State authorities will hold the surrender from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 21 and April 23 through April 25 at Grace Assembly of God Church, 201 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City

Alexandra Pais/New Jersey Local News ServicePeople register with law enforcement agents during Fugitive Safe Surrender, in this 2010 file photo.

TRENTON — Fugitives hiding from the law will have the opportunity to turn themselves into state authorities next month in return for softer penalties, the state Attorney General's Office said today.

The initiative, Fugitive Safe Surrender, allows those wanted by law enforcement officials for non-violent crimes or disorderly person offenses, such as family matters or child support, to voluntarily surrender.

State authorities will hold the surrender from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 21 and April 23 through April 25 at Grace Assembly of God Church, 201 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City, the office said in a news release.

The cases will be adjudicated in temporary courtrooms a few blocks from the church. An estimated 2,500 fugitives are expected to turn themselves in during the event, the release said.

"Each case is different, but if you surrender peacefully you will get a much better outcome than if the police have to find you and bring you in,” State Parole Board Chairman James Plousis said in a statement.

The program, coordinated in conjunction with federal authorities, offers favorable consideration from the court in return, often in the form of reduced fines or probation rather than jail time.

The program does not offer amnesty, the release said. Those wanted for violent crimes may also surrender but are more likely to be taken into custody, the release said.

More than 10,000 fugitives surrendered during the first three Safe Surrender events in New Jersey..

Related coverage:

• At least 2,500 N.J. fugitives expected in Somerset safe surrender program

• Thousands line up on last day of 'Safe Surrender' program in Newark

• Fugitive Safe Surrender program draws 2,000 in Camden

Jonathon James, 19, was charged with murder and other offenses, following a shooting that killed Orlando Hernandez in the 600 block of Carteret Street in Elizabeth, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow

Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerJonathon James was charged in the shooting death of Orlando Hernandez.

ELIZABETH — A Hillside man was charged today with the murder of a 39-year-old Elizabeth man who died today of gunshot wounds suffered on Friday.

Jonathon James, 19, was charged with murder and other offenses, following a shooting that killed Orlando Hernandez in the 600 block of Carteret Street in Elizabeth, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.

Around 11:32 p.m. Elizabeth Police officers Jose Montilla and Ronnie Cruz heard gunshots while on patrol in the area. The officers also saw James running away from the scene, called for back up and chased him down, Romankow said.

James is charged with killing Hernandez, who was transported to University Hospital in grave condition Friday and then died Monday afternoon. A second victim-a 26-year-old Elizabeth man--was also shot. He was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries and released.

James is charged with murder, attempted murder, and weapon possession. He is being held at the Union County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

This is the fourth homicide in Elizabeth this year.

More Union County news

Reginald Anderson, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery in October 2011

Essex County Prosecutor's OfficeReginald Anderson, 19

NEWARK — A federal judge today sentenced a Newark man to 6½ years in prison for his role in carjacking a BMW sport utility vehicle from two people who’d been looking at the car at a dealership in Newark, authorities said.

Reginald Anderson, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery in October 2011, federal authorities said. They added that in December 2010, Anderson and another person approached a person standing near a blue 2004 BMW X5, pointed something at the person and demanded the SUV.

There had been a dispute in the case about whether a gun was involved in the carjacking, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman’s office said today. But he added U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh, who handled Anderson’s sentencing, found a gun was indeed used.

Anderson was among more than 40 men arrested after a rash of carjackings in Newark and East Orange between November 2010 and January 2011. As of last fall, about a dozen of those men faced federal charges, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has said.

The Hobbs Act involves hindering interstate commerce, federal authorities have said.

Anderson’s attorney could not be reached for comment today.

Related coverage:

• Newark man tied to carjacking ring pleads guilty in federal court

• Eight charged in string of Newark armed carjackings

NEWARK — Newark police, with the help of several anonymous tips, confiscated $11,000 in drugs and arrested a man out on parole for manslaughter, authorities said yesterday. Officers from the city’s 5th Precinct staked out a house on Hanford Street in the South Ward Monday after being tipped off that people were selling drugs there, said Detective Todd McClendon,...

Google MapsTwo men, including one ex-convict, were arrested by Newark police Monday on Hanford Street after being found with $11,000 worth of heroin and cocaine

NEWARK — Newark police, with the help of several anonymous tips, confiscated $11,000 in drugs and arrested a man out on parole for manslaughter, authorities said yesterday.

Officers from the city’s 5th Precinct staked out a house on Hanford Street in the South Ward Monday after being tipped off that people were selling drugs there, said Detective Todd McClendon, a police spokesman.

At 1 p.m., police spotted two men, Zakee Pickett, 32, and Raheem Bryant, 33, apparently engaged in a drug transaction, McClendon said.

Police chased the men, both of Newark, into the house and arrested them, McClendon said.

Pickett was caught as he tried to discard cocaine, McClendon said.

Bryant was captured as he tried to climb out a window shortly after tossing a .45 caliber handgun, McClendon said.

A search of the two men and the residence led to the discovery of another handgun, nearly 70 ammunition rounds, $2,400 in cash and $11,000 in heroin and cocaine, McClendon said.

Both men were charged with nearly a dozen drug- and weapons-related offenses.
Bryant has more than a dozen prior arrests on drug and weapons charges, and is on parole for aggravated assault, manslaughter and robbery, McClendon said.

“We have another victory as a result of community involvement that enabled our officers to remove a habitual violent offender from our neighborhood,” Police Director Samuel DeMaio said in a statement.

“We often see the same violent offenders time and time again as they claim one victim after another, until they themselves become the victim.”

Charles Kane of Lower Township admitted he slammed Elijah Ulbrich's head against a refrigerator

Cape May County ProsecutorA North Wildwood man admitted he rammed a 3-year-old boy's head into a refrigerator.

NORTH WILDWOOD — A Cape May County man has admitted shoving a 3-year-old's head against a refrigerator, causing the boy's skull to fracture.

Charles Kane pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the 2010 death of Elijah Ulbrich. The 37-year-old will face 15 years in prison when he's sentenced in May instead of 30 had he been convicted of murder.

The plea came during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.

Cape May County prosecutors said the North Wildwood boy's mother had left her child with the Lower Township resident while she ran some errands.

Kane told the court he was upset that the boy had wet his pants and he pushed the child against the refrigerator door.

Outside of court, the child's parents told The Press of Atlantic City the 15-year sentence wasn't long enough.

Related coverage:

• Cape May County man pleads not guilty to beating death of 3-year-old boy

• Cape May County man accused of killing 3-year-old boy turns down plea deal

French police say the shooter didn't send the video to the TV news network, and they are seeking suspects

View full sizeRemy Gabalda/AFP/Getty ImagesTeenagers and adults react after the shooting at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in southwestern France, where three children and a rabbi were killed and two people were seriously wounded when a gunman opened fire. This was the third gun attack in a week by a man who fled on a motorbike.

PARIS — A video apparently showing a Muslim gunman’s attacks on soldiers and a Jewish school was sent to the Al-Jazeera news network — but not by him, French police said Tuesday, raising the specter of a possible accomplice.

Al-Jazeera decided not to air a video that seems to have been filmed from the killer’s point of view and includes the cries of his victims. The decision came after French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked the network not to broadcast it.

While French politicians describe gunman Mohamed Merah as a "lone wolf" terrorist, his brother is behind bars on suspicion of helping in the attacks and police are continuing to look for potential accomplices.

A French official close to the investigation said the video was not sent by Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman who was killed in a shootout Thursday after a 32-hour standoff with police at his apartment building in Toulouse.

Another official said the envelope sent to Al-Jazeera contained a Wednesday postmark from a large postal processing center for the area around Toulouse, meaning it was unclear exactly where it was mailed from. He could not say anything about who may have sent the video.

The first official said a technical analysis had concluded that it was not sent by Merah, but did not indicate whether that analysis included fingerprints, DNA, surveillance or other data.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

Merah was in his apartment, surrounded by police, from well before dawn Wednesday until he was killed Thursday morning. Police did not elaborate on why they think he did not put the package into the mail before then.

Prosecutors have said that Merah filmed all of his attacks, which began March 11 with the murder of a French soldier. Before the spree ended, two more soldiers and three Jewish children and a rabbi were killed, while another student and another paratrooper were wounded.

Police said Merah claimed the attacks and had told them he had links to al Qaeda, traveled to Afghanistan and received weapons training in the militant-riddled Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan.

French intelligence officials say they have found no sign of a link between Merah and al Qaeda or other international terrorist networks. Still, investigators say they are open to the possibility of accomplices.

Preliminary charges for complicity in murder and terrorism have been filed against Merah’s older brother, Abdelkader, though no evidence has emerged that he took part directly in the shooting.

Related coverage:

• Deadly attack on Jewish school prompts NYPD to beef up patrols at synagogues, other sites

Peggy S. Albedhady-Sanchez, 50, of Union City was charged with three counts of battery and one count of interfering with an aircraft after kicking and spitting on flight attendants

Courtesy of familyPeggy S. Albedhady-Sanchez

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A woman from Hudson County aboard a US Airways flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Fort Myers, Fla., was arrested after attacking crew members before being wrestled to the floor by an off-duty deputy aboard the flight, an arrest report released today said.

The apparently intoxicated passenger aboard US Airways flight 1697 kicked, spit on, and cursed at a flight attendant after the crew member refused to serve her alcohol, according to the arrest report by Lee County Port Authority Police.

The incident happened Tuesday afternoon, just hours after passengers aboard a JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas wrestled down the plane's agitated pilot.

Police charged Peggy S. Albedhady-Sanchez, 50, of Union City, N.J., with three counts of battery and one count of interfering with an aircraft, the report said. A message left at Albedhady-Sanchez's home was not immediately returned today.

US Airways spokesman Bill McGlashen said today he didn't know how early in the flight the passenger became unruly, why she reacted, how she was restrained, or whether any flight attendants were injured.

"All I know is that during the flight the passenger became disruptive to the point where the crew took the precautionary measure of restraining her in the cabin," McGlashen said.

After Albedhady-Sanchez kicked and spit on the female flight attendant who refused to serve her alcohol, a male attendant who tried to intervene was slapped across the jaw, the arrest report said. Albedhady-Sanchez kicked a second male flight attendant in the groin as the off-duty deputy wrestled her to the back of the jet, the report said. Albedhady-Sanchez continued kicking after her hands were cuffed by plastic restraints and broke an armrest, the report said.

The woman was screaming and crying while she was checked by medics in the terminal before being taken away, according to Raleigh station WCNC, which said one of its reporters spoke to arriving crew members in the terminal.

Justin Heflin is accused of taking money and gifts from a New Jersey man to help in a scheme to let Tennessee's lone female death row inmate escape

NJ State PoliceDonald Kohut, 34

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A former corrections officer was in court today on charges related to a plot to break out Tennessee's lone female death row inmate, Christa Gail Pike.

Justin Heflin, of Chattanooga, Tenn. was indicted last month on bribery, official misconduct, conspiracy to commit escape and facilitation to commit escape. The former correctional officer at the Tennessee Prison for Women is accused of taking money and gifts from another man, Donald Kohut, of Raritan Township to help in a scheme to let Pike escape.

Heflin, who has been released on bond, did not speak during his arraignment in Nashville on Wednesday, but his attorney, James R. Potter, of Clarksville, said his client reserved entering a plea.

Kohut, who was arrested last week in New Jersey, has not yet been extradited to Tennessee.

Related coverage:

• Raritan Twp. man arrested in foiled plot to bust Tenn. female death row inmate from jail

Khalid Khan allegedly attacked Shazmina Khan, 31, in the bathroom of her Wheeler Street apartment on July 3, 2011, cut her throat, locked the door then fled

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerKhalid Khan of Bloomfield, pictured in this July 2011 file photo, is charged with the fatal stabbing of his estranged wife.

MONTCLAIR — A 43-year-old Bloomfield man has been indicted on murder and weapons charges for the fatal stabbing of his estranged wife in her Montclair home last summer, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced today.

Khalid Khan allegedly attacked Shazmina Khan, 31, in the bathroom of her Wheeler Street apartment on July 3, 2011, cut her throat, locked the door then fled.

The four-count indictment also charges the defendant with endangering the welfare of a child because the couple’s daughter, 8 years old at the time, was in the home when Shazmina Khan was killed. The daughter was unhurt and is now living with a family friend, authorities said.

The couple had been separated for two years at the time of the killing, and there was a history of domestic violence, the prosecutor’s office has alleged. Neighbors and friends of the victim have also said that she fought regularly with her husband.

Khan remains in Essex County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bail, an amount a judge agreed to reduce from $1.5 million at the request of Khan’s attorney, Paul Condon. The attorney argued that his client, an American citizen, is a military veteran, has substantial ties to the community and has no prior criminal convictions.

Khan is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Newark on April 17.

Related coverage:

• Bloomfield man charged with killing estranged wife in Montclair has bail reduced by half

• Bloomfield man arrested, charged with murder of wife in Montclair

• Woman found dead in Montclair apartment; homicide suspected

Sister-in-law: In a conversation three days after the incident, Cordova lamented, 'How could I do that to the love of my life'

Frances Micklow/The Star-LedgerZaida Solis, sister of victim Eliana Torres, tears up as she testifies in the Kleber Cordova murder trial at the Morris County Courthouse, Wednesday, March 28, 2012.

MORRISTOWN — Kleber Cordova admitted drowning his wife, Eliana Torres, in a bathtub at their Morristown home, but said it “happened fast” and he was “sorry” about it, Torres’ sister testified today in Cordova’s murder trial.

In a conversation on May 12, 2008 – three days after the incident — Cordova lamented, “How could I do that to the love of my life,” according to Zaida Solis, Cordova’s sister-in-law and Torres’ sister.

During two hours of often emotional testimony in Superior Court in Morristown, Solis, who lives in Danbury, Conn., described Cordova’s changing account of what happened and talked about the aftermath when she and her mother and siblings took over the care of the couple’s two young daughters.

Under questioning from Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, Solis said a relative alerted her and her mother and siblings in Connecticut on May 9 and told them to come to Morristown to see Torres, who had been injured.

Solis said she called Cordova from the car and he initially denied responsibility for his wife’s condition.

Cordova said “He came home from work and heard water running in the shower. It was taking too long. He opened the door and found her drowned in the bathtub,” Solis testified.

The family saw Torres at Morristown Memorial Hospital, where she was “unconscious” and had bruises on her eyelid and nose, Torres said.

Solis said Cordova had been “like a brother” to her and she was “really close” to him and her sister.

Speaking with Cordova three days later, Solis said, he changed his story and said he and Torres had been arguing all week “about a lot of stuff in their marriage.”

Cordova said Torres had told him she “wanted to leave,” and the night before the drowning, Torres made a phone call to her new boyfriend “in front of him,” Solis testified.

Frances Micklow/The Star-LedgerKleber Cordova listens as Zaida Solis, sister of victim Eliana Torres, testifies at the Morris County Courthouse on Wednesday, March 28, 2012.

On May 9, Cordova said, Torres told him “she wanted a divorce.” then the two fell into the bathtub, and “everything happened so fast,” according to Solis.

Solis asked Cordova what she should tell the couple’s two daughters, who were 8 years old and 18 months old at the time.

Cordova said, “Tell them I did it, and tell them not to worry about me any more,” Solis testified.

Solis acknowledged that on May 15, 2008 – a day after Torres was declared legally dead – she wrote a check for $12,949 on Cordova’s account and a check for $271 on the account of her dead sister.

Cordova’s public defender, Jessica Moses, said the prosecutor’s office should have reported Solis to the state Attorney General’s Office and Solis should have been charged with fraud and forgery. Moses demanded that Judge David Ironson declare a mistrial.

Ironson denied her request, but told Moses she was free to question Solis about whether she was subjected to any “governmental pressure” in exchange for no charges being pressed.

Calderwood replied that there was "no criminal intent" on Solis' part.

Solis, in tears, said Cordova had told her to withdraw money from both accounts “for the girls.”

Because he was in jail at this point, Cordova was afraid the money in the bank “would freeze.”

“I couldn’t get him to write the checks because he was in jail,” Solis said.

Cordova also told her to contact his boss because he was owed two weeks’ pay and to look for a check for $4,000 he had left in the house, Solis said.

Solis said she couldn’t find the check. She maintained adamantly that the government didn’t pressure her and said she and her mother needed the money “to cover a lot of expenses. We had two girls coming into the house.”

Related coverage:

• Daughter of Morristown man accused of drowning wife in bathtub provides heart-wrenching testimony

• Testimony: Morristown girl was told to keep quiet after allegedly witnessing father drowning mother

• Judge rules Morristown man's alleged confession to sister-in-law of drowning wife is admissible

• Prosecution denies Miranda violation in Morristown man's alleged confession of wife's bathtub drowning

Twenty-year-old Joseph Buckelew III of East Brunswick also must register as a sex offender under the sentence imposed today and must serve 10 years of supervised release upon release

William Perlman/The Star-LedgerA 2009 file photo of the East Brunswick Municipal Complex, where the township library is located.

EAST BRUNSWICK — A New Jersey man who admitted collecting hundreds of child porn images has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.

Twenty-year-old Joseph Buckelew III of East Brunswick also must register as a sex offender under the sentence imposed today. And once he's freed, he'll have to serve 10 years of supervised release.

Buckelew, a former library employee, had pleaded guilty last September to a complaint charging him with possession child porn. He admitted having more than 600 images stored on a computer at his home, including some with sadistic or other violent depictions.

Related coverage:

• East Brunswick library worker admits to possessing hundreds of child porn images on home computer

• East Brunswick library employee is charged in child porn scheme

Investigators believe Anthony Byrd was killed either at the Thomas Edison rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge or in the area where his remains were found

Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerAndrew Byrd is charged with the 2010 murder of a Brooklyn man, Jubar Croswell, whose body was found in a wooded area in Edison appeared before Superior Court Judge at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick today.

A Pennsylvania man had his first court appearance today in New Brunswick on charges he murdered a Brooklyn man, whose body was found in a stream in Edison in 2010.

Anthony Byrd, 35, of Lancaster, Pa. appeared before Superior Court Judge Michael Toto, on the charge he murdered Jubar R. "Esco" Croswell, 30 on Aug. 13, 2010. He pleaded not guilty.

Croswell’s mother, Andrea Croswell, attended the five-minute hearing and broke down in tears.

"I’m so glad they caught him," she said after it was over. "I wish he didn’t do that to my son. I loved my son so much and I miss him."

Croswell’s remains were discovered on Sept. 23, 2010 in a stream in a wooded area near the Oakwood Plaza shopping center on Wood Avenue. He was in an advanced state of decomposition, authorities said.

Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch said investigators believe he was killed either at the Thomas Edison rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge or in the area where his remains were found.

An autopsy by the county medical examiner said Croswell died from "homicidal violence."

Authorities said Croswell was a model who had been seen in commercials on television.

Both Sewitch and Byrd’s attorney, David Bahuriak of Philadelphia, said the two men knew each other, but neither would elaborate.

"He had no motive to kill this man," Bahuriak said of his client. "Its going to take more than a rumor to convict him. We’re looking forward to the trial."

Byrd was arrested last week at his Pennsylvania home and was brought to New Jersey this week to face the murder charge.

Sewitch said "very good" forensic work at the scene where the remains were found and good work by Edison police Detective Jeff Tierney and Sgt. Paul Miller of the county prosecutor’s office led to identity of the victim and Byrd’s arrest.

Byrd is being held at the Middlesex County Jail in lieu of $3 million bail.

Related coverage:

• Arrest made in death of N.Y. model whose body was dumped in Edison woods

Three Essex County teenagers were arrested Tuesday night after Sheriff’s officers interrupted them as they tried to commit a gunpoint robbery at a Newark bus stop, authorities said

Google MapsSheriff's officers allegedly interrupted three Essex County teens as they attempted to commit a gunpoint robbery at a Newark bus stop on Market Street and University Avenue.

NEWARK — Three Essex County teenagers were arrested Tuesday night after sheriff’s officers interrupted them as they tried to commit a gunpoint robbery at a Newark bus stop, authorities said.

The suspects allegedly approached an East Orange man as he waited for a bus near Market Street and University Avenue around 9:30 p.m., according to Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura. One of the teens drew a handgun and demanded money from the victim, but the trio noticed a sheriff’s cruiser waiting at a nearby traffic light and attempted to leave the scene, Fontoura said.

The gunman, identified only as a 16-year-old youth from Montclair, ran away but was captured by police a short time later, Fontoura said. His accomplices — a 16-year-old from Irvington and a 15-year-old from Orange — walked away discreetly, but they were also arrested without incident moments later, Fontoura said.

The Montclair teen was charged with armed robbery, conspiracy, weapons offenses and resisting arrest, according to Fontoura, while the other suspects were charged with armed robbery and conspiracy.

All three remain in custody at the Essex County Youth House.

More Essex County news

Joseph Burns, 71, who was arrested last November on charges of assaulting two girls between 1995 and 2002, now he's accused of assaulting a boy and another girl in separate incidents spanning 13 years

Middlesex County Prosecutor's OfficeJoseph Burns

PISCATAWAY — Two more people have come forward to accuse a Piscataway man of sexually assaulting them when they were children.

Joseph Burns, 71, who was arrested last November on charges of assaulting two girls between 1995 and 2002, now is accused of assaulting a boy and another girl in separate incidents spanning 13 years.

Burns, a cab driver, was arrested at his home Tuesday and charged with two counts each of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault and three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said in a joint statement with Piscataway police Chief Richard Ivone.

Both victims are now adults.

Kaplan said Burns cared for children on various occasions, and that he sexually assaulted the girl both in his home and in her home between July 1994 to July 2005, beginning when she was 7 and continuing until she was 16.

He is also accused of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly giving her alcohol and showing her pornographic images during the same time period.

Burns is also accused of sexually assaulting the boy numerous times between October 1999 and October 2007, starting when he was 6 and continuing to age 14, Kaplan said.

Burns was previously accused of sexually assaulting another girl for 5 years, starting when she was age 5. A second victim, who is now 16, was assaulted when she was 5- and 6- years old, authorities allege.

Burns was being held today on $600,000 bail.

Authorities ask anyone with information on these, or similar incidents to call Investigator Kathleen Duca of the prosecutor’s office at (732) 745-3600, or Detective Ken Schultz of the Piscataway Police Department at (732) 562-2350.

Related coverage:

• 71-year-old cab driver arrested on charges of sexual assault against 2 children

Peggy Albedhady-Sanchez allegedly kicked a male flight attendant in the groin when he tried to restrain her, and also damaged the aircraft, after being refused alcohol

Family photoPeggy S. Albedhady-Sanchez, 50, was arrested Tuesday on charges she fought with flight attendants over alcohol.

UNION CITY — A 50-year-old Union City woman said to be under emotional stress has been charged with grabbing, kicking and spitting on US Airways crew members during a flight from North Carolina to Florida after she was refused alcohol, authorities said.

Peggy S. Albedhady-Sanchez had to be restrained in the plane’s galley by flight attendants and an off-duty sheriff’s officer who was on Flight 1697 until the Airbus A-321 with 135 people on board, landed safely at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, police said.

The trouble began about halfway through the two-hour flight. Albedhady-Sanchez became unruly when a flight attendant refused to serve her alcohol, according to the Lee County, Fla., Port Authority police. Albedhady-Sanchez grabbed a female flight attendant by the wrist, kicked a male attendant the groin, spit at another flight attendant and caused damage to the aircraft, police said.

"While being placed in plastic restraints, Albedhady-Sanchez was still fighting and broke an armrest on the aircraft by kicking it," the police report said.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon, just hours after a JetBlue pilot on a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Vegas had to be restrained midflight after he allegedly entered the cabin and launched into a rant about terrorists threatening to bring the plane down.

Albedhady-Sanchez’s son, Alex Velazquez, of Union City, said Wednesday that his mother has been under severe stress caused by marital problems and the recent death of her mother. He said she was traveling to Florida to stay with another son who lives there.

"She’s been through a lot and it’s been a little rough," Velazquez said. "I can’t condone her actions for what happened, but she normally hasn’t been under that kind of stress."

Sheriff's OfficePeggy Albedhady-Sanchez

Valazquez said his mother was taking anti-depressants that could have exacerbated any drinking she might have done during an initial flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Charlotte, N.C. — where she had a brief layover — or on the final leg of the trip to Fort Myers.

A June 2009 article about Albedhady-Sanchez in the Hudson Reporter, a weekly newspaper covering Union City, said she began suffering panic attacks after surgeries to remove a brain aneurism and an air bubble in her skull.

Velazquez said he feared his mother might have been having a breakdown when she called him during the 45-minute layover in Charlotte. He said she sounded upset and asked him to drive to North Carolina to pick her up. He said he finally persuaded her to board the flight to Florida.

"She said, ‘I can’t take this,’ " he said. "She sounded like she had a lot of anxiety. And I’m starting to think, did we rush her to go without many details? As a son, you’re not going to think that’s something wrong with your mother."

Airport police in Fort Myers arrested Albedhady-Sanchez after meeting the plane at the gate just after 7 p.m. She was charged with three counts of battery and was being held Wednesday at the Lee County Jail in lieu of $2,500 bail.

According to the police report, Albedhady-Sanchez, "prevented the crew from attending their safety duties in preparation for landing of the aircraft," and the local FBI and U.S. attorney’s offices are weighing whether to file federal charges against her, including interfering with a flight crew.

A US Airways spokesman, Bill McGlashen, said the crew, "did their job superbly."

By Victoria St. Martin and Steve Strunsky/Star-Ledger Staff

Related coverage:

• Intoxicated N.J. woman on US Airways flight attacked 3 crew members, authorities say

• JetBlue suspends captain who disrupted flight yelling about bomb

• Captain's erratic behavior, yelling about bomb causes chaotic scene on JetBlue flight

In a court filing, federal prosecutors claimed Judge William Martini's words and actions showed his ability to be impartial is in question

Patti Sapone/The Star-LedgerFederal prosecutors in New Jersey want U.S. District Judge William Martini kicked off the Paul Bergrin case for bias.

NEWARK — Federal prosecutors from New Jersey are set to argue that a judge should be removed from a murder case because of bias.

Today's arguments will take place before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

The murder case involves attorney Paul Bergrin. He was charged in 2009 with plotting to murder a witness who was to testify against one of his clients in a drug case.

A trial last year ended in a hung jury. During the trial, prosecutors sparred with U.S. District Judge William Martini over his decision to exclude some evidence.

They also objected to his behavior during the trial. In a court filing, they claimed his words and actions showed his ability to be impartial is in question.

Related coverage:

• Alleging bias, federal prosecutors want judge removed in Bergrin murder trial

• Paul Bergrin's next trial likely to be pushed back several months

A federal judge has sentenced a former state investigator to five years in prison for taking more than $1.86 million in bribes from temporary agencies that he certified as being in compliance with wage laws

Google MapsA map showing the location of the federal court in Camden.

CAMDEN — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former state investigator to five years in prison for taking more than $1.86 million in bribes from temporary agencies that he certified as being in compliance with wage laws, authorities said.

The Labor Department investigator, Joseph Rivera, 56, of Winslow, had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden to one count each of solicitation and acceptance of a bribe and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said Wednesday.

Fishman’s office noted Rivera has also agreed to forfeit money and property equal to $1.863 million, including $120,400 in cash; two Ocean City properties; a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., property; a 2008 Lexus ES 350; eight gold bars; and numerous coins.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which cited both case documents and court statements, Rivera was a senior investigator with the Wage and Hour Compliance Division of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, when, between 2002 and 2008, he solicited and accepted bribes from at least 20 owners or operators of temp firms.

Authorities said in exchange for those corrupt payments, Rivera would refrain from inspecting temporary agencies and falsely certify they had complied with state law. In addition, Fishman’s office said, Rivera would recommend to other businesses that they hire the temp agencies that paid him off.

Authorities also said Rivera attempted to evade paying taxes on the income he got from the scheme. For 2007, they said, he filed an individual tax return claiming taxable income of $89,696 when he knew his total taxable income was $499,176.

Rivera’s lawyer, Lawrence Luongo Jr., said his client is "very sorry" for his actions, and he noted Rivera "issued an apology in open court (at his sentencing) to the government and to all those who were affected by his conduct."

Federal officials said Amonra Jackson admitted he took out a firearm and punched a driver in the face in Newark while stealing a 2007 Acura MDX

Noah Addis/For The Star-LedgerU.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, pictured in this file photo from 2011, said Amonra Jackson admitted he took out a firearm and punched a driver in the face in Newark while stealing a 2007 Acura MDX.

NEWARK — A federal judge Wednesday sentenced a Newark man to 10 years in prison for his role in carjacking an Acura by brandishing a firearm and punching the car’s driver in the face, federal authorities said.

Amonra Jackson, 30, had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark to one count of theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence and intimidation, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.

According to Fishman’s office, which cited case documents and court statements, Jackson admitted that on Dec. 17, 2010, he took out a firearm and punched a driver in the face in Newark while stealing a 2007 Acura MDX.

A convicted felon, Jackson was arrested on Dec. 19, 2010, authorities said, while in possession of a loaded firearm.

Jackson’s public defender could not be reached late Wednesday for comment.

More Essex county news

Hamid Shabazz of Passaic won't start serving the term imposed Wednesday until he completes the remaining 12 years an 18-year sentence he's now serving for an unrelated armed robbery and drug offense.

Facebook A man involved in a 2005 quadruple homicide at an after-hours Paterson gambling club has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

PATERSON — A man involved in a 2005 quadruple homicide at an after-hours Paterson gambling club has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

But 35-year-old Hamid Shabazz of Passaic won't start serving the term imposed Wednesday until he completes the remaining 12 years an 18-year sentence he's now serving for an unrelated armed robbery and drug offense.

Shabazz admitted entering the club with a ski mask on and with a gun, but said he didn't expect his co-defendant, David Baylor, to start shooting. The four club patrons were all shot in the head at point-blank range.

Baylor was sentenced in 2008 to four consecutive life terms, without the possibility of parole.

Related coverage:

• 4 life terms for killer in Paterson club slayings

Judge will issue ruling at 11:30 a.m. today

Mitsu Yasukawa/For The Star-LedgerMurder defendant Kleber Cordova appears in court in Morristown earlier this month.

MORRISTOWN — Kleber Cordova’s public defender in his murder trial on charges of drowning his wife asked a judge this morning to reduce the murder charge to “passion/provocation manslaughter.”

Superior Court Judge David Ironson, sitting in Morristown, said he will issue his ruling at 11:30 today. The prosecution finished presenting its case Wednesday.

“There is no evidence to support a murder conviction,” said public defender Jessica Moses. She cited Wednesday’s testimony by the victim’s sister, who said Cordova, 32, told her he drowned his wife, Eliana Torres, 26, in a bathtub at their Morristown home on May 9, 2008 after she told him she had a boyfriend and “wanted a divorce.”

Arguing to uphold the murder charge, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood said the evidence showed that Cordova killed his wife “knowingly” and “on purpose.”

Moses asked for a judgment of acquittal on all the charges against Cordova, but said if the judge decides against that, he should reduce the murder charge to manslaughter.

Moses also argued for acquittal on a child endangerment charge against Cordova. She pointed out that Cordova’s now 12-year-old daughter testified that he “was a good father to me” and she initially did not believe he would kill her mother.

Calderwood said the child endangerment charge should stand because Cordova committed “an unlawful action” in front of a child and “endangered her morals.”

The hearing took place without the jury present. The jury is scheduled to return this afternoon, when the defense is to begin presenting its witnesses.

Related coverage:

• Sister-in-law of accused Morristown killer says he admitted drowning wife

• Daughter of Morristown man accused of drowning wife in bathtub provides heart-wrenching testimony

• Testimony: Morristown girl was told to keep quiet after allegedly witnessing father drowning mother

• Judge rules Morristown man's alleged confession to sister-in-law of drowning wife is admissible

• Prosecution denies Miranda violation in Morristown man's alleged confession of wife's bathtub drowning