A former Jersey City man wanted on an attempted murder charge was arrested in September as one of Hudson County's "most-wanted," posted a $150,000 bail on Oct. 7 and is now charged in an Oct. 12 carjacking.

JERSEY CITY -- An Essex County man arrested in September in connection to a 2014 shooting is now accused of carjacking a woman five days after posting bail. 

Clarence Gaffney, 30, of Leslie Street in Newark, was arrested Friday and appeared in court today on the charges of carjacking, resisting arrest and two counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement officers, the criminal complaint says.  

Gaffney, who served three years in prison for drug possession and has been arrested numerous times, was picked up in Newark on the outstanding attempted murder warrant on Sept. 23, officials said.

The warrant was issued on Oct. 17, 2014, but Gaffney was never apprehended. He had been on the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's most-wanted list for nearly two years prior to his arrest on the attempted murder charge last month.

According to a police report, Gaffney shot a Jersey City man twice in the back on Martin Luther King Drive on Aug. 28, 2014. The victim, who was 21 at the time, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and underwent surgery for the gunshot wounds.

Following his arrest on the attempted murder charge, he was released from jail Oct. 7 after posting a $150,000 bail. 

In the most recent charges, Gaffney allegedly removed vehicle keys from a woman's hand as she exited a vehicle and then took the vehicle, the complaint says, adding that he was charged after she identified him in a photo array. 

During Friday's arrest, Gaffney allegedly refused to be handcuffed, injured one police with a kick to the ribs and struggled with another officer, causing back and spine injuries, the complaint says.

Gaffney's bail on the new charges will to be set by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mark Nelson.

There are also two warrants for Gaffney's arrest out of Irvington Municipal Court with a total bail of $8,000, an official said when he made his first appearance on the charges in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City this afternoon.

Nafee Cotman, 19, and Taquan Harris, 22, were indicted earlier this month for Joseph Micalizzi's murder.

NEWARK -- Two men charged in the fatal shooting of a New Jersey Institute of Technology student pleaded not guilty Monday to murder charges in state Superior Court.

Nafee Cotman, 19, and Taquan Harris, 22, were indicted earlier this month on charges of murder, felony murder in connection with the May 2 killing of Joseph Micalizzi, of Freehold, at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Prosecutors have said Micalizzi, a transfer student from Brookdale Community College, was shot in the head and the hand during what police sources described as a struggle between the men.

Harris, against the advice of counsel, directly addressed the court Monday, asking Judge Ronald Wigler to let him fire his court-appointed attorney, Sterling Kinsale.

"He ain't got my best interests at heart," Harris said of Kinsale. "I want another attorney."

Wigler denied the request, telling Harris he obviously didn't appreciate Kinsale's abilities.  

"You can't just pick a public defender of your choosing," he said.

Cotman, of Irvington, and Harris, of Newark, didn't know Micalizzi and were searching the house for money when they encountered him, prosecutors have said.

Cotman's attorney, Jonathan Gordon, told Wigler that the amount of evidence in the case means it will take some time before the defense is ready with any specific motions.

"I received discovery today," Gordon said. "It's quite voluminous."

In addition to the murder charges, Cotman and Harris also face charges of robbery, burglary, unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose.

The two are next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 17 in front of Wigler. Both men are being held on $1 million bail each.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The 10-foot-tall interactive displays will be part electronic message board, part street computer

NEWARK -- A 10-foot-tall, glass-and-chrome digital kiosk will soon be erected at Prudential Drive and Broad Street and could enhance the lives of residents, workers and visitors to the city, according to officials.

"This is the next generation's pay phone, or next two generations'," Jeff Knapp, CEO of SmartConnect, a California-based technology firm that is working on data collection censors for the kiosks.   

Knapp was among dozens of city officials, tech company executives and academics present for the unveiling of the kiosk prototype at New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday afternoon. 

Officials say there will be up to 50 such structures throughout Newark, serving as electronic message boards, public internet browsers and, eventually, data collection stations for traffic, weather, security threats and other information.

At first, the kiosks will act as digital message boards, streaming information on large video screens about local concerts, art shows, rallies or other public events, as well as commercial advertising with a local bent, said Seth Wainer, the city's chief information officer.

The kiosk, designed by Ali Faraji of the Manhattan web development firm Aptinet, will also serve as a free, Android-driven internet browser, letting members of the public use a touch screen to log onto and surf the city's home page, Google, or any other site. 

Additional space is available inside the towering kiosk to allow the addition of new technology, which officials said could include everything from scene or facial recognition to detect terror threats or criminal suspects, to wind direction and traffic data to calculate neighborhood air quality. They could also adopt technologies that may not exist just yet.

"Yogi Berra said 'It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future,' " said Donald Sebastian, president of NJIT.

The kiosks will be one of the first, and perhaps most visible projects of Brand Newark, a local program launched by Mayor Ras Baraka under President Obama's Smart Cities initiative.

Wainer, who went to work for Newark after serving in the Obama Administration, said at least 20 of the kiosks and as many as 50 of them would be erected in all areas of the city by the end of 2017. Wainer said the cost of the kiosk project was not available.

The high visibility of the kiosks, combined with their very real digital capabilities, is intended to give residents of Newark, as well as visitors and people who work there, a palpable sense that they are in a high-tech city of the future.   

Baraka, who did not attend the unveiling, said in a statement that the kiosks were "a way that the neighborhoods can feel like this innovation is all around them and they are part of it."    

The favorites menu atop the touch screen includes an icon for WBGO, Newark's public radio station known for its jazz music. Clicking on the the icon will take the user to the station's home page, and the kiosk will play jazz on its exterior speakers.

BrandNewark is part of the MetroLab Network, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that grew out of the Smart Cities initiative, which partners local governments with universities to harness technology in order to provide new or better public service. Newark is one of 38 cities nationwide, plus four counties, and a total 51 universities, that belong to the network, and the only member-city in New Jersey.

IBM and Bell Labs Nokia are other tech firms that will help develop the kiosks' future capabilities, and MetroLab's interim director, Ben Levine, told the gathering that Newark had shown itself to be one of MetroLab's more enlightened city-members by inviting participation of corporate citizens as well as academia to take part in its first big initiative. 

"This model is the right model," he said.

The event was hosted by the New Jersey Innovation Institute,  an NJIT non-profit corporation that helps develop technology into commercial products and public services.  

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Sunila Dutt is one of several people affiliated with SCM Data and MMC Systems prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office

NEWARK -- A Virginia immigration lawyer for two IT staffing companies, one of them based in Jersey City, admitted in federal court Monday that she had falsified employment records and visa paperwork for foreign contractors in order to get visas. 

The federal courthouse in Newark, where immigration lawyer Sunila Dutt pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to commit visa fraud.File photo  

Sunila Dutt, 39, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Newark to charges of conspiring to commit visa fraud and obstruct justice, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors say Dutt, of Auburn, Virginia was employed by both Virginia-based MMC Systems and SCM Data Inc., of Jersey City.

Dutt is one of several people affiliated with SCM Data and MMC Systems prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in connection with alleged visa fraud at the companies. Both of the companies are partly owned by Sowrabh Sharma, of New York, who himself was arrested in September on similar federal charges.

Prosecutors say Dutt and her fellow conspirators falsified visa paperwork, payroll records and other documents in order to lead the government to believe the workers already had full-time employment and annual salaries, prerequisites for an H1-B visa.

In fact, prosecutors say, the workers were paid only when they were placed with clients of SCM Data and MMC Systems.

Prosecutors say workers were required to pay the companies their gross wages in cash, a smaller portion of which would be paid back in the form of bogus payroll checks.

Dutt faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Her sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 6, 2017.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Today the most egregiously derelict landlord is assured a steady and uninterrupted governmental cash flow no matter the tenant's assertion in court. It is time for significant statutory reform of the landlord-tenant laws in New Jersey.

By Paula A. Franzese

Esperanza Menendez-Jackson is a single working mother who lived with her three children in a government subsidized apartment building in Newark. Early into the lease, she discovered that the apartment was infested with bed bugs and was without heat, hot water and a working oven. The one bathroom suffered from a serious mold problem.

She and her children wore layers of heavy clothing and on the coldest nights sought shelter with family and friends. To avoid the spread of bed bugs, the family endured the daily ritual of shedding, bagging and changing their clothes in the hallway each time they exited their home.

Over the course of that tortured year, the landlord did little to address the significant problems and health hazards on site. When Menendez-Jackson finally withheld rent in an attempt to correct the problems herself, the landlord moved to evict her. Throughout the protracted court proceedings, she was ordered to deposit her portion of the rent into court to show her good faith.

Astonishingly, however, during those many months, the landlord continued to receive the lion's share of the $1,800 monthly rent payment from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

In that way, Menendez-Jackson became voiceless. She could continue to protest and assert her claims in court but still the landlord's principal cash flow was not at risk.

For the past year my colleague Abbott Gorin, law student David Guzik and I chronicled the experiences of low-income tenants like Menendez-Jackson in Essex County. Our study will be published this month in the Rutgers Law Review.

We looked at the 40,000 residential eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent that were brought in 2014 in Essex County and found, remarkably, that only 80 of those cases - or 0.0002 percent of all residential eviction actions -- had tenants asserting the defense that the premises they inhabited were substandard.

That figure is startling, particularly given the far greater statistical likelihood that serious housing code violations exist in rental units in Newark and its vicinity.

That defense to nonpayment of rent, known as "breach of the implied warranty of habitability," is supposed to guarantee residential tenants that the apartments they rent are livable and in good condition.

It was created to give aggrieved tenants who are for example without heat or running water or who are suffering from rodent, bug or mold infestation the right to lawfully withhold rent until the landlord makes the necessary repairs. It is meant to be a defense to an eviction action. Yet, in most cases that guarantee goes unheeded.

Even when represented by counsel, the system is stacked against tenants and the larger aim of improving stocks of affordable housing.

Today the most egregiously derelict landlord is assured a steady and uninterrupted governmental cash flow no matter the tenant's assertion in court. To add insult to injury, every residential tenant named in a nonpayment of rent action faces the very real likelihood that he or she will show up on a "tenant blacklist" or central registry maintained by private agencies that is the equivalent of a miserable credit rating. Tenants placed on that list find themselves denied future renting opportunities.

It is time for significant statutory reform of the landlord-tenant laws in New Jersey.

* A mechanism must be established to allow coordination between housing courts, housing inspectors and state and federal rent subsidizing agencies to stop government cash flow to derelict landlords and instead allow those sums to be applied to preserving and increasing stocks of inhabitable, affordable housing.

* Judges need quick computerized access to the given apartment's rental history and housing inspection reports and the means to alert government subsidizing agencies to landlord noncompliance with housing code standards.

* The practice of "tenant blacklisting" must be hemmed. Tenants identified in reports should also be afforded the opportunity to clear their names.

This is an important moment for needed reform, as the plight of the working poor and those left out of the promise of decent housing come into sharper focus.

Paula Franzese, the Peter W. Rodino professor of law at Seton Hall School of Law, is one of the country's leading experts in property law as well as government ethics.

The Newark police department has started a recruitment drive to increase the number of block watch groups.

Robbie Seabrooks made sure he wasn't going to miss the block watch recruitment meeting with the Newark Police Department.

He left his job at Port Newark, where he operates a machine that stacks shipping containers, three hours early.

"That's how important it was for me,'' Seabrooks said. "This is something I feel good about. This is big.''

The city police department tips its hat to you, sir, and to Valerie Crute, the leader of your West Ward neighborhood, who rounded up 10 residents to come along.

In fact, the department also thanks the 20 other people who sat with them last week for a couple of hours of block watch training. Block watches are a practice that, unfortunately, has faded over the past 11 years in the city.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

Anthony Ambrose, the city's public safety director, said there had been more than 200 block watch organizations across the city's five wards little more than a decade ago, but - for one reason or another - they've dwindled to about 70 groups. 

He said many of the groups most likely became dormant because people moved away and the interest waned.

"After doing an assessment at community meetings, there was definitely a need to increase block watch groups,'' Ambrose said. "In order to have community trust and community engagement, you have to be a partner with the community.''

The department's goal is to create as many block watch groups as possible, but for now, the realistic target is to get back to the 200 it once had.

West Ward residents on a three-block stretch of Sanford Place - from Kerrigan Boulevard to Marsac Place - are all in. For them, it's about coming together to ward off potential problems, not because their neighborhood is on the decline.

"I love and appreciate this area,'' said Crute, who moved into the neighborhood last year.

On her immediate wish list, Crute said, are some speed bumps on Ellery Avenue to slow down speeding motorists along the cross street.

And, she said, a four-way stop sign would be nice where Sanford intersects with Kerrigan.

For the most part, though, this section of Sanford  is peaceful and genteel. Kids are not hanging on the corner. The tree-lined block of modest, well-kept homes is pretty much litter-free. When it appears, Seabrooks picks it up.

At their first block meeting, 30 residents showed up. Some people know each other, some don't, but Crute said they're working on it.

"We want to be a proactive group to get things done and keep Newark looking nice.''

Across the city, a church on South 10^th Street, between 15^th and 16^th avenues, has taken up the block watch cause for its neighborhood.

Good News Sounds of Pentecost Ministries has been cutting grass and cleaning lots near the church, even though they don't belong to the church.

"Anything that we can do to help the area that we're in, that's what we want to do,'' said Leslie Kennedy, outreach and public advocate for the church.

The church even locked the gate to one of the lots, where someone had been routinely dumping debris. However,  Kennedy said the lock was removed and replaced with another one, presumably by the owner. 

"We're not supposed to be on the property, but we don't want our church to look bad,'' Kennedy said.

Meanwhile, Kennedy said debris continues to be dumped by whomever got rid of the church's lock.

At the training session with residents, police Lt. Wilbur Cole explained the do's and don'ts of block watch groups and the obvious reason why they exist.

" Crime feeds on empathy,'' Cole said. "If you just mind your business, your neighborhood becomes vulnerable.''

Forming a block watch group, he said, allows residents to be an additional set of "eyes and ears" for the police. He stressed that it's not to be a vigilante group.

 MORE CARTER: Dancing South Orange crossing guard moves with the music

Alice Turner, a resident in the Central Ward, she came to the recruitment meeting to rekindle a relationship with the police department.  

She said her community is making a comeback after it fell off a bit when the previous block watch group dissipated. But Turner, who has lived on Littleton Avenue for 21 years, said some New Yorkers have been buying property on her street.

She believes the interest is related to downtown Newark development, a revitalization that Turner expects to "trickle on up'' to her street.

"I'm not going anywhere,'' Turner said. "I have no reason to move.''

Neither does Harold White, who lives on Marsac Place, around the corner from Seabrooks and Crute.

"I'm like rock 'n' roll,'' White said. "I'm here to stay.''

The Newark Police Department is hoping to re-create that lasting relationship with residents, too.

The meeting last week was the first training session, but there's another one on Thursday at police headquarters on Clinton Avenue and Bergen Street.  If you can't make it, call (973) 877-9552 to find out when another meeting will be held.

The department will be looking for you to show up.

Please do. 

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL

Some sections of New Jersey could see record high temperatures set this week, but the heat won't last too long. Watch video

What goes up must come down. 

We've all heard that expression, and that's exactly what will happen this week with wild temperature swings taking place in New Jersey.

Temperatures in New Jersey are expected to run 10 to 20 degrees above normal on Tuesday and Wednesday, but a cool down is on the way this weekend. (AccuWeather) 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the mercury is forecast to soar into the low to mid-80s -- which may break records in some parts of the state -- thanks to a ridge of high pressure that's pushing warm southerly air into the eastern United States.  

However, our taste of summer-like weather will be short-lived. By the start of this weekend, a dip in the jet stream will allow cooler air from Canada to drop into New Jersey, said Lance Franck, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's regional office in Mount Holly.

As a result, the daily highs of 80-plus degrees will be replaced by highs in the low 60s on Saturday and Sunday -- and morning lows in the low to mid-40s.

Big temperature fluctuations like this are not unusual in October, Franck noted.

UPDATE: Records fall as warm spell lingers

"We're not talking record cold by any stretch," he said. In fact, the temperatures forecasted for this weekend will only be several degrees below normal for this time of the year, although it likely will feel much cooler because of Tuesday and Wednesday's big warmup.

"It's just the nature of fall, where if we get a warm spell we tend to have large variations in temperatures," Franck said. "It certainly can be a rollercoaster, and that's what we're getting."

Hottest October days

New Jersey has had its fair share of 80-degree days in October, but only a handful of 90-degree days, according to climate data from the National Weather Service and New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson at Rutgers University.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Garden State in October was 97 degrees in Flemington on Oct. 5, 1941, Robinson said. Many other climate stations across the state notched record monthly highs that day, including Freehold and Plainfield, both of which hit 94 degrees, and Newark, which hit 93 degrees.

In Atlantic City, the highest October temperature ever recorded was 91 degrees, on Oct. 6, 1941, according to weather service data.

The latest date in October that the mercury climbed to 90 or higher in New Jersey was Oct. 18, when Hightstown hit 91 degrees in 1908, Robinson said.

Among the daily record highs being watched this week are:

* Atlantic City: 83 degrees on Oct. 18, 1908, and 80 degrees on Oct. 19, 1991.

* Newark: 80 degrees on Oct. 18, 1964, and 82 degrees on Oct. 19, 1945.

* Trenton: 82 degrees on Oct. 18, 1908, and 83 degrees on Oct. 19, 1963.

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The movement that started modestly at Montclair State University three years ago has expanded globally.

MONTCLAIR -- A few years ago, it started as an idea in an office on the Montclair State University campus.

Now in its third iteration, Women Entrepreneurship Week - the only week-long celebration of its kind - is an international movement with events happening in 12 countries on 6 continents.

"The first year (when Women Entrepreneurship launched in October of 2014), we had events here at Montclair State...and at three other universities in New Jersey," said Sharon Waters, the program manager of MSU's Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship, which hosts the week each year.

"Now, we have expanded globally."

Sweet school spirit: MSU to name official donut

Waters said the idea behind Women Entrepreneurship Week is to increase the visibility of female entrepreneurship, and inspire, motivate, and support women involved in business.

To that end, MSU hosts events and guest speakers throughout the week addressing issues women in business face, and partners with other colleges and nonprofits across the world that all host similar events this week.

This year, organizations in seven other states, as well as 20 in New Jersey, are celebrating Women Entrepreneurship Week.

As part of its slate of events, Montclair State will host Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno Wednesday at a conference.

Guadagno has taken part in the event since its conception. This year, Gov. Chris Christie officially proclaimed Oct. 15 through 22 "Women Entrepreneurship Week" in the state of New Jersey.

"It is vital to continue to empower women in the workforce, and to remain advocates for one another in all walks of life," Guadagno said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.

"This year is especially meaningful with the proclamation, to officially have the Women Entrepreneurship Week program recognized by our state and internationally."

The WEW events are free and open to the public. See a list of Montclair's events here, and a run down of all of the institutions hosting events here.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

This new play by Ben Clawson's recounts a meeting between President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir

Did you know that, in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt camped for several days in the woods of Yosemite with a Scottish-born naturalist named John Muir, who was instrumental in convincing the president to extend federal protection over vast swathes of as yet unadulterated Western land?

I confess that before seeing Ben Clawson's world premiere play "King of the Mountains" at West Orange's Luna Stage I was unfamiliar with this episode. Now I know, but I'm still not sure why I should care. The New Jersey-based Clawson injects some interpersonal tension between the two men, and Roosevelt begrudgingly engages in some soul searching. But at bottom this is a story we have seen many times before: a powerful man finds unexpected wisdom in a humble counterpart. 

A two-hander featuring Ian Gould as the President and Rik Walter as Muir, "King of the Mountains" unfolds over several days in the wilderness and flashes occasionally forward to explore the lasting effects of this unique camping excursion. Roosevelt has requested the company of Muir after reading his work about the great outdoors, and yearns for a few days in nature free of the demands of office. For his part, Muir is determined to use his audience with the president to share his concern over the human colonization of nature. These differing agendas clash as Roosevelt forcefully refuses to talk politics and Muir remains undeterred. 

Gould's Roosevelt manages to be both bombastic and petulant. Often he boasts proudly of his fighting spirit and stalwart political fortitude, but just as frequently we find him whining about his responsibilities or about Muir's refusal to pay attention to him. Walter's performance is the play's highlight, as his Muir is studied, passionate and insightful. Clawson's script has Muir beating the same drum for most of the show's ninety minutes, but Walter admirably finds room to drum with some nuance.

One strong performance aside, the production does not offer much that is dynamic. Set designers Christopher and Justin Swader render Luna's versatile black box in a simple square around one set piece suggestive of the vast woods. Director Cheryl Katz seems to struggle to keep her two actors busy during their long, talky scenes.

A world premiere commissioned by Luna, "King of the Mountains" is at once pedantic and one-note. The play appears most interested in the ethical quandaries of Roosevelt and the passion of Muir, but Clawson finds no compelling way to dramatize these quandaries. And what we're supposed to take from all this, beyond a glimpse into a peculiar moment in national history, remains anyone's guess.

King of the Mountains

Luna Stage Company

555 Valley Road, West Orange

Tickets: $32-$37; available by phone (973) 395-5551 or online at www.lunastage.org; through October 30

Patrick Maley may be reached at patrickjmaley@gmail.com. Find him on Twitter @PatrickJMaley. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

The NAACP resolution for a charter moratorium stands at the heart of demands for justice and equity, challenging us to reverse the steady march backward to separate and unequal school systems.

Lauren Wells At the 107th National Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) last Saturday the board of directors ratified a resolution calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion and increased oversight in the governance and practices of charter schools. In the days leading up to the convention and the...

Related: N.J. black activist to NAACP: Stop denying families education options

Lauren Wells is a professorial lecturer at the American University School of Education

Suspect arrested at Hudson Count hotel, according to police.

Lamont L. West, 37 (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety) 

NEWARK -- A 37-year-old man wanted for a shooting Sunday night was arrested at a Harrison hotel, authorities said Monday.

Lamont L. West, of Irvington, faces charges of aggravated assault and weapons offenses for shooting a 37-year-old man near South 20th and 17th Avenue shortly before 11 p.m., according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. The shooting victim was treated at University Hospital.

Members of the city's Fugitive Apprehension Team tracked West to the hotel, where he was seen driving a BMW in the parking lot, Ambrose said. Police pulled over the car and arrested West without incident.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Store clerk fatally shot Tuesday morning in the city

NEWARK -- A 55-year-old store clerk died after he was shot at the West Runyon Street deli where he worked Tuesday morning, officials said.

Felix Rosario, of Newark, was shot while at his job at Dalbert Grocery on Runyon Street, near Ingraham Place, and died at University Hospital around 9:15 a.m., Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.  

There were no arrests and no suspects have been identified, according to authorities. The circumstances leading up to the shooting were not immediately clear. 

Members of the prosecutor's office crime scene unit and detectives were working at the corner store hours after the shooting. City police blocked off an area about a block away from shop. 

Anyone with information was urged to call the prosecutor's office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

John DeRosa listened on as a second co-defendant gave testimony today which also implicated him in the murder of a man gunned down during the robbery of his Kearny jewelry store in 2009.

JERSEY CITY -- A man involved in a 2009 jewelry store heist turned on his partner in crime today in court, testifying that the accused killer pulled the trigger that took the life of the Kearny store owner.

Edmir Sokoli, 29, testified that on the morning of Aug. 18, 2009 he and John DeRosa, 58, both of Bloomfield, entered Rachel Jewelry on Kearny Avenue wearing sunglasses, fake beards and wigs.

"As soon as he walked in (DeRosa) took the gun out and said 'This is a robbery. Don't do anything stupid. I know you have insurance."

Inside the store they found Xavier Egoavil, 47, of Kearny, and his mother. Sokoli said Egoavil "just backed up and said 'Take whatever' as Sokoli began stuffing jewelry into a garbage bag.   

"When I was doing this, I looked to the left and (Egoavil) was coming forward and DeRosa swings his right hand to make him back up," Sokoli said. "That only made (Egoavil) more aggressive and DeRosa started shooting him."

DeRosa is charged with the murder of Egoavil, while Sokoli and a third defendant, getaway driver Elvis Feratovic, 30, of Bloomfield, have pleaded guilty to lesser crimes. DeRosa is faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.  

The plan was to leave through the rear door, but Sokoli said the gunfire startled him and he ran out the front door and "ran as fast as I could," around the corner where he jumped into Feratovic's waiting BMW.

"Once I got in Elvis' car I said 'He shot the man. He shot the man,' and Elvis' was like 'I told you this was a bad idea. We shouldn't have did it,'" Sokoli testified.

He said DeRosa was out of breath when he got into the car moments later and said "'I had to shoot him.'"

"I turned around and grabbed the gun from (DeRosa) because he just shot this guy and me and Elvis are the only ones that can recognize him," Sokoli said "I hand him the bag of jewelry and I grabbed the gun from him and we just left."

As Feratovic testified last week, Sokoli said they dropped DeRosa off at his nearby SVU. He said he and Feratovic fled in the BMW, throwing the gun in a sewer a few blocks away. DeRosa fled in the SUV.

Investigators got a break in the case when Kearny police received a tip that that Feratovic's car was being worked on at a Passaic County auto repair shop to alter its appearance. That led to the three arrest, officials said.

Feratovic and Sokoli were charged with felony murder but both pleaded guilty to robbery and agreed to testify against DeRosa. Each faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced. Both have been in jail since not long after the fatal shooting.

During cross examination, DeRosa's attorney, Scott Finkenauer, worked to shake Sokoli's credibility by his testimony was motivated by a desire to escape a longer sentence.  

"What sentence do you hope to get when you are sentenced?" Finkenauer asked.

"That's up to the judge," Sokoli replied.

"I'm saying what sentence do you hope to get" the lawyer pressed.

Sokoli replied, "Whatever is best for me."

New temperature records have been set in some New Jersey cities, as the mercury soars into the 80s. Watch video

New daily temperature records have been set at two major climate sites across New Jersey as the wave of summer-like warmth continues.

The temperature in Newark hit 85 degrees at about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, shattering the city's old daily record of 80 degrees, which was set on Oct. 18, 1964. 

In Trenton, the city's previous high for Oct. 18 was 82 degrees, set in 1908, but it was topped by one degree Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Big warmup to give way to big cool down

As of 3 p.m., Atlantic City was one degree short of tying its daily record high of 83 degrees, New York City was one degree shy of its record high of 82 and Philadelphia was two degrees below its record high of 85, the weather service reported.

The summer-like heat is the result of a high pressure ridge that is pushing warm southerly air into the eastern United States. Temperatures are expected to hit the low to mid-80s on Tuesday and Wednesday before retreating to the low 70s on Thursday and Friday as a cold front brings scattered showers to the region.

Then, during the weekend, it should feel like autumn again as daytime temperatures hover in the upper 50s to low 60s and morning temperatures dip into the 40s.

Hottest spots on Tuesday

As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, the hottest temperature readings across New Jersey were 86 in Hawthorne and Somerville, and 85 in Cherry Hill, Cream Ridge, Hamilton, Howell, Moorestown, Newark, New Brunswick, Sicklerville, Stewartsville (Greenwich Township), Teterboro, Toms River and Wrightstown.

Among the towns that hit 84 degrees were Basking Ridge, Berkeley Township, Caldwell, Cherry Hill, Hillsborough, Hopewell, Mansfield, Morristown, Pittstown, Wayne and West Deptford.

Temperature data was provided by the National Weather Service and the New Jersey Weather and Climate Network at Rutgers University. 

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Faith Ringgold has captured the city's anniversary celebration in a silk screen.

NEWARK -- So far this year, hundreds of events have commemorated the 350th anniversary of the founding of the state's largest city. Now, Newark has commissioned a work of art that will make the recognition permanent.

Faith Ringgold - the 86-year-old activist and renowned artist perhaps best known for her story quilts and Oprah Winfrey-commissioned tribute to Maya Angelou - was tapped by the Newark Celebration 350 Committee to create a print to celebrate the city's landmark birthday. Ringgold, who lives in Englewood, called her print, which depicts people walking along the river while holding 350th anniversary balloons, a "tribute to this dynamic city and its wonderful residents."

Ringgold signing a print of the artwork. (Courtesy NC 350)
 

"It is my hope that this print will welcome everyone to gaze upon my impressions of Newark as a great land of beauty and hope with infinite possibilities," she said in a statement.

The 42-by-30-inch silk screen titled "A Day in Newark's 350th Year Celebration" will be unveiled at an Oct. 26 fete at the Newark Museum honoring Ringgold's six-decade career.

NC 350 is also selling a limited number of signed prints of the work. Organizers said the artwork adds to the movement, which has included a varied lineup of events all year celebrating various aspects of Newark's history and culture.

"As one of the finest American artists, we are proud to have the artistry of Faith Ringgold play a significant role in this year's celebration," said NC350 Chair Junius Williams.  "We thank her for this joyous work about Newark."

50 people you didn't realize were from Newark

Among Ringgold's most renowned works are "The American People Series: Die, 1967," which was recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, and story quilt "Tar Beach," which is part of the Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Several face drug charges

(File photo) 

Plainclothes detectives conducted surveillance around noon Monday near South 18th Street and Avon Avenue after complaints of drug dealing in the area, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

Alquan Jenkins, 27, Quadri Cureton, 34, both of Newark and Camall Baines, 31 of, Orange were spotted loitering in front of a South 18th Street building, the sheriff said. With detectives watching, two men exchanged items for cash with Cureton and Baines.

Authorities followed the duo -- identified as Robert Lee, 48 of Irvington, and John Gosser, 27 of Newark -- and stopped them away from the exchange, Fontoura added. Sheriff's officers found the two had glassine packets of heroin, stamped with "PASSION."

During the search, a sheriff's officer was stuck with a needle that Lee was carrying, according to Fontoura.

Irvington man charged in Newark shooting

Back at the original area under surveillance, detectives saw Jenkins move "small packets" from the trunk of his 2000 Cadillac de Ville and put them under the hood of his car, according to authorities. 

"At this point, our sheriff's officers moved in to further investigate," Fontoura said in a statement. "From under the hood of Jenkin's car we discovered and seized an additional 1,540 heroin-filled glassine envelops."

Cureton had three decks of heroin and Baines and one deck of the drug, the sheriff said. Baines, Cureton, Lee and Gosser were charged with various drug offenses. Jenkins also faces charges including possession with the intent to distribute drugs within 1,000 feet of Madison Avenue School.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The statement of the former girlfriend of man on trial for murdering a Kearny jewelry store owner in 2009 was played to jurors this afternoon and they heard her say the defendant told her about the robbery during which the murder occurred.

JERSEY CITY -- The former girlfriend of a man now facing life in prison for murdering a Kearny jewelry store owner in 2009 told investigators she learned of the robbery gone wrong when he told her about it later that day.

A video recorded statement that Marissa Fuzio gave to homicide investigators following the fatal shooting of Xavier Egoavil  Aug. 18. 2009, was played for jurors today in the trial of John DeRosa, 58, of Bloomfield.

"He got home and told me he had robbed a jewelry store and it want bad," Fuzio says during the videotaped interview. She said that day DeRosa had a bag and "he just pulled out handfuls of jewelry... There was a lot of rings and bracelets..."

She said he threw it all on the bed in the Newark apartment they shared.

"He told me that they had, you know after the fact, he told me they were thinking there was just going to be an old man in the store that day but when they got in there was this big guy, his son I think, and when he came at him he shot at him," Fuzio told investigators. "He wasn't sure if he killed him but he shot him like four times."

Edmir Sokoli, 29, testified that on the morning of the robbery he and DeRosa, entered Rachel Jewelers in Kearny wearing sunglass, fake beards and wigs, while Elvis Feratovic, 30, of Bloomfield, waited in the getaway car.

On the video, Fuzio says that prior to the robbery, she and DeRosa went to a Manhattan store and he picked out two wigs and two beards and dropped them on the counter before walking out. She said she paid for the expensive items in cash and DeRosa told her they were for some investigative work he was going to do for a friend.

Fuzio also said that after the robbery she and DeRosa took the jewelry to Manhattan and he got out of the car for a while and when he came back he didn't have the jewelry anymore.

In the video, Fuzio stated that on the day of the robbery DeRosa "left early in the morning that day, on Tuesday, and then a couple hours later he called me and he was like, he was telling me there was a bag hanging from the front door and to go throw it away but not in the garbage can."

She said the bag contained a trimmed beard and a bottle of glue used to attach the beard. She said she discarded it at a convenience store. 

While on the stand, Fuzio said she was a heroin addict at the time and shortly after the robbery she went into rehab. Defense attorney Scott Finkenauer noted that at that time she was wanted in a number of burglaries, later pleaded guilty to those charges and received a sentence of probation. Fuzio said she was in trouble again after suffering a relapse and failing a drug test, triggering a violation of probation.

Fuzio said she knew she had made statements to police but could not remember any of the specifics of the interviews. That triggered Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Leo Rinaldi to ask that the tapes be played rather than elicit the information from Fuzio via testimony. Finkenauer objected, saying he could not cross-examine someone who has no memory of what she had said. In the end, the judge allowed the jury to hear the tapes.

The defense attorney said Fuzio gave different statements on various dates while talking to homicide detectives. He played the video of the first statement made by Fuzio, about a week after the robber, in which she said that on the day of the robbery, she and DeRosa "were at the beach - Long Branch." She also said, "I know it wasn't John because I'm with him all the time."

He played the video of the first stament made by Fuzio, about a week after the robbery, in which she said that on that day she and DeRosa "were at the beach - Long Branch." She also said, "I know it wasn't John Because I'm with him all the time."

The detective asks, "Maybe he said something after the fact, Monday of Tuesday were messed up?"

"No" she replied on the recording, adding "I don't know anything."

Sokoli testified for the state during the trial and Feratovic testified against DeRosa as well. 

Testimony will resume tomorrow before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Patrick Arre in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.

Orange, East Orange men face charges after they allegedly tried to evade authorities

(File photo) 

Kassan Messiah, 18, of East Orange, and Shaquille Hargrove, 20, of Orange, were charged with receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and hindering apprehension. Orange police said the duo are also suspected in several carjackings in the area.

Both men were arrested separately on South Harrison Street and Webster Place in East Orange after authorities chased the stolen 2007 Toyota RAV4 they were riding in, officials said. There were no injuries from the pursuit and crash. The Toyota was reported as carjacked earlier last week, according to officials. 

"Our officers, with the assistance of East Orange police, have taken two dangerous criminals off our streets before anyone could be hurt," Orange Mayor Dwayne D. Warren said in a statement. "This is our professional law enforcement at its finest."

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Record-setting high temps are possible for a second straight day on Wednesday

New Jersey's brief flirtation with summer-like weather should last one more day.

Records fell on Tuesday and more could be broken Wednesday (see update below) as temperatures will climb into the low 80s once more.

Wet weather might be headed our way on Thursday and Friday, according to AcciWeather.com. (AccuWeather.com)  

There will be a mix of sun and clouds, the National Weather Service says. The presence of clouds "could preclude record-breaking warmth in some spots," the service said in its morning forecast discussion.

Temperatures are expected to peak at 85 in Newark, 84 in Trenton and 82 in Atlantic City. The Oct. 19 records are 82 in Newark (set in 1945), 83 in Trenton (set in 1963) and 80 in Atlantic City (set in 1991).

Another mild evening is ahead as the mercury falls only into the 60s.

It gets a bit cooler Thursday when highs only reach the low 70s. There's about a 30 percent chance of showers. Otherwise expect partly sunny conditions. 

There's a chance of rain Thursday night and then a greater likelihood of precipitation on Friday.

A dry, but cool weekend follows with highs only in the 60s both Saturday and Sunday.

UPDATE: Daily temperature records were broken Wednesday in Newark, Atlantic City, Trenton, New York City and Philadelphia, according to afternoon climate reports from the National Weather Service. The high in Newark and Philadelphia reached 86 degrees, the high in Atlantic City and Trenton reached 85, and the high in Central Park in Manhattan reached 84. 

NJ Advance Media staff writer Len Melisurgo contributed to this report. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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