 17-year-old boy was charged with murder and multiple other crimes in the death of Julissa Serrano, the Atlantic County prosecutor's office said in a press release. The teen was not publicly identified due to his age. Serrano, a 49-year-old Mays Landing resident, was found suffering from multiple stab wounds at her home in Mays Landing just after 6 p.m. Saturday, according to investigators. She was transported to AtlantiCare Medical Center in Atlantic City, where she was pronounced dead. Cops found Serrano's body after initially responding to a call about a juvenile in possession of a knife, the prosecutor's office said. They also located the teen suspect and arrested him at the scene. In addition to murder, the teenager was charged with two weapons crimes. He…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (309+ words) A police sergeant and former North Jersey mayor has been accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile, authorities announced Tuesday. Andrew LaBruno, 44, was mayor of Dumont from 2020 to 2024 and is currently employed as a sergeant with the Jersey City Police Department. He was arrested and charged Monday with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment, the Bergen County prosecutor's office said. LaBruno first contacted the victim over a social media app, according to investigators. He engaged the juvenile in conversation and made arrangements to meet at the victim's home, then traveled to a residence in Englewood and sexually assaulted the victim while they were alone, authorities said. The county prosecutor got the case on Monday from the Englewood Police Department, but no other details of the investigation were released. It's unclear the age of the victim or when the alleged…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (191+ words) Police in New Jersey chased down a runaway horse Friday morning, then horsed around a bit themselves. The Monroe Township Police Department posted video of the encounter on social media Friday, along with commentary about the pursuit, which occurred shortly before 8 a.m. in Williamstown. "MTPD was dispatched to Hunter Woods for a loose horse reported to be canvassing the neighborhood in search of hay bales," police captioned the video.Officers quickly arrived and identified the horse as Seabiscuit, who quickly fled when confronted." Officer Nathan O'Lano gave chase on foot and, according to police, "officially confirmed what science has suspected for years" he cannot outrun a horse." In the video, O'Lano can be seen gaining little ground as the horse trots down a suburban street. With some help, he and other officers eventually corralled the animal safely and without incident. After…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (268+ words) A SWAT team responding to a gunshot report at a New Jersey home found a woman dead inside and detained a man, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said Monday. The office told the Daily News that detectives were continuing to investigate. "We will have additional information to release at some point this afternoon," the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Detectives, Francisco Roman Jr., told The News in an email. The initial call came in at 1:08 Sunday afternoon, the prosecutor's office said. Somerville and Bridgewater police officers went to the home on Mastogen Drive in Somerville, an approximately 43,000-person suburb about 45 miles west of New York City. After trying fruitlessly to get a response from the home's inhabitants, the officers called in a Somerset County SWAT team and crisis negotiators. They arrived at about 2 p.m. and had similar results, Roman said....

1+ day, 19+ hour ago (215+ words) Two New Jersey sisters died Thanksgiving night while trying to rescue their father from a house fire in Essex County, officials said. The deadly Orange Township fire started around 5 p.m., investigators said. Witnesses said they saw "enormous" flames coming from the Mosswood Avenue home and alerted authorities. The response was prompt, with firefighters arriving within two minutes of the alert, neighbor Claire Stevens told ABC 7 New York. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to save 49-year-old Frantzia Fleury and 42-year-old Pojanee Fleury, who reportedly died while trying to rescue their father, who lives with a disability. The Fleury sisters were pronounced dead at the scene at 6:47 p.m., Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Orange Fire Department Chief Derrick Brown told the Daily News in an emailed statement. The father, who has not been named, and six other people were able to…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (278+ words) A 27-year-old New Jersey woman resisted arrest at a Wayne Township hotel by kicking, biting and spitting at an officer's face, officials said Thursday. Galaxy Douglas, of Parsippany, was seated in a vehicle parked at the Quality Inn on Route 46 early Tuesday evening when two patrolling officers recognized her from a previous arrest. After checking police records, the two Wayne police officers found that Douglas had multiple active criminal warrants, Det. Capt. Dan Daly said in a news release. When they told her she was under arrest on the outstanding warrants, Douglas reportedly became argumentative and told them she would not allow it. As efforts to de-escalate the situation failed, Douglas "became more hostile and refused to engage further with the officers," Daly said. The wild interaction turned physical as the two officers attempted to forcefully remove her from the…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (381+ words) A New Jersey school district employee was arrested in connection with a Morris County drug ring bust after arriving at a Cedar Knolls residence driving a Madison Board of Education truck, prosecutors said Friday. Casey J. Young, 32, of Morris Plains, was one of three people arrested Thursday after a narcotics investigation led to the seizure of multiple controlled substances " including suspected ketamine, cocaine and MDMA " firearms and nearly $18,000 in cash, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said. The other two arrested were 35-year-old Jeremy C. Mayes, of Cedar Knolls, and 43-year-old Adrian D. Schwerdt-O'Neil, of Parsippany-Troy Hills. Investigators allege the three men were running a drug distribution network around Morris County from Sept. 1 until the day they were taken into custody. The arrests followed searches of a residence in Cedar Knolls in Hanover Township; a home and storage unit in Parsippany-Troy Hills; and four…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (249+ words) Two 13-year-old New Jersey girls are accused of taking their parent's car on a joyride and crashing into multiple properties'early Tuesday morning in Gloucester County. Police in Washington Township said they received multiple 911 calls around 2:20 a.m. to report an SUV crashing into a condominium, some fencing and two air conditioning units along Covered Bridge Court in Canterbury Mews. "It sounded like a bomb. I thought something crashed into my roof," neighbor Alisa DeMayo told ABC affiliate WPVI. Responding officers located a white SUV with front-end damage parked outside another nearby home. Officers woke up the owners of that home and found the two girls. Officers later determined the girls had struck other homes during their joyride. No injuries were reported and the Washington Township Building Inspector deemed the affected properties structurally safe to occupy despite the damage being described as "significant....

1+ week, 4+ day ago (216+ words) A 19-year-old New Jersey man was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder following a shooting incident at a shopping center. The incident occurred around 1 p.m. in Hillsborough, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said. Officers who responded received descriptions of an alleged suspect and alleged victim who had both fled the scene. Area schools went into lockdown while a search was conducted. Students were able to be dismissed after less than three hours when the lockout was lifted. The victim " a 19-year-old man whose identity was not released " was located and a suspect, 19-year-old Dewan Jeter, was identified. A search was conducted at Jeter's home but police learned he was on his way to headquarters to surrender. He was taken into custody at the department just before 6 p.m. Jeter was charged with attempted murder, unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a…...