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Veteran Severely Injured In Costa Rica, South Jersey Mom Fighting To Get Him To U.S. Hospital Veteran Severely Injured In Costa Rica, South Jersey Mom Fighting To Get Him To U.S. Hospital
Veteran Severely Injured In Costa Rica, South Jersey Mom Fighting To Get Him To U.S. Hospital A Forked River woman is fighting for her veteran son to return to the U.S. after he was severely injured in Costa Rica, according to a fundraising campaign. On a GoFundMe page, Debra Vargas said that her son Codey Vargas suffered several injuries in an accident, including severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, several fractured ribs, paralyzed intestines, pneumonia, facial fractures, and several scrapes. Codey's accident happened on Wednesday, Mar. 20, but Debra wasn't aware of it until the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica told her on Tuesday, Apr. 2. The GoFundMe page for Codey raised more than $…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Organs Of NJ Crash Victim Will Help 9 Others Live: Family Organs Of NJ Crash Victim Will Help 9 Others Live: Family
Organs Of NJ Crash Victim Will Help 9 Others Live: Family An Ocean County woman died from her injuries in a crash and donated her organs to potentially save several people's lives, her family said. Catalina Reinoso was declared "brain dead" at around 2:19 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 19, according to an update to Catalina's GoFundMe page posted by Valentina Reinoso on Monday, Apr. 22. Catalina was airlifted to a trauma center hospital after the crash on Lacey Road in Manchester Township at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, Apr. 14. The Brick Township woman's family made a heartbreaking decision to donate Catalina's organs. Valentina Reinoso wrote that Catalin…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
COLD CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech COLD CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech
Cold Case Murder Leroy Julious Ewing NJ UPDATE: Leroy Julious had planned on whipping up a celebratory dinner after cashing a bonus check from his cook's job at The College of New Jersey when his brutally beaten body was found in a gravel lot across the street from his Ewing home. Julious's murder went unsolved for 16 years -- until authorities announced that technological advances and a shared mission among various agencies and law enforcement forensic experts cracked the cold case. Breyon Goodman, 36, of Trenton, and Jason Howard, 41, of Providence, R.I. killed Julious during a robbery near his Ewing home on May 9, 2008, t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
WATCH: State Authorities Release Bodycam Videos Of Police Shooting Knife-Wielding NJ Man WATCH: State Authorities Release Bodycam Videos Of Police Shooting Knife-Wielding NJ Man
Watch: State Authorities Release Bodycam Videos Of Police Shooting Knife-Wielding NJ Man UPDATE: An Englewood police officer was justified in shooting a man who'd just stabbed three people, a grand jury ruled on Monday, April 22, following a state-required review. Chilling bodycam videos clearly show Englewood Police Officer Luana Sharpe and other officers were struggling over a knife with 22-year-old city resident Bernard Placide when she shot him on Labor Day 2022. A grand jury review was nonetheless required under New Jersey law because Placide died during an encounter with law enforcement. Evidence was collected by investigators with the state Office of Public Integrity an…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
16-Year-Old Cold Case Results In 2 Murder Arrests In Mercer County 16-Year-Old Cold Case Results In 2 Murder Arrests In Mercer County
Breyon Goodman Jason Howard Cold Case Arrests Two men have been charged with murder in connection with a 2008 robbery and fatal beating, authorities said. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced the cold case arrests on Monday, April 22 in connection with the death of Leroy Julious of Ewing Township. Breyon Goodman, 36, of Trenton, and Jason Howard, 41, are each charged with murder, felony murder and robbery, they said. Goodman was arrested in Trenton on April 15 by U.S. Marshals. Howard was served his complaints in Rhode Island, where he is incarcerated for an un…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism GOTCHA! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism
Gotcha! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism UPDATE: An elite law enforcement team captured a 24-year-old local man on Monday who authorities said broke in and trashed the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Brunswick earlier this month. Jacob Beacher was due for an initial afternoon appearance on federal hate crime charges in U.S. District Court in Newark on April 22. Beacher broke into the CILRU shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 10 and did an estimated $40,000 worth of damage, state and federal authorities said. It was during the Eid-al-Fitr -- the Islamic holiday commemorating the end of sunrise-to-dusk fasting during…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pennsylvania BMW Driver, 30, Struck, Killed After Crash Along NJ Turnpike In Robbinsville Pennsylvania BMW Driver, 30, Struck, Killed After Crash Along NJ Turnpike In Robbinsville
Alton Smith Levittown A 30-year-old Pennsylvania man standing along the side of the New Jersey Turnpike after a collision was struck and killed by a passing car early Monday, April 22, authorities said. Alton Smith, of Levittown, PA, had bee driving a BMW 328i when he got into a crash with another BMW around 2:20 a.m. in Robbinsville, New Jersey State Police said. Smith was standing outside of his vehicle on the southbound side of the highway near milepost 64.1 on the inner roadway, when a passing Hyundai struck him and the back of his car, police said. Smith died while the driver of the Hyundai susta…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
West Windsor Man, 28, Among 3 Killed In Fiery Crash West Windsor Man, 28, Among 3 Killed In Fiery Crash
West Windsor Man, 28, Among 3 Killed In Fiery Crash Authorities have identified the three people killed in a fiery crash on Route 1 in South Brunswick earlier this month. Charisse Nelson-Bailey, 24, Daniel Vida, 28, and Maria Passalaris, 25, all died in the Friday, April 12 crash near Ridge Road, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. Just after the 9:40 a.m. accident, police said a van had been struck by a tractor-trailer before the van collided with two other vehicles. Both the tractor-trailer and van then caught fire.  Nelson-Bailey, of Princeton Junction, was identified as the van's driver. The other two victim…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Family Of Eight Displaced After Central Jersey House Fire Family Of Eight Displaced After Central Jersey House Fire
Family Of Eight Displaced After Central Jersey House Fire A family of eight people was displaced after a home caught fire in Monmouth County, authorities said. Manalapan police responded to the fire at a home on Paddington Court at around 7:38 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 19, a department spokesperson said. Flames and smoke were reportedly coming from the house's laundry room. Firefighters from Gordons Corner, Englishtown, Freehold, and Marlboro were able to put out the fire. No injuries were reported. The New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross said a family of eight was displaced. Volunteers were helping the family with immediate needs like tempor…

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by Chris Spiker
News
NJ Crash Victim, 20, Was Getting Ride Home From New Job With Coworker: Family NJ Crash Victim, 20, Was Getting Ride Home From New Job With Coworker: Family
NJ Crash Victim, 20, Was Getting Ride Home From New Job With Coworker: Family The 20-year-old passenger killed when the car he was riding in struck the rear of a tractor-trailer in Pennsauken on April 16 has been identified by his family as Sean Hill. Hill was getting a ride home from work with one of his new coworkers when the driver rear-ended a tractor trailer on the 9000 block of Crescent Boulevard, Hill's mother, Tiffany, told Daily Voice. Hill had just started the new job three weeks earlier, Tiffany said. "Sean was known for his kind heart, unwavering dedication to his work, and love for his family and animals," his mother wrote on a GoFundMe page. "He w…

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by Jon Craig
News
Jawbone Of Marine Who Died In Training Exercise ID'd By NJ College Students Jawbone Of Marine Who Died In Training Exercise ID'd By NJ College Students
Jawbone Of Marine Who Died In Training Exercise ID'd By NJ College Students Students at Ramapo College helped identify the missing remains of a marine who had been dead for 73 years. In July of 1951, Leland Yager, a U.S. Marines Captain, died in a military training exercise. His remains were recovered in California and buried in Missouri. Years later, a child was doing a scavenging exploration in Arizona when they discovered an unidentified human jaw bone. Last year, enforcement in Arizona referred the case to the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center and students began working on the case, along with the North Texas Center for Human Identification …

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by Sam Barron
Business
Trader Joe's Sets Opening Date For Newest Store In New Jersey Trader Joe's Sets Opening Date For Newest Store In New Jersey
Trader Joe's Sets Opening Date For Newest Store In New Jersey Popular food items like "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning, "Unexpected Cheddar Cheese", and "Hold the Cone!" ice cream are about to be sold at a new Central Jersey spot. Trader Joe's will open its location in Middletown on Thursday, Apr. 25, the company said on its website on Friday, Apr. 19. The grocery store will hold a grand opening celebration at 8 a.m. The new Trader Joe's will be in the Middletown Plaza shopping center off Route 35. "We've consulted our maps and compass and have found a terrific location for a store in Middletown, NJ," Trade Joe's said in its opening announce…

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by Chris Spiker