Atlantic County prosecutors say Linwood police got a 911 call late Thursday morning from a worker who reported finding the body of April Kauffman

LINWOOD — Police continue to collect evidence at the home of an Atlantic County businesswoman and former radio talk show host found fatally shot in her bedroom.

Atlantic County prosecutors say Linwood police got a 911 call late Thursday morning from a worker who reported finding the body of April Kauffman. They say Kauffman was a client of the worker but didn't' provided any other details.

Prosecutors say the 47-year-old woman had multiple gunshot wounds.

Kauffman owned a catering business and a hair salon. Until February she also hosted a weekly talk show on radio station WOND where she was an advocate on veterans and other issues.

Gloucester County TimesApril Kauffman.

A friend told The Press of Atlantic City she got an email from Kauffman around 1:50 a.m. Thursday about an event they were planning.

Related coverage:

• Jersey Shore radio host April Kauffman shot to death in her Linwood home

Patricia Bombelyn, a lawyer who attended the meeting with relatives of the late Barry Deloatch, said the prosecutor's office agreed that the two officers involved in the Sept. 22, 2011 shooting violated numerous department policies Watch video

By Tom Haydon and Tomas Dinges/The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK — In the wake of a grand jury decision not to indict two New Brunswick police officers in the fatal shooting of a city man, relatives of the deceased man today met for three hours with Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan and his staff.

Patricia Bombelyn, a lawyer who attended the meeting with relatives of the late Barry Deloatch, said the prosecutor's office agreed that the two officers involved in the Sept. 22, 2011 shooting violated numerous department policies.

"It was clear to me that they agreed there were violations," said Bombelyn, one of three attorneys who accompanied Deloatch's two sons — Barry Deloatch Jr. and Barry Gavin — along with other relatives who meet with Kaplan and Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch.

"We ask them, can you assure us that corrective action has been taken to prevent these violations from reoccurring. They could not. It is really unfortunate that they could not tell us otherwise. We needed that modicum of justice for the Deloatch family," Bombelyn said.

She said family was not satisfied with the grand jury decision.

James O'Neill, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, when informed of Bombelyn's comment, said he could not immediately respond but may have statement later today.

On Thursday, Kaplan announced that the grand jury had not indicted officers Brad Berdel and Daniel Mazan in the death of 46-year-old Barry Deloatch.

Deloatch was shot once after fleeing from police, then scuffling with an officer in an alley off Throop Avenue just after midnight Sept. 22. The shooting sparked public outcry, several protests and allegations of police brutality.

Related coverage:

• Grand jury in New Brunswick fatal police shooting case does not bring charges against officers

• Judge denies special grand jury for New Brunswick fatal police shooting

• Demonstrators in New Brunswick continue to protest fatal shooting of man by police

• New Brunswick man fatally shot by police was beating officer with stick, lawyer says

• Relatives of New Brunswick shooting victim allege he was running away when he was shot

The former officer, Darious Smith, gave no reaction when the jury forewoman read the verdict just before 4 p.m. today in Superior Court in Newark

View full sizeStar-Ledger file photoFormer Newark Police Officer Darious Smith is arraigned in Newark in 2004. Smith was convicted of shaking down drug dealers for cash, narcotics and guns, but it is unlikely he will face jail time.

NEWARK — Former Newark Police Officer Darious Smith had just been convicted of plotting with colleagues to steal cash, narcotics and weapons from drug dealers. But the expression on his face today didn’t tell the story of a man now staring at a possible 10-year prison sentence.

"God is great," the 41-year-old said with a smile outside the Newark courtroom, his parents and attorney at his side.

The jury found Smith guilty of conspiracy to commit official misconduct, official misconduct and theft. But because it also found the amount he took was less than $200, Smith may avoid prison altogether. He was also acquitted of four lesser charges.

The most serious count of second-degree conspiracy may get bumped down to third-degree, which carries a prison term of up to five years, but also the presumption of non-incarceration for first-time offenders. If the conviction remains second-degree, Smith, who has no prior criminal record, faces up to 10 years in prison.

The veteran officer, who has been suspended since he was indicted in 2004, also would have been immediately handcuffed and taken into custody. But Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan allowed Smith to walk out of the courtroom with bail continued. State Deputy Attorney General Cynthia Vazquez, who prosecuted the case, did not object.

Addressing the court after jurors filed out, Ryan called it a "legal impossibility that (Smith) be found guilty of conspiracy in the second-degree. He has to be found guilty in the third-degree." The judge set June 15 for attorneys to file briefs in support of their positions.

Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said the appellate division is reviewing the issue but the second-degree conspiracy count may survive intact. Smith’s lawyer, Raymond Beam Jr., also said he will seek a new trial but did not provide an explanation. Sentencing is set for July 13.

Smith’s case was part of a larger investigation by the state and Newark police that covered 2002 to 2004 and yielded similar allegations of corruption against a half-dozen city officers.

The jury forewoman read the verdict just before 4 p.m., after more than two days of deliberations in a trial that stretched three weeks. Smith, clad in a gray suit with matching pink shirt and tie, was acquitted of four lesser counts of tampering with public records and falsifying records, for allegations he lied on his police reports. The charges stem from two incidents in 2003 and two in 2004, in which the Attorney General’s Office alleged Smith stole from and extorted drug dealers.

Five witnesses who testified for the state accused Smith of stealing cash from drug dealers, planting drugs and guns on them and making false arrests.

One of the witnesses was Lawrence Furlow, Smith’s former partner on the force who faces identical criminal charges. The state has tried Furlow twice, both times ending in hung juries. His third trial is scheduled for next week, but will likely be pushed back.

Beam told jurors the witnesses, including Furlow and Dudley, should not be trusted because they were either corrupt cops or drug dealers who cut deals with the state to testify against his client. Furlow backed out of a deal he had brokered with the state.

Outside the courtroom, Beam said he was disappointed with the guilty verdict but noted that it showed jurors "didn’t believe some of the state’s case. So they compromised."

"This police officer betrayed the honor of his uniform and badge by using both to commit crimes," Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said in a statement.

Related coverage:

• In closing arguments, ex-Newark police officer is painted as both a faithful and corrupt cop

• Newark police officer accused of shaking down drug dealers faces retrial

No arrests made yet in 3 a.m. shooting that left Irvington man dead - the city's first homicide since April 6

Google MapsAn Irvington man was shot and killed early this morning at a Newark nightclub. A security guard was also wounded. No arrests have yet been made, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

NEWARK &mdash An Irvington man was shot and killed and a security guard was wounded at a Branford Place social club early this morning, authorities said, bringing to an end a several week stretch in the city without a homicide.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said police were dispatched to Club Sensations near the intersection of Halsey Street shortly before 3 a.m. When they arrived they discovered two men suffering from gunshot wounds.

Andrew Henry, 35, of Irvington, was transported to University Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. A second victim, only identified as a security guard at the club, was listed in stable condition this morning.

No arrests had been made as of 10:30 a.m.

The shooting is being investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force and anyone with information is asked to contact task force detectives at (877) 847-7432 or (973) 621-4586. All calls will remain confidential.

The killing was Newark's first since April 6.

Staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.

Man killed after altercation on the street with one or more people; prosecutor says the investigation is ongoing

Google MapsA man was shot in the back and killed last night on Van Nostrand Avenue in Jersey City. No arrests have been made.

JERSEY CITY &mdash A city man was shot and killed last night on Van Nostrand Avenue after an altercation, authorities said today.

Thomas Hale, 44, was found in the street by police near the intersection of Van Nostrand Ave. and Rutgers Ave. with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the back shortly before 10:30 p.m. last night, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio.

He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

An autopsy will be performed today, he said. No arrests had been made as of this morning, but De Fazio said there may have been more than one person involved in the altercation that led to Hale’s death and the investigation was ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call (201)-915-1345. All calls will remain confidential.

Wilman Conde-Roa, 29, was allegedly intoxicated and belligerent, and shoved a police officer

FORT LEE — A defender for the New York Red Bulls was arrested on aggravated assault charges early this morning when he allegedly pushed a police officer responding to a noise complaint at his home, Fort Lee Police said.

Wilman Conde Roa, a 29-year-old centerback with the Red Bulls, was allegedly “intoxicated and belligerent” when officers came to his 15th Street home at approximately 5:30 a.m., according to Fort Lee Detective Sgt. Kenneth Porrino. When one of the officers attempted to identify a female guest at the home, police said Conde-Roa became loud and began to push one of the responding officers.

He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and later released on his own recognizance pending a court date. Another resident of the home, Fhanor Dominguez-Sanchez, was issued a summons for excessive noise.

Following Conde-Roa’s arrest, the Red Bulls issued a short statement.

"We are aware of the situation and are in the process of gathering information. We have no further comment at this time," the team said through its spokesman, Brian Tsao.

Conde-Roa is playing his first season with the Red Bulls after being acquired last year from the Chicago Fire, where he had once been named the team’s defender of the year. His season has been hampered by injuries and the defender has not played in the Red Bulls last several games after suffering a groin injury.

The Red Bulls will play their next game tomorrow against the Philadelphia Union at 12:30 p.m.

Borough is threatening to close g all bars in the town at midnight unless they agree to pay an additional fee based on their occupancy limits, with the money going to fund additional police patrols

Noah Murray/The Star-LedgerSunbathers relax on the beach at Point Pleasant Beach in this Sept. 2011 file photo.

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Living two blocks from the boardwalk, Dave Cavagnaro is used to hearing noise at night. But the sounds coming from his yard one summer night were unusual: They were coming from a couple having sex up against the side of his house.

"Get the hell out of here!" he yelled at them. "Get a room!"

It was only one example of what residents in this Jersey shore beachfront community say is a problem that is getting steadily worse: rowdy behavior by patrons leaving the four boardwalk bars and raising a ruckus in the residential neighborhoods where they parked.

The borough is fighting back, prohibiting nonresidents from parking in neighborhoods nearest the bars from midnight to 6 a.m., starting in July. But it is threatening even stronger move: closing all bars in the town at midnight unless they agree to pay an additional fee based on their occupancy limits, with the money going to fund additional police patrols.

A decision could come Tuesday.

"11:30 at night is when the bar crowd comes in, just as I'm going to bed," said Cavagnaro, who has lived here for 12 years. "2, 3 a.m. as they get out is when there's the screaming and fights. The urination used to be just at night. I've seen guys go in the bushes by my house. Now it's during the daytime. They get right out of their cars and pee on the lawn."

Mayor Vincent Barrella says that's no exaggeration.

"Last year was pretty bad. We had to take the remarkable step of amending our public urination ordinance to include prohibiting public defecation," the mayor said.

Late last month, a couple was arrested for having sex on the beach (the conduct, not the drink — although they also were charged with drinking in public.)

"Imagine the worst thing you would want your children to see, and that's what was transpiring on the beach — at 7 p.m.," Councilman Bret Gordon said. "And these are the off months. Yay."

Noah Murray/The Star-Ledger

The boardwalk businesses, led by Jenkinson's Boardwalk and Martell's Tiki Bar, have offered the borough $161,000 per year for five years toward the cost of additional patrols. But they're also suing to block the parking restrictions, which in turn is complicating efforts to reach an agreement on voluntary payments to cover the added police patrols. A vote by the council on one or more of the ordinances could come Tuesday.

And while the boardwalk merchants say they want to help solve the problem, they also feel picked on. Jenkinson's is by far the largest employer and taxpayer in Point Pleasant Beach. Spokeswoman Marilou Halvorsen said her company employs about 1,500 people at the height of summer, and pays property taxes approaching $1 million a year.

It also removes its own garbage, employs a 40- to 50-person private security force, picks up the borough's boardwalk garbage and maintains the public restrooms there, she said.

"If quality-of-life issues are upsetting residents, we certainly want to address that," Halvorsen said. "We're neighbors. What's good for the town is good for the boardwalk. If there's a reasonable request, we're more than willing to be helpful. But not to the point where we're being taken advantage of. What is a reasonable number?"

The parking and bar closing ordinances "are very targeted toward the boardwalk," she added. "We are actually a big target."

Ron Gasiorowski, a lawyer representing the boardwalk bars, said in a letter to the council his clients are being unfairly blamed for societal problems.

"Everybody seems to accept the fact that the culture of America is changing, and that people generally are not as respectful of other people's property as they once were," he wrote. "Assuming that this is something that is being caused by Jenkinson's/Martell's is unfair and incorrect. As responsible citizens and taxpayers, they are making a good faith effort to assist in the remediation of this problem."

Barrella said the total amount that would be raised under the new bar assessments would be about $186,000 a year. It would pay for additional special police officers to patrol the boardwalk and residential neighborhoods during the summer and address many of the quality-of-life issues that have long irked residents here.

"We have enough noise," said Lucille Buonocore, who has a condo on the boardwalk near one of the bars. "We can't sleep. Fights, people throwing bottles at each other. We should get some consideration. We are the people that live here."

Yet the boardwalk businesses have their supporters, too. They tend to dismiss complaints from residents about noise from departing bar customers, saying the residents knew what they were doing when the bought their homes.

Opponents "have to realize what was there," said Dan Friendly, who lives on Ocean Avenue and also hears late-night noise. "They bought houses near a boardwalk."

Friendly also said word is spreading in the rest of the state that Point Pleasant Beach might not be as welcoming to tourists as it once was.

"I'm also hearing from so many people that they're cancelling their plans to come out here for the summer to spend their money in this town," he told the mayor at a recent council meeting. "The money we get in this town from tourism — you have a naive idea of what it is: Come to the beach, get an ice cream cone, watch the fireworks and go home. That's not what it is."

Barrella said in an interview several days later that everyone is welcome in Point Pleasant Beach, so long as they behave themselves.

"We have a need to provide a safe and clean atmosphere," he said. "If we don't, we're going to lose that reputation as a family-friendly place. Are we in danger of losing it? I think we are. We don't want to become that stereotypical 'Jersey Shore' community.

"The boardwalk, the rides, the family atmosphere are something we want to cultivate," Barrella said. "But people coming into town at midnight, pounding down six Jell-O shots, I don't want that kind of tourism."

Ravi could face up to 10 years in prison after his conviction of bias intimidation charges for using a webcam to see Tyler Clementi kissing another man

TRENTON — Supporters plan to rally on behalf of a former Rutgers University student who could face up to 10 years in prison after his conviction of bias intimidation charges for using a webcam to see his roommate kissing another man.

Friends and supporters of 20-year-old Dharun Ravi say they want to call attention to what they see as problems with the state's hate-crime laws.

Ravi was convicted in March. The case garnered national attention because his roommate, Tyler Clementi, killed himself in September 2010, just days after the spying.

The rally at the Statehouse is scheduled today, one week before Ravi is to be sentenced.

Related coverage:

• Prosecutor's Office: Ravi 'shows no remorse' and should be sentenced to prison

• Dharun Ravi asks for probation, not prison

• Hundreds of Dharun Ravi supporters pack meeting in New Brunswick, calling for no jail time for webcam spy

The jury in Ken Zisa's trial could start deliberating this afternoon

Carmine Galasso/The RecordHackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa at his trial last week.

HACKENSACK — Jury deliberations could start soon in the trial of Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa.

Closing arguments were made Friday, and the judge is expected to start instructing the jury today. The panel could then start its deliberations sometime this afternoon.

Zisa was suspended without pay in 2010 after being charged with official misconduct and insurance fraud. Prosecutors say he removed his girlfriend from the scene of a 2008 accident in which she was suspected of being intoxicated, then filed false information in an insurance claim.

The chief's also accused of covering up an investigation stemming from a 2004 assault and robbery in which his girlfriend's sons were suspects.

But Zisa's attorney claims the case based on lies and was brought as a political favor to Zisa's enemies.

Related coverage:

• N.J. police chief to face misconduct, insurance fraud charges as trial begins

• Editorial: Ken Zisa must go

The killings appear to be the latest salvo in a gruesome game of tit-for-tat in fighting among brutal drug gangs

Julio Cesar Aguilar/AFP/GettyImagesForensic investigators photograph graffiti near where 49 bodies were found dumped on a roadway in northern Mexico on Sunday.

MONTERREY, Mexico — Forty-nine bodies with their heads, hands and feet hacked off were found Sunday dumped on a northern Mexico highway leading to the Texas border in what appeared to be the latest carnage in an escalating war between Mexico's two dominant drug cartels.

Local and federal authorities discovered the bodies before dawn scattered in a pool of blood at the entrance to the town of San Juan, on a highway leading from the metropolis of Monterrey to the border city of Reynosa. A white stone arch welcoming visitors was spray-painted with black letters: "100% Zeta."

Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said at a news conference that the 43 men and six women would be hard to identify because of the lack of heads, hands and feet. The bodies were being taken to a Monterrey auditorium for DNA tests.

The victims could have been killed as long as two days ago at another location, then transported to San Juan, a town in the municipality of Cadereyta, about 105 miles west-southwest of McAllen, Texas, and 75 miles southwest of the Roma, Texas, border crossing, state Attorney General Adrian de la Garza said.

Only one couple looking for their missing daughter visited the morgue in Monterrey where autopsies were being performed on the mutilated bodies Sunday, a state police investigator said.

The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said none of the six female bodies matched the missing daughter's description. He said some of the bodies were badly decomposed and some had their whole arms or lower legs missing.

De la Garza said he did not rule out the possibility that the victims were U.S.-bound migrants.

But it seemed more likely that the killings were the latest salvo in a gruesome game of tit-for-tat in fighting among brutal drug gangs.

"This is the most definitive of all the cartel wars," said Raul Benitez Manaut, a security expert at Mexico's National Autonomous University.

Mass body dumpings have increased around Mexico the last six months as the fearsome Zetas gang goes head to head with the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, led by fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, and its allies.

Under President Felipe Calderon's nearly six-year assault on organized crime, the two cartels have become the largest in the country and are battling over strategic transport routes and territory, including along the northern border with the U.S. and in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

EPA/MIGUEL SIERRAPolice and the military converge on a highway in northern Mexico where 49 bodies were found dumped on Sunday.

In less than a month, the mutilated bodies of 14 men were left in a van in downtown Nuevo Laredo, 23 people were found hanged or decapitated in the same border city and 18 dismembered bodied were left near Mexico's second-largest city, Guadalajara. Nuevo Laredo, like Monterrey, is considered Zeta territory, while Guadalajara has long been controlled by gangs loyal to Sinaloa.

The Zetas are a transient gang without real territory or a secure stream of income, unlike Sinaloa with its lucrative cocaine trade and control of smuggling routes and territory, Benitez said. But the Zetas are heavily armed while Sinaloa has a weak enforcement arm, he said. The Zetas, founded by deserters from Mexico's elite special forces, started out as assassins for the Gulf Cartel before those two gangs had a bloody split in early 2010.

The government's success in killing or arresting cartel leaders has fractured some of the big gangs into weaker, quarreling bands that in many cases are lining up with either the Zetas or Sinaloa. At least one of the two cartels is present in nearly all of Mexico's 32 states.

A year ago this month, more than two dozen people — most of them Zetas — were killed when they tried to infiltrate the Sinaloa's territory in the Pacific Coast state of Nayarit.

But their war started in earnest last fall in Veracruz, a strategic smuggling state with a giant gulf port.

A drug gang allied with Sinaloa left 35 bodies on a main boulevard in the city of Veracruz in September, and police found 32 other bodies, apparently killed by the same gang, a few days after that. The goal apparently was to take over territory that had been dominated by the Zetas.

Twenty-six bodies were found in November in Guadalajara, another territory being disputed by the Zetas and Sinaloa.

Drug violence has killed more than 47,500 people since Calderon launched a stepped-up offensive when he took office in December 2006.

Mexico is now in the midst of presidential race to replace Calderon, who by law can't run for re-election. Drug violence seems to be escalating, but none of the major candidates, Enrique Pena Nieto, Josefina Vazquez Mota or Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has referred to the body dumpings directly. All three say they will stop the violence and make Mexico a more secure place, but offer few details on how their plans would differ from Calderon's.

Benitez said the wave of violence has nothing to do with the presidential election.

"It has the dynamic of a war between cartels," he said.

The neighborhood was founded by a former slave in the 1850s and was a stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves

Haddon TownshipRacist graffiti was found on cars and home in Haddon Townnship.

HADDON TOWNSHIP — Racist graffiti has been left on homes and cars in a historically black Camden County neighborhood.

Residents say vandals hit the Saddlertown section of Haddon Township late Saturday or early Sunday. Obscenities and racial slurs were painted on at least two homes, two cars and the street.

The neighborhood was founded by a former slave in the 1850s and was a stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves.

One resident, Joan McCarthy, tells The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill that the neighborhood's history makes the motive of the vandals clear.

Police are investigating.

More Camden County news

A box of lit candles and flower pots were overturned and the glass encasement was smashed at the shrine near Route 21 in Passaic

Google MapsA street view of the Virgin Mary shrine on Hope Avenue and Madison Street in Passaic County that was vandalized.

PASSAIC — Authorities in Passaic County don't know who vandalized a shrine that surrounded a tree stump that's shaped as the Virgin Mary.

A box of lit candles and flower pots were overturned and the glass encasement was smashed at the shrine near Route 21 in Passaic.

The Record of Woodland Park reports the stump does not appear damaged.

More Passaic County news

Another man is in critical condition after being shot near Arena Lounge around 1:30 a.m

Google MapsThe intersection of Green and Mulberry streets in Newark, near where two people were shot this morning. One man died and the other is in critical condition, reports said.

UPDATE: One man killed, another injured a block from Prudential Center

NEWARK — A 23-year-old man was fatally shot a block away from the Prudential Center, according to a report on NewarkNJPatch.com.

Another man is in critical condition after being shot near Arena Lounge around 1:30 a.m. The bar is at the corner of Mulberry and Green Streets, a block south of the arena.

No one has been arrested and it's not clear if it was a targeted shooting, the report said.
A vehicle fled the scene, according to a report on WABC-7.

Related coverage:

• 3 arrests made in connection with beatings, robberies following Prudential Center concert

• Newark police: Violence may have been chief motivation in brutal Prudential Center assaults

• Group of 10 or 15 'thugs' rob and beat 5 people following Prudential Center concert, cops say

The intent of the bill is to further deter the hand-held use of cell phones while driving

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerA woman taps out a text message while driving on Interstate 287 in this 2009 file photo.

TRENTON — A Senate panel this morning advanced a bill that would make it easier for prosecutors to obtain convictions for vehicular homicide or assault by auto against someone who illegally uses a cell phone while driving and kills or injures someone.

Under the bill (S1616), approved 5-0 by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, proof someone was using a hand-held cell phone while driving can be used to show the person was being reckless, which is part of the basis for the charges.

The intent of the bill is to further deter the hand-held use of cell phones while driving.

“I always used to text and drive before my sister was taken from me,” said Angela Donato, 23, whose sister, Toni Donato-Bolis, was killed last year along with her unborn son while driving home from a doctor’s appointment two days before she was to give birth.

Donato said the other driver told her he was distracted by his phone or GPS.

“I see older people, younger people, driving and texting, and I have a stop sign on the back of my car that says stop texting, and they still continue to do it because there’s nothing that’s going to happen to them for doing it, and it breaks my heart,” she said.

Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex) said too many people try to do “10 different things no matter how dangerous it is” while driving.

“I think it’s wonderful to have a young person like yourself out there to say this is wrong, we need to stand back, slow down, and not do this,” Greenstein said.

A similar bill last legislative session did not advance past the committee stage.

Related coverage:

• Federal ban on cell phone use while driving the right move

• Ban all cell phones while driving and raise fines on scofflaws

Jammie Sparks, 24, who was convicted at trial of felony murder, robbery, aggravated assault and related charges, gave no reaction when Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin imposed sentence today in Newark

View full sizeJammie Sparks

NEWARK — A Newark man with a long criminal record was sentenced this morning to 57 years in prison for the January 2009 killing of a man who was caught in the middle of a robbery over drugs and cash.

Jammie Sparks, 24, who was convicted at trial of felony murder, robbery, aggravated assault and related charges, gave no reaction when Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin imposed sentence today in Newark.

Several relatives of the victim who were in court smiled after hearing the judge impose sentence, one pumped his fist and nodded, another wept quietly.

The victim, 33-year-old Enrique Ponce, was shot in the head during the robbery, when Sparks and two other men broke into the Delavan Avenue apartment looking for money and marijuana, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said. Ponce, who did not live there, happened to be in the apartment that night to help paint a child’s room, prosecutors said. The man who did live there, and whom Sparks and his accomplices were looking for, was pistol-whipped but not seriously hurt.

Sparks did not shoot Ponce, but was convicted at trial in March of felony murder for his role in the killing. For that offense he received a 50-year sentence. The judge also imposed a 7-year sentence to run consecutively for weapons possession. Sparks will be eligible for parole in 45 years.

At the same trial, Sparks was acquitted of fatally shooting the triggerman in the Ponce killing. That man, 19-year-old Edward Dunn, was killed two days after Ponce was shot.

In her statement to the court before sentencing, Ponce’s sister, Claritza Ramos, said the family was seeking "some justice after three long years of agony and pain. This is not a time for celebration but for closure," she said.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Matthews reminded the court about Sparks’ long criminal record — he was arrested 11 times as a juvenile and six times as an adult — and the fact that he pistol-whipped the intended robbery victim and ransacked the room. "The chain of events that led to the death of Enrique Ponce was started by the defendant," he said.

Related coverage:

• Newark man found guilty in deadly home invasion

• Cops seek three suspects in Newark homicide

This incident marks the second major crime near the Prudential Center in the past 10 days

Google MapsThe intersection of Green and Mulberry streets in Newark, near where a Union Count Corrections Officer was fatally shot this morning.

NEWARK — A "targeted" shooting early today outside a bar less than a block from Newark’s Prudential Center left a 23-year-old juvenile detention officer dead and his colleague critically injured, authorities said.

The incident was the second major crime near the arena this month.

Quinton Brown, of Hillside, who had worked at the Union County Detention Center in Linden since 2008, died around 3:30 a.m. at University Hospital in Newark, two hours after he was shot outside the Arena Lounge near Mulberry and Green streets, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said.

Brown’s co-worker — identified by Union County officials as 23-year-old Theolander Abney of Plainfield — was also shot and remains in critical condition at University Hospital, Murray said.

A dispute either inside or outside the lounge may have led to the shooting, Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio, adding that at least one of the men was targeted.

"Right now, we’re investigating whether or not there was a problem inside the bar before this," DeMaio said. "We know it’s not a robbery or anything like that."

DeMaio said investigators are trying to obtain surveillance video in an effort to track down suspects./

The Arena Lounge was closed this afternoon, and there were no signs of the attacks except for a spidered pane of glass on the front door. Two employees approached a reporter, but declined to answer questions.

Brown and Abney have worked at detention center in Linden since the fall of 2008, said Sebastian D’Elia, a spokesman for Union County.

"Obviously our sympathies go out to the families involved," D’Elia said. "This is sad."

Friends remembered Brown as a talented athlete who gutted his way through football practices at Hillside High School, where many considered him a locker room leader.

Brown took the dedication he learned on the gridiron and used it to mentor local teens who wound up at the detention center, said John Hutchinson, one of Brown’s high school football coaches.

View full size

"He was trying to help the Hillside kids out who went through the juvi system," Hutchinson said. "The messages that we were always trying to give here, he was always selling to the kids."

When he wasn’t working, Brown played for the Hudson County Bounty Hunters, a semi-professional team in the Five Star Football League.

"He was a good guy. He’s going to be truly missed," said Diane Morgan, the team’s co-owner. "He’s been a Bounty Hunter since the inception. He’s one of my family members."

Relatives said Abney always wanted to work in law enforcement, but now they’re just hoping he survives today’s pre-dawn attack.

"Hopefully he’ll be OK," said his grandfather, James Abney. "I’ve been praying hard."

The shooting was the second major crime reported near the Prudential Center this month. On May 3, a roving band of teenagers assaulted and robbed five people after rock concert at the arena, police said. The attacks left one man with a fractured eye socket and another unconscious and bloodied, according to police reports. Three of the suspects were arrested last week, and DeMaio said three more were captured over the weekend.

The Prudential Center will be crowded the next two weeks with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers facing off in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference finals. DeMaio said he will ramp up police presence when the series moves to Newark on Saturday, but insisted the area around the arena is safe.

"I’m not concerned at all. Both incidents were isolated," he said. "The incident last night, there was absolutely nothing going on downtown."

Related coverage:

• Man fatally shot a block from Prudential Center

• 3 arrests made in connection with beatings, robberies following Prudential Center concert

• Newark police: Violence may have been chief motivation in brutal Prudential Center assaults

• Group of 10 or 15 'thugs' rob and beat 5 people following Prudential Center concert, cops say

Anthony Novellino contends the office faces a conflict of interest because Prosecutor Robert Bianchi represented his son, Anthony Jr., in a drug case in Newark in 2005 when he was in private practice and may have gained insights into 'family dynamics'

DENVILLE — A Denville man accused of stabbing his ex-wife 84 times in 2010 wants a judge to reconsider his decision refusing to disqualify the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office from handling the case.

Anthony Novellino contends the office faces a conflict of interest because Prosecutor Robert Bianchi represented his son, Anthony Jr., in a drug case in Newark in 2005 when he was in private practice and may have gained insights into “family dynamics.”

Novellino Sr., 63, is accused of murder in the death of 62-year-old Judith Novellino, who was a teacher at Morris Catholic High School in Denville.

Judge David Ironson, sitting in Morristown, denied Novellino’s motion last month. The judge pointed out that another attorney from Bianchi’s firm represented Anthony Jr. and there was no evidence of “an attorney-client relationship” involving Bianchi himself.

During a court conference today, Novellino’s attorney, David Glazer, said he is seeking additional records regarding the 2005 case from the Bianchi family firm in Bloomfield and that information could bolster his claim of a conflict.

“All we were provided was time sheets,” Glazer said. “It would be helpful for the defense to look at the entire file.” Glazer said he had been surprised when Bianchi said in court papers that he “didn’t remember” the case.

Assistant Prosecutor Tia Manochio said a subpoena seeking the information was served on the Bianchi firm, but the firm objected, saying release of the records would violate attorney-client privilege.

Ironson told Glazer to submit a motion supporting his need for the additional “discovery” information, along with filing his motion to reconsider the ruling. The judge scheduled the next court date for June 11.

Related coverage:

• Conflict of interest should prohibit Morris prosecutor from handling Denville murder case, defense attorney says

• Denville man charged with killing his wife will be examined to see if he had 'diminished' mental capacity

• Denville man charged with stabbing ex-wife 84 times pleads not guilty

• Denville man accused of stabbing ex-wife 84 times seeks public defender

The extra money would help pay for additional police patrols to address quality-of-life issues in residential neighborhood

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerA view of the beach from Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach.

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Point Pleasant Beach may soon decide whether to force bars to pay an extra fee if they want to remain open until 2 a.m.

The extra money would help pay for additional police patrols to address quality-of-life issues in residential neighborhoods near the boardwalk in the Jersey Shore community.

Some residents say unruly patrons leaving the bars scream, fight, urinate and damage property on the way back to their cars.

The boardwalk bars are offering the borough $800,000 over five years. But they also want to scrap a law that takes effect in July prohibiting non-resident parking between midnight and 6 a.m. on some streets nearest the boardwalk bars.

Town officials are expected to consider the issue during a meeting tonight.

Related coverage:

• N.J. shore town may move up last call or charge bars

Police say Anderson Sotomayor, 45 was driving the wrong way down a one-way street around 1:40 a.m. Saturday

FacebookA Vineland man has been arrested on drunken driving charges four times in a little more than a month.

VINELAND — A Vineland man was arrested on drunken driving charges for the fourth time since April 9 on Saturday, according to a report on TheDailyJournal.com.

Police say Anderson Sotomayor, 45 was driving the wrong way down a one-way street around 1:40 a.m. Saturday. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and refusing to take a breathalyzer test, the report said.

Sotomayor was also picked up for drunken driving on April 9, April 11 and April 25. He is due to appear in municipal court to answer charges from the first three arrests on May 30.

In addition, Sotomayor slammed into a car at an intersection on April 2 after swerving around a school bus while children were getting off, the report said. He received five summonses for that incident.

Related coverage:

• N.J. man charged with third DUI in past 17 days; cops say man also asked for a ride home

The former International Monetary Fund leader 'suffered ... substantial harm to his professional and personal reputation,' the suit says

AFP/GettyImagesDominique Strauss-Kahn, left, is countersuing Nafissatou Diallo for $1 million.

NEW YORK — Dominique Strauss-Kahn is suing the hotel housekeeper who accused him of sexually assaulting her, saying she seriously damaged his reputation with what he calls a bogus allegation.

The former International Monetary Fund leader and French presidential hopeful struck back at maid Nafissatou Diallo's lawsuit against him with denials and a $1 million defamation claim of his own Monday, exactly a year after she told police he tried to rape her in his Manhattan hotel suite. He says whatever happened was consensual.

He was arrested, resigned from the IMF, and spent several days behind bars and three months on house arrest before prosecutors dropped the case, saying they'd lost confidence in Diallo's trustworthiness because she'd lied about her background and changed her account of what she did right after leaving Strauss-Kahn's room. Although prosecutors didn't say they believed she misrepresented the encounter itself, Strauss-Kahn's court papers blast her claims as intentional lies.

"As a direct result of her malicious and wanton false accusation, Mr. Strauss-Kahn suffered ... substantial harm to his professional and personal reputation in the United States and throughout the world," says his Bronx court filing, written by attorneys William W. Taylor III, Hugh Campbell and others. It was first reported by the New York Post.

It was submitted two weeks after the same court rejected his argument that diplomatic immunity should shield him from Diallo's suit, a ruling he may yet appeal.

Diallo's lawyers said Strauss-Kahn's defamation claim an example of the "misogynistic attitude" of a man who now faces preliminary charges of being involved in a hotel prostitution ring in France. As of last week, French investigators also studying accusations that Strauss-Kahn may have been involved in a rape during a sex party in a Washington hotel in 2010. Separately, a French writer accused him last year of having tried to rape her during a 2003 interview, an accusation prosecutors said was too old to try. He denies all the allegations.

"As with his plea for diplomatic immunity, we are entirely confident this latest desperate ploy will be swiftly rejected," Diallo attorneys Kenneth W. Thompson and Douglas H. Wigdor wrote in an email.

Diallo, now 33, says that when she arrived to clean Strauss-Kahn's suite, he abruptly chased her down, tried to yank down her pantyhose and forced her to perform oral sex. She says a ligament in her shoulder was torn, among other injuries.

The Associated Press generally doesn't name people who report being sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Diallo has done.

The married Strauss-Kahn, 63, has acknowledged there was a sexual encounter and called it a "moral failing," but insisted it wasn't forced. His new filing says he and Diallo "engaged in mutually consensual sexual acts" and says she "suffered no injuries whatsoever."

At the time, Strauss-Kahn was considered a leading Socialist candidate to take on conservative incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Socialist Francois Hollande won the election last week.