NEWARK — Newark police have arrested six more carjacking suspects, bringing the total number of captured hijackers to 18 since the formation of a task force last month to combat a dramatic surge in carjackings, authorities said. Jahlil Thomas, 21, of Newark, was the latest to wind up in handcuffs after the shotgun-wielding suspect led police on a wild...

NEWARK — Newark police have arrested six more carjacking suspects, bringing the total number of captured hijackers to 18 since the formation of a task force last month to combat a dramatic surge in carjackings, authorities said.

Jahlil Thomas, 21, of Newark, was the latest to wind up in handcuffs after the shotgun-wielding suspect led police on a wild chase through the South Ward today, said Detective Hubert Henderson, a city police spokesman.

Thomas robbed a vehicle at gunpoint in the 200 block of Meeker Avenue around 12:30 p.m., said Henderson, and drove the stolen car to the 800 block of South 19th Street, where he allegedly carjacked a second vehicle.

Police pursued Thomas from South 19th Street to Irvine Turner Boulevard, where he struck three civilian vehicles before crashing, Henderson said. The 21-year-old grabbed his shotgun and fled on foot, but a Newark police officer tackled him a short time later, according to Henderson.

Thomas is charged with aggravated assault, carjacking, eluding, and several other offenses, said Henderson.

Authorities captured another suspect — 18-year-old Newark resident Andre Chambers — after a similar chase Tuesday. Chambers allegedly hijacked a vehicle at gunpoint at South Orange Avenue and Norfolk Street around 4 p.m., but police located the car a short time later on South 15th Street.

Chambers was arrested after crashing the vehicle a short time later, according to Henderson. The 18-year-old was charged with carjacking and weapons offenses.

Newark residents Ishmil Dunn and Kevin Miller, both 19, Kawan Johnson, 20, and a 16-year-old suspect have also been arrested and charged with carjacking since Dec. 16, according to Henderson.

Henderson said all six suspects could face additional charges, pending an investigation. The arrests came after the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest Monday of 12 other suspects, who investigators believe were responsible for a bulk of the holiday season carjackings that plagued Newark last year.

There were 288 carjackings in the state’s largest city in 2010, according to crime statistics, a 70 percent increase from 2009.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said today his office has been monitoring Newark’s carjacking spike and has engaged local authorities in "ongoing discussions about which cases are appropriate for federal prosecution."

Previous coverage:

• Eight charged in string of Newark armed carjackings

• Newark carjackings increase by 60 percent in past year

• Number of cars stolen in N.J. drops by half in past decade

DOVER — Ten men have been arrested on charges they operated a cocaine ring in Dover, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. Complaints against the group, signed by a detective for the prosecutor’s office and made public today, charge that the group sold cocaine between April and August of 2010. Edwin Soto, 30, of Mine Hill, an alleged...

DOVER — Ten men have been arrested on charges they operated a cocaine ring in Dover, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

Complaints against the group, signed by a detective for the prosecutor’s office and made public today, charge that the group sold cocaine between April and August of 2010.

Edwin Soto, 30, of Mine Hill, an alleged leader of the group, was charged with possession of drugs, possession with intent to distribute, distribution and conspiracy, according to the prosecutor's office.

Superior Court Judge Philip Maenza, sitting in Morristown, set Soto’s bail at $400,000, with no 10-percent option, according to Capt. Jeffrey Paul, a spokesman for Morris Prosecutor Robert Bianchi.

Paul said the other defendants, and their bails set by Maenza, include:

Hector Santiago, 27, of Mine Hill, $150,000; Julio Moreira-Maldonado, 27, of Mine Hill, $150,000; Luis Buritica, 28, of Mine Hill, $100,000; Dimas Carrero, 52, of Dover, $20,000; Clint Pittendorfer, 29, of Hopatcong, $200,000; Armando Echevarria, 31, of Dover, $225,000; and Adalberto Suarez, 30, of Dover, $25,000. Of those defendants, only Carrero and Suarez got 10-percent options.

Also charged were James Harris, 28, of Dover, released without bail, and Jose M. Torres, 39, no address available, who is being held by the New York Department of Corrections, Paul said.

Bianchi said the investigation focused on a “significant cocaine distribution network” and involved several municipal police departments, along with the county’s park police, the sheriff’s office and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

“By prioritizing higher-level targets and working with numerous law enforcement agencies in the county as well as the DEA, we are able to build better investigations and prosecutions that will have a significant impact on our community,” Bianchi said.

Anyone with information please contact the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at (973) 285-6200 or the Morris County SHERIFF'S Office Crime Stopper Program at (973) COPCALL.

NEWARK — Opening statements are expected this morning in the murder trial of a 31-year-old man accused of strangling another man at a city correctional facility, two days after the victim was brought there for not paying traffic tickets. Prosecutors say Giancarlo Bonilla, 31, of Newark, and two other inmates attacked and killed 51-year-old Derek West Harris two days...

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerGiancarlo Bonilla, 31, one of three suspects in the murder of Derek West Harris, is arraigned for the jail house murder of Derek West in this May 2009 file photo. West, 51, of Irvington, was pronounced dead after he was attacked in his cell at Delaney Hall, a facility on Doremus Avenue in Newark for low-level offenders and violations. Authorities believed he was killed for the $20.00 he had on him.

NEWARK — Opening statements are expected this morning in the murder trial of a 31-year-old man accused of strangling another man at a city correctional facility, two days after the victim was brought there for not paying traffic tickets.

Prosecutors say Giancarlo Bonilla, 31, of Newark, and two other inmates attacked and killed 51-year-old Derek West Harris two days after he was shown his bed May 16, 2009, inside Delaney Hall, a privately owned facility for non-violent offenders.

Harris, a Newark barber, had been arrested because he owed $722 in unpaid traffic violations.

The killing came during a robbery in a shared cell, prosecutors said. The three men charged with murder believed Harris had $20 in his pocket that day, authorities said.

Bonilla’s two co-defendants, Ibn Goodman, 20, of Newark, and Luis Gonzalez, 21, of East Orange, will be tried separately at a later date.

Previous coverage:

• Family of Newark barber killed in Delaney Hall suing county for poor oversight, training

• 2 Newark men plead not guilty to killing fellow inmate at Essex County Jail

• Newark barber murder in Delaney Hall prompts multiple investigations

• Newark man dies in fight at rehabilitation center

ROXBURY — Authorities are searching for a man they say robbed a bank Wednesday afternoon in Roxbury. Around 4:45 p.m., a man entered the Sklylands Community Bank on Route 10 and handed over a handwritten note demanding money, said Capt. Jeffery S. Paul, a spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. He did not show a weapon, and made...

Skylands Community Bank security camera footage shows the robbery suspect.

ROXBURY — Authorities are searching for a man they say robbed a bank Wednesday afternoon in Roxbury.

Around 4:45 p.m., a man entered the Sklylands Community Bank on Route 10 and handed over a handwritten note demanding money, said Capt. Jeffery S. Paul, a spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

He did not show a weapon, and made off with an "undisclosed amount" of money, Paul said. The bandit is described as a middle-aged white man with brown-gray hair and facial hair, wearing a green hat with a shamrock.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Roxbury Township police department at (973) 448-2100, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Stopper Program at (973) COPCALL or the Federal Bureau of Investigations at bandittrackernortheast.com.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man accused of killing and dismembering his roommate, a Bloomfield native, was found guilty Tuesday, according to a report by the Palm Beach Post News. Daniel Lee Alexander, 41, is convicted of second-degree murder of Robert Harrison and abuse of a dead body. He admitted to dismembering Harrison in 2009 when he...

courtesy of Harrison familyRobert Harrison in this undated photo.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man accused of killing and dismembering his roommate, a Bloomfield native, was found guilty Tuesday, according to a report by the Palm Beach Post News.

Daniel Lee Alexander, 41, is convicted of second-degree murder of Robert Harrison and abuse of a dead body. He admitted to dismembering Harrison in 2009 when he went missing, then placed the body parts in rubber bins filled with concrete and buried them.

Harrison's family was relieved to hear of the conviction, though it doesn't ease the pain over their loss.

"Raw pain … that’s what we are left with as we reminisce everyday over Rob’s memory, Pain, what we feel every time we mentally revisit Rob’s horrific, gruesome and senseless demise. Although human justice ultimately prevailed, spiritual justice still awaits," said Chris Harrison, Robert's brother, of Hoboken.

Alexander's attorney said the two men were involved in a heated argument before Alexander hit Harrison with a frying pan. Harrison then fell on a knife, fatally wounding himself, said the attorney in the report.

Alexander is scheduled to appear for sentencing on Feb. 3.

Previous coverage:

• Trial begins for Florida man accused of slaying roommate from Bloomfield

NEWARK — A prosecutor said he strangled the 51-year-old man to death and has the scratch marks to prove it. But his attorney said those scratches are evidence that he was the victim of an assault. In opening statements this morning for the murder trial of Giancarlo Bonilla, attorneys for both the state and the defense told jurors what...

NEWARK — A prosecutor said he strangled the 51-year-old man to death and has the scratch marks to prove it.

But his attorney said those scratches are evidence that he was the victim of an assault.

In opening statements this morning for the murder trial of Giancarlo Bonilla, attorneys for both the state and the defense told jurors what they think happened inside a city correctional facility.

Bonilla, 31, of Newark is accused of strangling another man at Delaney Hall, two days after the victim was brought there for not paying traffic tickets.

“I think the evidence will show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bonilla strangled Derek Harris to death,” said Assistant Prosecutor Peter Guarino, who added that Bonilla’s face was scratched the night of the attack and his DNA was found underneath the fingernails of the victim.

Bonilla’s attorney, Sterling Kinsale, said his client’s face was scratched that night because he was assaulted by the same group of men that fought with the victim.

“Did he look like the assaulter or the assaulted,” he asked the jury. “He was a victim too … use your common sense – how did he get those injuries? That is the million dollar question in this case.”

Prosecutors say Bonilla and two other inmates attacked and killed 51-year-old Derek West Harris days after he was shown his bed May 16, 2009, inside the privately owned facility for non-violent offenders.

Harris, a Newark barber, had been arrested because he owed $722 in unpaid traffic violations.

The killing came during a robbery in a shared cell, prosecutors said. The three men charged with murder believed Harris had $20 in his pocket that day, authorities said.

Bonilla’s two co-defendants, Ibn Goodman, 20, of Newark, and Luis Gonzalez, 21, of East Orange, will be tried separately at a later date.

Previous coverage:

• Trial begins today in strangulation death of Newark barber incarcerated at Delaney Hall

• Family of Newark barber killed in Delaney Hall suing county for poor oversight, training

• 2 Newark men plead not guilty to killing fellow inmate at Essex County Jail

• Newark barber murder in Delaney Hall prompts multiple investigations

• Newark man dies in fight at rehabilitation center

ORANGE — Three men were arrested this morning after police spotted them in a stolen car with the help of a U.S. Army National Guard helicopter, authorities said. The suspects — Michael Sedita, 23, of West Orange, Terrence Hewett, 25, of Orange and Jeffrey Maxwell, 23, of Newark — were spotted by Essex County Sheriff detectives in a Jeep...

Google MapsA map of Hawthorne Street in Orange, where three suspects in a stolen car crashed into a snow bank during a police chase.

ORANGE — Three men were arrested this morning after police spotted them in a stolen car with the help of a U.S. Army National Guard helicopter, authorities said.

The suspects — Michael Sedita, 23, of West Orange, Terrence Hewett, 25, of Orange and Jeffrey Maxwell, 23, of Newark — were spotted by Essex County Sheriff detectives in a Jeep Grand Cherokee that had been reported stolen, said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

Detectives on "Essex-1," a National Guard helicopter, observed the car travel to Hawthorne Street in Orange, where it crashed into a snow bank, Fontoura said. Officers then arrested the three men.

The men face a variety of charges, including receiving stolen property and resisting arrest, Fontoura said. They are scheduled for arraignment on Friday.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story said the suspects were arrested after a chase. Authorities say that the suspects were arrested without chase.

TOMS RIVER — The former head of a faith-based military academy for children in New Jersey has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges. Steven Baryla, a 28-year-old Toms River resident, faces a mandatory penalty of five years in prison and a maximum possible term of 20 years. He entered his plea today in U.S. District Court in Trenton to...

TOMS RIVER — The former head of a faith-based military academy for children in New Jersey has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges.

Steven Baryla, a 28-year-old Toms River resident, faces a mandatory penalty of five years in prison and a maximum possible term of 20 years.

He entered his plea today in U.S. District Court in Trenton to a charge of transporting child pornography over the internet. He will be sentenced May 10.

Baryla ran the Cedar Bridge Military Academy in Toms River, which admitted children ages 11 to 17.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office began investigating the case after a tip from someone who had been in e-mail contact with Baryla.

Previous coverage:

• Ex-Ocean County camp leader to plead guilty to child pornography charges

• Head of Toms River military academy is indicted on child pornography charges

SOMERSET COUNTY — Authorities say they believe they have found suspects involved in a rash of home burglaries that hit Somerset, Union and Middlesex counties in recent months. Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said Ras Loyd, 18, of East Orange, and Tiffany Brown, 21, of Plainfield, have been charged for a string of Somerset County burglaries that have been occurring...

SOMERSET COUNTY — Authorities say they believe they have found suspects involved in a rash of home burglaries that hit Somerset, Union and Middlesex counties in recent months.

Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said Ras Loyd, 18, of East Orange, and Tiffany Brown, 21, of Plainfield, have been charged for a string of Somerset County burglaries that have been occurring since late last year.

Loyd faces three counts each of burglary and theft, and one count of criminal mischief for the Somerset County crimes, Soriano said. Brown faces two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and two counts of criminal mischief.

Capt. Jack Bennett, spokesman for the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, said the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be pending in the three counties.

Brown and Loyd are accused of breaking into upper middle-class homes near Route 22 and Route 78 in Somerset County, Soriano said. They would target the master bedrooms and ransack the rooms for cash and gold, he said. Electronics were also stolen.

On Monday, Sayreville police arrested the pair, as well as a man named Yves Augustin, when they were found loitering in a borough neighborhood. Their vehicle matched the description of one reported at a burglary in Edison earlier that day, Soriano said.

All three suspects admitted to the Edison burglary and were taken to the Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick on burglary and theft charges out of Sayreville, Soriano said.

Edison police charged the three suspects with burglary and theft for the break-in Monday at a home on Inman Avenue that was entered through a rear door.

The burglars quickly fled when after they were confronted by a resident who was home, Edison police Sgt. Thomas Lacik said.

He said police suspect the accused burglars may have committed other break-ins in Edison.

Somerset County authorities later determined that Loyd and Brown were involved in the county crimes based on boot prints and stolen items found in the vehicle. Augustin has not yet been linked to any Somerset County burglaries, Bennett said.

Bail for Loyd was set at $30,000 by Superior Court Judge John Pursel in Somerville for Loyd’s part in the Somerset County burglaries, while Brown’s bail was set at $20,000.

Star-Ledger Staff writer Tom Haydon contributed to this report.

NORTH BRUNSWICK — The defense attorney for a man charged with killing a deli store owner for $3,000 told a jury in New Brunswick today that "someone executed Vincent Russo, but it wasn’t Frank Marsh." William Fetky told the jury the state’s key witness in the case "will tell you a fairy tale" when he takes the stand. That fabrication,...

NORTH BRUNSWICK — The defense attorney for a man charged with killing a deli store owner for $3,000 told a jury in New Brunswick today that "someone executed Vincent Russo, but it wasn’t Frank Marsh."

William Fetky told the jury the state’s key witness in the case "will tell you a fairy tale" when he takes the stand. That fabrication, Fetky said, is that Marsh told the witness the night of Dec. 15, 2008, that he shot Russo, 48, at the Mezzaluna Deli in North Brunswick.

Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Manuel Sameiro disagreed.

Sameiro told the jury Marsh "assassinated" Russo "in cold blood" and was paid $3,000 for the act by Raymond Troxell, Russo’s business partner in the deli. Troxell is serving a life sentence in prison, without parole eligibility, for his role in Russo’s killing.

Sameiro said Marsh and Troxell knew each other growing up in Edison. Marsh worked for a cab company in Edison owned by John Kissel, known as "J.C.," who was a longtime friend of both men.

The prosecutor said Kissel will testify that Marsh told him he killed Russo. He will also testify that, in his presence, Troxell offered Marsh $3,000 to commit the slaying.

Sameiro told the jury that Troxell and Russo, who opened the deli in June 2008, had had a "falling out," which led to Troxell’s offer to Marsh.

"If Vincent Russo was here to testify, he’d tell us Frank Marsh shot and killed him," the prosecutor said. "Obviously, he isn’t, but we have direct evidence of the defendant’s guilt and lots of circumstantial evidence."

Authorities allege Marsh went to the deli on Route 130 and Adams Lane at about 7 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2008, on the pretense of seeking Oxycontin. They said Russo, of Staten Island, may have been selling the painkiller.

Once inside the deli, authorities said Marsh shot Russo in the head. Russo was found the next day after relatives and his girlfriend, Teresa Rispoli, went searching for him when he failed to return home.

Troxell and Marsh were arrested four days later, after Kissell confided what he knew to a friend of his who was a Metuchen police officer and recommended he tell investigators from the prosecutor’s office, according to authorities.

The trial resumes this morning before Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz.

Two men were indicted today in an armed robbery spree last spring in which they allegedly held up at least nine liquor stores, gas stations and convenience stores from Bergen to Burlington County, according to court documents. Nelson Otero, 47, of Fort Lee, and Maxcime Cagan, 46, of Floral Park, N.Y., were charged today with nine counts of armed robbery,...

Two men were indicted today in an armed robbery spree last spring in which they allegedly held up at least nine liquor stores, gas stations and convenience stores from Bergen to Burlington County, according to court documents.

Nelson Otero, 47, of Fort Lee, and Maxcime Cagan, 46, of Floral Park, N.Y., were charged today with nine counts of armed robbery, nine counts of using firearms in violent crimes and one count of the Hobbs Act conspiracy.

Otero and Cagan held up the stores from March to May 2010 using handguns, according to the indictment.

The men robbed stores in Elmwood Park, Fair Lawn, Wayne, Secaucus, Elizabeth, Rahway, Edison, Hightstown and Mount Laurel.

Editor's note: The story and headline have been updated to correctly reflect that the men were indicted on the charges.

NEWARK — As the murder trial for a man accused of strangling a Newark barber inside a city correctional facility began today, his co-defendant pleaded guilty to robbery charges. Hours after opening statements and testimony got underway in the murder trial of 31-year-old Giancarlo Bonilla in Superior Court in Newark, his 21-year-old co-defendant stood before a judge and admitted...

NEWARK — As the murder trial for a man accused of strangling a Newark barber inside a city correctional facility began today, his co-defendant pleaded guilty to robbery charges.

Hours after opening statements and testimony got underway in the murder trial of 31-year-old Giancarlo Bonilla in Superior Court in Newark, his 21-year-old co-defendant stood before a judge and admitted to helping rob the barber with Bonilla and another man.

The barber, Derek West Harris, 51, had been jailed for unpaid traffic tickets and there was a rumor around the jailhouse that he had $20 to buy cigarettes, according to testimony today. Harris landed in Delaney Hall in May 2009 and two days later, he was robbed, beaten and strangled inside the Newark correctional facility. He was pronounced dead a short time later in University Hospital.

"I stood by the door," said Luis Gonzalez, 21, of East Orange, adding that he used his backside to knock into the victim. "He tried to run, and I booty-bumped him."

Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery for a sentence of no more than eight years, would only answer "yes" to questions about his co-defendants punching Harris numerous times and putting the barber in a chokehold. But, when Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan asked Gonzalez what was stolen from the victim, he spoke up.

"Twenty dollars and three cigarettes," he said.

Bonilla, Gonzalez and Ibn Goodman, 20, of Newark, were charged in Harris’ murder.

At the start of Bonilla’s trial this morning, Assistant Prosecutor Peter Guarino told jurors that Bonilla was the one who strangled the 51-year-old barber to death. Guarino showed several pictures of Bonilla’s face after the incident, saying that he was violently scratched during the robbery by Harris, who was fighting for his life.

"I think the evidence will show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bonilla strangled Derek Harris to death," said Guarino in his opening statement, adding that Bonilla’s DNA was found under the victim’s fingernails.

However, Bonilla’s attorney told the jury that the scratches are evidence that his client was the victim of an assault. His attorney, Sterling Kinsale, said he was assaulted by the same group of men that fought with the victim.

"Did he look like the assaulter or the assaulted?" he asked. "He was a victim too … Use your common sense — how did he get those injuries? That is the million-dollar question in this case."

Prosecutors say Bonilla, Goodman and Gonzalez, all inmates at Delaney Hall, attacked and killed Harris days after he was shown his bed May 16, 2009, inside the privately owned facility for non-violent offenders. Harris’ death was the first in the facility since it opened in 2000.

Harris had been arrested because he owed $722 in unpaid traffic violations. His family filed a civil lawsuit accusing Delaney Hall with inadequate oversight, security and staff training.

While the three defendants met Delaney Hall’s bail criteria of $75,000 or less, their offenses were more serious than Harris’ had been. Bonilla faced drug and assault charges, and Goodman drug charges. Gonzalez was beginning a four-year state sentence on a parole violation.

Harris, meanwhile, was a well-known barber who had been working at Million Dollar Kutz, a second-floor shop on Market Street in Newark. He was arrested in May after getting pulled over in his recently-purchased car.

Harris did not have a vehicle registration or insurance card, and officers soon discovered he had $722 in unpaid traffic violations. He was arrested and bail was set at the amount of the unpaid fines.

He was brought to Delaney Hall, where surveillance cameras weren’t working when the three men allegedly attacked. Prosecutors say Gonzalez served primarily as the lookout, though witnesses saw all three strike Harris, who put up a desperate struggle.

Bonilla’s trial continues Wednesday and Goodman will be tried separately at a later date. They face up to life in prison if convicted of the top charge.

Star-Ledger staff writer Alexi Friedman contributed to this report.

MIDDLESEX BOROUGH — The father of an 11-year-old Middlesex girl has agreed to pay a $250 fine to repair the damage caused when his daughter carved her initials in freshly-laid concrete, according to a report on MyCentralJersey.com. Harry Zierdt's daughter was one of six students charged with carving letters in the slab outside Von Mauger Middle School in October,...

Google street viewA street view of Von E. Mauger Middle School in Middlesex.

MIDDLESEX BOROUGH — The father of an 11-year-old Middlesex girl has agreed to pay a $250 fine to repair the damage caused when his daughter carved her initials in freshly-laid concrete, according to a report on MyCentralJersey.com.

Harry Zierdt's daughter was one of six students charged with carving letters in the slab outside Von Mauger Middle School in October, the report said. Four others previously agreed to pay for the repairs and serve a three-month, in-house curfew monitored by their parents. A fifth was later charged with burglary and is not eligible for the deal.

Previous coverage:

• Middlesex middle school students fined $250 for carving initials in concrete

TOMS RIVER — A 32-year-old Toms River man will spend at least the next 58 years in prison following his sentencing Thursday for killing his mother and her boyfriend, according to a report on APP.com. Peter O'Brien was sentenced to life in prison but will serve at least 58 years under the state's No Early Release Act for violent...

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerPeter O'Brien, shown in a 2005 file photo

TOMS RIVER — A 32-year-old Toms River man will spend at least the next 58 years in prison following his sentencing Thursday for killing his mother and her boyfriend, according to a report on APP.com.

Peter O'Brien was sentenced to life in prison but will serve at least 58 years under the state's No Early Release Act for violent crimes, the report said. O'Brien fatally shot his mother Josephine O'Brien, 54, and her longtime companion, Anthony Napoleon Sr., 57 in their Toms River home after picking them up from Newark Liberty International Airport in 2004.

The state Supreme Court had reversed his 2006 conviction in 2009. On Oct. 25, O'Brien reversed course and pleaded guilty to in a deal that called for two, concurrent life prison terms, compared to the two, consecutive life terms he received following his 2006 trial.

Previous coverage:

• Toms River man admits shooting his mother, her boyfriend to death

• Toms River man's lawyer requests admission to 2 killings to be suppressed

• N.J. Supreme Court grants new trial for Toms River man convicted of killing mother, stepdad

• Court orders new sentencing for Ocean man who killed mom, stepdad

A New Jersey man who admitted scamming investors by selling them unregistered stock in a company that was supposed to make therapeutic shoes for horses has been sentenced to nine years in state prison. Samuel Serritella, 66, of Garfield, was sentenced today in Superior Court in Hackensack. He pleaded guilty in October to securities fraud. The state Division of Criminal...

A New Jersey man who admitted scamming investors by selling them unregistered stock in a company that was supposed to make therapeutic shoes for horses has been sentenced to nine years in state prison.

Samuel Serritella, 66, of Garfield, was sentenced today in Superior Court in Hackensack. He pleaded guilty in October to securities fraud.

The state Division of Criminal Justice said Serritella got about $1.7 million from 300 investors. He told them his company was making horseshoes with a cushioning layer of rubber and that they'd be used by Olympic equestrian competitors.

Prosecutors say he never purchased equipment to manufacture the horseshoes and used investor funds for personal expenses.

Previous coverage:

• Bergen County man is charged with $1.7M securities fraud

FORT LEE — The former building and grounds supervisor of the Fort Lee public works department on Friday lost his pension and was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of misusing his position to obtain $350, according to a report on NorthJersey.com. Thomas E. Granquist, 59, was sentenced under recent state laws that toughened penalties on corrupt...

FORT LEE — The former building and grounds supervisor of the Fort Lee public works department on Friday lost his pension and was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of misusing his position to obtain $350, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.

Thomas E. Granquist, 59, was sentenced under recent state laws that toughened penalties on corrupt public officials, imposing mandatory prison sentences and taking away their pensions and health benefits, the report stated.

A former New York commodities trader is facing charges he made repeated death threats against federal regulators. Vincent McCrudden of Long Beach is accused of threatening 47 employees of the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission and other agencies. Prosecutors say he also posted a $100,000 reward on his website seeking personal information about several government officials. A criminal complaint...

im Farrell/The Star-LedgerView of the tarmac and runways at Terminal C at Newark Airport, in this January 2011 photo.

A former New York commodities trader is facing charges he made repeated death threats against federal regulators.

Vincent McCrudden of Long Beach is accused of threatening 47 employees of the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission and other agencies. Prosecutors say he also posted a $100,000 reward on his website seeking personal information about several government officials.

A criminal complaint says the threats followed a CFTC civil enforcement lawsuit filed against McCrudden. The complaint alleges McCrudden has been the subject of various disciplinary proceedings.

McCrudden was arrested Thursday and ordered held without bail during an initial court appearance today in federal court in Central Islip.

His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Two South Brunswick men have been charged with sexually assaulting two 12-year-old girls, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan announced today. Kaplan said Timothy Hunt, 42, and Casey Callahan, 26, both of whom live in the Brookside Mobile Park on Route 1 North, are charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Callahan...

Casey Callahan

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Two South Brunswick men have been charged with sexually assaulting two 12-year-old girls, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan announced today.

Kaplan said Timothy Hunt, 42, and Casey Callahan, 26, both of whom live in the Brookside Mobile Park on Route 1 North, are charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Callahan is also charged with one count of sexual assault.

Hunt, who was arrested Thursday night, and Callahan, who was charged today, are being held at the Middlesex County jail. Bail has not yet been set, the prosecutor said.

Timothy E. Hunt

He said the men were charged after an investigation by Detective Jeffrey Russo of the South Brunswick Police Department and county Investigators Joseph Celentano and Daniel Ruschak, determined the men, who both knew the girls, met them outside the Regal Cinema on Route 1 in North Brunswick on Jan. 2, drove them to Callahan's apartment and engaged in sexual relations.

Kaplan said the men subsequently drove to a street near the girls' homes and dropped them off. He said school officials later learned about the alleged assault and contacted police.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Russo at (732) 392-4646 or Investigators Celentano and Ruschak at (732) 745-3600.

The officer, identified by sources as Christopher Matlosz, 27, of Manchester, was attacked this afternoon while on duty

LAKEWOOD — A Lakewood police officer was shot and killed today when he was attacked by an unknown gunman shortly after 4 p.m., according to three law enforcement officials who requested anonymity.

The officer, identified by sources as Christopher Matlosz, 27, of Manchester, was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities have not identified a motive or suspect in the shooting, which happened in the 1500 block of August Drive, the officials said.

Police from Lakewood, Howell, Brick Township, Toms River and the New Jersey State Police are at the scene, according to the officials.

Matlosz, 27, had been a Lakewood Township employee for six years, according to public records.

Sgt. Brian Polite, a N.J. State Police spokesman, confirmed that the State Police are "assisting Lakewood police with an incident" but would not disclose specifics.

The officials requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the incident with the media.

State Policemen's Benevolent Association President Anthony Wieners announced a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect. It was $15,000 as of 6 p.m., and a spokesman said he expects it to grow.

"Whenever an officer loses his life in the line of duty, it takes a little bit out of all of us," Wieners said. "We're there to ensure that whoever the suspect is, he's brought to justice."

By James Queally and Chris Megerian/The Star-Ledger

OLD BRIDGE — A man originally arrested for firing a gun on an Old Bridge street now faces charges of stealing the weapon during a burglary and threatening a woman by putting the gun to her head. Trevor Bieniek, 19, is charged with aggravated assault, threatening to kill a person, theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm...

Google MapsA family reported a .357 revolver was stolen from their home on Jeri Lane in Old Bridge. Police say that gun was later used by an Old Bridge man accused of threatening a woman at gunpoint and shooting the weapon on a township street.

OLD BRIDGE — A man originally arrested for firing a gun on an Old Bridge street now faces charges of stealing the weapon during a burglary and threatening a woman by putting the gun to her head.

Trevor Bieniek, 19, is charged with aggravated assault, threatening to kill a person, theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and burglary, police said. He is being held at the Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick on more than $100,000 bail.

Police first arrested Bieniek on Dec. 9 on charges he was firing a .357 revolver on Pine Street, authorities said. He was charged with possession of 27 tablets of oxycodone.

On Dec. 18, a family from Jeri Lane reported that while they were on vacation earlier in the month, someone entered their house and stole a safe containing a .357 revolver and more than $120,000 in cash and jewelry, police Capt. Arthur Carullo said.

Investigators subsequently received a report that Bieniek had threatened a woman with the gun shortly after the burglary, Carullo said. Police refused to give details about the woman, other than to say she was not involved in the burglary.