"If it was in my power to give my life for the child's life I would."

JERSEY CITY -- Despite asking for forgiveness, a Newark man was sentenced to 11 years in prison today for a West New York hit-and-run that claimed the life of a 7-year-old girl and seriously injured her mother in February 2016.

"I put myself in their place and if it would have happened to my child, I would have thought the same as what they are thinking of me perhaps," Fabian Rodriguez, 33, said in court today to the parents of Shaila Pichardo.

The 7-year-old died of head trauma after being struck by Rodriguez's SUV in the crosswalk at Van Buren Place and 61st Street on Feb. 19, 2016.

"If it was in my power to give my life for the child's life I would," said Rodriguez, who tearfully asked for forgiveness of the girl's family before being sentenced by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mark Nelson in Jersey City.

His sister, Ana Rodriguez, described her brother as an excellent worker and person who helped her family because her husband is disabled and money was tight. She said she came to the United States from Ecuador first and he came later. "It's just us two," she told the judge.

"He got married, he got a family, but he never forgot about me and my daughters," the sister said. "The only thing I ask the family, your honor -- a little forgiveness. Is it too much for a little forgiveness."

The girl's father, Javier Pichardo, and mother, Yeime Coria Vital, held up a large picture of their daughter and cried when the father addressed the court. Pichardo said he wasn't thinking about forgiveness. He said he and his wife are destroyed.  

"I'm just asking for justice in the name of my daughter," Pichardo said. "My mother passed away two months after my daughter... Honestly, I'm not well. I understand what you people are saying but I did not come her to look them in the face or talk to them. Sir, all I want is justice -- from the bottom of my heart."

Defense attorney Brooke Burnett made a long and impassioned plea for lenience for Rodriguez noting at the age of 34, he had never been arrested before.  

The attorney said he worked at the same company for 14 years where he worked his way up the ladder and made a good salary to support his wife and two young children. He left for work that morning heading to Brooklyn to pick up material when he ran into traffic and took a detour that brought him to the intersection in West New York.

Barnett noted that her client was not charged regarding the crash, but only regarding his actions afterward. She said video captured the crash and shows the girl being run over. The mother is heard screaming "You killed my daughter" in Spanish.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Leo Hernandez urged Nelson to abide by the plea deal and sentence Rodriguez to 11 years. Before meting out the sentence, Nelson said what the defendant did was no momentary lapse but a course of conduct lasting 24 hours.  

"It was cold and calculated because he cooked up a scheme with (his wife) to cover up the crime," Nelson said. Rodriguez's wife reported the SUV stolen within 20 minutes of the collision and the pair had it washed and had stickers removed from it.

The judge said that when police showed up at the couple's home 24 hours later, Rodriguez stuck by his story that the SUV was stolen. Nelson said Rodriguez lied until police told him, "We have you on the video getting out of the car." The judge said it was only then that Rodriguez came clean.

Nelson sentenced Rodriguez to seven years in prison for leaving the scene of a fatal accident, four years in prison for endangering an injured victim, regarding the girl's mother, and four years in prison for hindering apprehension. The first two counts will be served consecutively and the last concurrently.

Rodriguez's wife, Joanna Rosas-Alvarez, 26, was not in the SUV at the time of the collision but was charged with tampering with evidence and obstruction. She was allowed to enter the Pretrial Intervention Program today and if she completes a period of supervised release, the charges will not remain on her record. 

Shots fired Friday afternoon.

NEWARK -- A shooting in Newark's South Ward left one person dead and another person injured Friday afternoon, authorities said. 

Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said the surviving victim was in stable condition after gunfire erupted near the 400 block of Hawthorne Avenue.

Chief Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the homicide unit, identified the person who died as a male. 

Police cordoned off an area of the mostly residential block, near a community garden and a city elementary school. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrived at the scene as the investigation unfolded.

Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, manager of the Newark Office of Clergy Affairs, hugged a distraught woman. A man at the scene said he knew the person who was killed.

Prosecutor's office detectives, city police and medical examiner's office officials were at the scene late Friday afternoon. 

Additional details were not immediately available.

The killing was the 13th murder in the state's largest city this year, according to police records. There were at least 22 slayings through the same period last year.

Aristide Economopoulos contributed to this report. 

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

The Essex County Cherry Bloosom Festival at Branch Brook Park starts April 8.

NEWARK -- Six events, a cell phone tour, and a tree planting campaign will headline Essex County's 41st Annual Cherry Blossom Festival - a yearly celebration of the largest collection of cherry blossoms in the country, at Newark's Branch Brook Park.

"The natural beauty of the cherry blossoms has been attracting visitors to the park since they were first planted there in the late 1920s," County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said in an announcement of the festival's schedule of events Friday.

"The festival has helped unify the community, highlighted the benefits of Branch Brook Park and the local neighborhood, and enabled the public to enjoy the blooming trees in a variety of ways."

The story behind the cherry blossoms

This year's festival, which runs from April 8 through the 23, will showcase the park's more than 5,000 trees, and will include a fun run, family day, and a bike race.

"Nature does nurture, so there never is a bad day in Branch Brook Park," Branch Brook Park Alliance Co-Chair Barbara Bell Coleman said in a release about the events.

"There is something magical when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and they really become the incandescent stars of the landscape."

According to the county, this year's events include:

• The Cherry Blossom Challenge Annual Bike Race through the park on April 8. Registration for the various races starts at 7 a.m. on Heller Parkway. Admission to the park is free, but racers will need to pay registration fees.
• The Cherry Blossom 10K Run through the park on April 9. Registration for the USATF-sanctioned race can be done in advance, or starting at 8 a.m. in person at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center on Mill Street. Part of the proceeds from the race will benefit the Special Olympics. 
• Cherry Blossom Guided Tours run Sunday, April 16 through Saturday, April 22 at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. The 45-minute trolley tours are $5 per person. 
• The One-Mile Fun Run and Walk is Saturday, April 22. The free event, which starts at 8 a.m. at the park's Southern Division, Prudential Concert Grove, is open to individuals, families, and school groups. 
• The Essex County Family Day, on April 22, runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Events include live performances, children's activities, a fishing derby and more. Admission is free, but food and other merchandise will be available for purchase.
• Bloomfest is a family day in the park on April 23. Its schedule of events includes cultural demonstrations, children's activities, live music, a crafter's marketplace, food and more.
• Historic Cell Phone Tours are self-guided walks through the park that stop at 72 spots.
• The Cherry Blossom Tree Planting Campaign is a fundraising effort aimed at adding even more trees to the park's collection. Each new tree costs the park $225.

Get more information about all of the festival's events and initiatives here.

Deborah Burton was shot to death in Newark on March 13.

NEWARK -- Authorities have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the March 13 shooting death of a Maplewood grandmother.

Deborah Burton, 62, was shot near 43 Third Street in Newark at 1:15 p.m., authorities have said. She was pronounced dead at University Hospital at 2:41 p.m. -- one of two killings in the city in two days. The Essex prosecutor's office announced the reward from the Sheriff's Crime Stoppers Program Friday.

Mom taught me 'how to smile'

While family members have speculated Burton was killed in a carjacking, authorities have said there is "no evidence" that she was killed in a carjacking.

Family and community members held a rally in Burton's memory earlier this week, demanding peace in the city, and answers in her killing.

"It's a big mystery," Burton's cousin, Larry Wilcox, of Irvington, said at the rally. "My mind is flying."

Burton leaves behind four adult children, and two grandchildren.

Anyone with information about the killing is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 877-847-7432.

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

Through five full days of testimony and what seemed like endless jury deliberations, the family of Dustin Friedland sat with quiet dignity. Their eternal grief was internalized, their emotions capped by either decorum or courage, or whatever keeps people together at times like this. Wayne and Rose Friedland, Dustin's parents, were there for every minute of testimony in the...

Through five full days of testimony and what seemed like endless jury deliberations, the family of Dustin Friedland sat with quiet dignity.

Their eternal grief was internalized, their emotions capped by either decorum or courage, or whatever keeps people together at times like this.

Wayne and Rose Friedland, Dustin's parents, were there for every minute of testimony in the Short Hills Mall carjacking trial. His sister, Deanna, was there for almost as much.

Each morning at 9:30 a.m., they took their seats in the second row on the defendant's side of Judge Michael L. Ravin's Essex County Superior Courtroom.

There they heard the painstaking details of how their oldest son was jumped by two men and shot and killed after a holiday shopping trip on Dec. 15, 2013, and lay dying on the concrete floor of the parking deck at one of the state's signature malls.

They watched as their daughter-in-law, Jamie Share Friedland, now a young widow, recalled those horrible moments through tears and deep sobs on the witness stand.

They watched videotapes of the four defendants at a liquor store in Newark about an hour before their son was killed.

They saw security camera footage of their son and his wife strolling through the mall, shopping bags in hand, innocently unaware that the evening would bring death to one and a living death to the other.

They endured the one hour and 20-minute interrogation of Basim Henry, laced countless times with profanity as he continually said he was  "f'ed-up" over what happened. Not sorry. F'ed up.

They sat through it all, except for the autopsy photos of their son, which showed the damage done to his scalp by the butt of a gun when he was pistol whipped and the entry wound from that bullet that killed him.

They were in court every day, multiple times, when Henry was led to the defense table. They never glared or even held eye contact. If they felt hatred, it wasn't apparent as they sat no more than 15 feet from the man accused of killing their son.

And if that wasn't enough, they had to wait almost three days until the jury delivered letter-of-the-law justice to Henry, the first of four defendants to be tried in the case.

Each time the jury room red light went on, they came back into court with the attorneys and media, hoping for a verdict. There were a half-dozen false alarms. The jury wanted clarifications, definitions, explanations. It seemed for a while that a guilty verdict on all six counts of murder, carjacking and weapons charges might be slipping away.

The last false alarm came at 12:20 this afternoon. The jury had a question about the definition of "constructive possession," essentially asking if a person not in possession of a weapon could still be guilty of constructive possession if they had knowledge that the weapon could be used in a crime. The answer, given by Ravin, was an emphatic yes.

Seven minutes later, the red light went on again.

The family came in again, this time in the front row. Prosecutor Ralph Amirata emerged from the judge's chambers and mouthed the word "verdict" in their direction.

And then the jury spoke. On conspiracy to commit carjacking. Guilty. On carjacking. Guilty. On felony murder. Guilty. Murder. Guilty. Weapon possession. Guilty. Possesion of a weapon for unlawful purposes. Guilty.

Deanna dabbed at her eyes and wrapped an arm around her mother. Rose Friedland, who wore a pair of Chanel sunglasses through every minute of the trial except for verdict, gently rubbed the shoulders and back of her husband.

Only when the word "guilty" came after the murder counts, did she nod, so slightly it was almost indiscernible. Her husband's expression barely changed.

If they felt any relief, they didn't show it. There was no celebration that justice had been served. Henry's conviction doesn't bring their son back.

And now, they have to sit through the Henry's sentencing on May 5, and the separate trials of Kevin Roberts, Karif Ford and Hanif Thompson, the man accused of firing the fatal shot. Three more trials, through summer and maybe fall. Three more endurance tests of their composure.

Once the verdict was announced and the jury dismissed to consider one more gun charge against Henry, the Friedland's got up and embraced Amirata and Brian Matthews, the other prosecutor in the case. The shook hands with Luigi Corino, the detective who peppered Henry in the interrogation until he admitted he knew Thompson had a gun before they went to the mall and carjacked Friedland's Range Rover.

That last detail is significant. It brought Henry into the realm of the felony murder and murder charges.

The Friedlands accepted congratulations with the same reserved dignity they showed through the proceedings. The case was won, but it wouldn't bring back their son. Justice was served, but their loss is eternal. Their demeanor was a reminder of that.

They left the courtroom, protected by several court officers from the media, and went into an elevator reserved for them, and were escorted to their car.

Until the next time. 

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.  

DNC Chair Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, stopped off in Newark Friday to speak for unity and resistance against President Trump's policies that they say threaten workers. Watch video

NEWARK -- Urging party unity and collective resistance, national leaders of the Democratic Party rallied in Newark Friday, injecting new urgency as the state faces a gubernatorial race this year.

"The Democratic Party is going everywhere because our mission is not simply to elect a President of the United States, our mission is to elect Democrats up and down the ballot," Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said before a packed ballroom at the Robert Treat Hotel. "We're going to eliminate political gridlock by leading with our values."

Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, headlined a rally organized by New Jersey Working Families.

Ellison said their stop in the Garden State was meant to re-energize their base and mend rifts in the party. 

"This is a unity tour, this is a turnaround tour, this is a tour to build trust and form a new relationship," he said. Ellison said he knew people in the room did not feel like the party had lived up to what it should be. 

"This is what we are here to do, we are here to listen, to talk ... so we can earn and win your support back," he said.

More than 100 people packed the ballroom, holding signs and chanting "resist." One 69-year-old East Orange woman held up a red pocket constitution as she pulled up a chair and sat in front of the stage.

Democratic leaders also railed against Gov. Chris Christie, who is term-limited, and urged people to get out the vote. 

"We have a bully in Washington in the White House," Perez said. "We asked where in the country can we travel to learn about bullies? And we had an idea and our idea was let's come to New Jersey," Perez said.

"The fight starts right here, right now," said Ellison. "If we can win here we can signal all over the country that people need to rise up, stand up, be part of this movement for freedom, justice and equality. You guys are the vanguards."

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said he was excited to have national party leaders come to the city. He, too, urged groups with different interests to work together -- whether environmentalists, housing advocates, Black Lives Matter activists or members of the LGBT community. 

"We have to organize ourselves where we are," Baraka said. "You cannot eradicate these things separately we have to do it together."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Other low-lying in the areas in the city could be affected as well

NEWARK-- Steady rains throughout the day Friday led to roadway flooding in many corners of the state, including along Rt. 22 east.

Police said Friday night that traffic will be diverted due to flooding at Hillside and Frelinghuysen avenues.

Flooding also closed down Griggstown Causeway in Montgomery, Rt. 35 at Heck Avenue in Neptune; and on Rt. 22 in Green Brook. 

Heavy rains expected to bring flooding 

Motorists in Newark were also advised that the following areas in the city may also be affected by flooding: Clay Street and McCarter Highway; South Street and Van Buren Street; Jefferson and Chestnut streets; State Street near Broad Street; Jabez and Backus streets; 357 Wilson Avenue; Manufacturers Place and Hyatt Street; Magazine Street and Avenue L; Avenue L and Wilson Avenue; Ferry and Foundry streets; Norfolk Street;Orange Street;Nesbitt Street; McClellan and Frelinghuysen Avenue; and Frelinghuysen Avenue and the Route 21 underpass.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

Take a look at various pranks pulled throughout the Garden State over the years

Malik Bullock, 16, was shot Friday afternoon in Newark's South Ward, authorities said.

NEWARK -- Authorities on Saturday identified a Newark teenager killed Friday afternoon in a shooting in Newark's South Ward.

Malik Bullock, 16, was shot when gunfire broke out just before 3 p.m. near the 400 block of Hawthorne Avenue, said Thomas Fennelly, chief assistant prosecutor in Essex County. Bullock's family said he was a junior at Barringer Academy of the Arts and Humanities.

A 17-year-old Newark teenager who was also injured in the shooting remains in stable condition at a local hospital Saturday, Fennelly said. His name has not been released.

Police found the two teenagers with gunshot wounds when they responded to the shooting, authorities said. Bullock was pronounced dead at the scene at about 3:30 p.m., they said.

The shooting was the 13th homicide in Newark this year, according to police records.

Authorities asked anyone with information to call the prosecutor's office's tip line at 877-847-7432.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

No one was injured in the incident at South Orange Avenue and South 16th Street, authorities said

NEWARK -- Authorities are investigating why Newark police officers fired their weapons early Saturday morning. No one was injured.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said her office's Professional Standards Bureau is investigating an incident that led to the officers' shots at around 1 a.m. in the area of South Orange Avenue and South 16^th Street.

Authorities would not say what prompted the shooting or how many officers fired their weapons. No one was in custody or charged by early Saturday afternoon, and there are no reports of injuries to civilians or police officers, Murray's office said in a news release.

According to the state attorney general's guidelines, a prosecutor's office must investigate whenever a law enforcement officer fires a weapon while on duty or off duty.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Professional Standards Bureau at 862-520-3700.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Malik Bullock, 16, was killed in Newark's South Ward on Friday afternoon, authorities confirmed.

NEWARK -- Gregory Johnson said he was walking to his Hawthorne Avenue home Friday afternoon after buying cornflakes and milk when several people yelled to him that his stepson had been shot.

There, behind Johnson's next-door neighbor's house, 16-year-old Malik Bullock lay on the pavement screaming out in pain, he said. But there was nothing he could do to save his life.

"I was helpless to my stepson," Johnson said in an interview in the hallway of his home.

By the time police arrived, Malik was silent, becoming the city's 13th homicide victim this year. All that remained Saturday was a white sheet, which Johnson said police used to cover the body, and a family in mourning for a young man who just months earlier had become a father.

"He had unconditional love for his son," Johnson said.

Authorities said the shot that killed Malik on the 400 block of Hawthorne was fired just before 3 p.m. He was pronounced dead a half hour later.

A 17-year-old Newark boy was also injured in the shooting and was in stable condition at a local hospital Saturday, authorities said. That teenager was a student in Newark's public school system, according to a district spokesman. 

Malik left the house, which he shared with his mom and Johnson, between 1 and 2 p.m. to meet friends, Johnson said. Johnson left the home soon after to walk to a nearby store. He said he did not get close to his stepson to see the exact extent of his injuries.

He said Malik had a son who was a few months old and who lived with his girlfriend. On Facebook, Yazzy Jones wrote that she was the mother of Malik's son and posted a photo of Malik with an infant. "I Love You Malik," she wrote. "Forever in Me & Your Son Heart."

Malik's older sister died from health issues in 2014, and his dad died soon after, Johnson said. Malik has one older sister who is alive.

Malik was a junior at Barringer Academy of the Arts and Humanities and liked to play basketball, Johnson said. The academy posted to Facebook on Friday about Malik's death, writing, "Our hearts are broken, as our love and prayers are with Malik's family and friends."

Johnson said Malik was helpful and kind, and he would have done anything for his friends.

"I'm dealing with it right now, every hour, every minute," Johnson said.

Grief counselors will be available Monday at the Newark schools both teenagers attended, the district spokesman said.

Authorities asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the prosecutor's office's tip line at 877-847-7432. 

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Puppies of all breeds took over the airport Saturday as part of their training to become seeing eye dogs. Watch video

NEWARK -- Weary travelers looked up from their phones and cracked a smile. Airport workers stopped and took pictures. And a gray day outside seemed just a little bit brighter.

A parade of puppies was taking over Newark Liberty International Airport. 

On Saturday, 89 puppies training to become seeing eye dogs and their handlers spent the morning at the airport as part of a yearly training organized by The Seeing Eye, a Morristown-based group that trains dogs to help the visually impaired. 

There were Labradors, poodles, golden retriever mixes and German shepherds, most only months old. For about three hours, the puppies and their handlers went through ticketing, security checkpoints, baggage claim and boarded a plane to accustom the dogs to traveling -- and the chaos that comes with it. 

"We have to make sure the dogs are steady when there's a lot of noise so they're confident and it doesn't scare them," said Jeanne Kollmer, of Franklin Township, a longtime puppy raiser. "It's so many different experiences you can have in one venue."

Shari, a 10-month-old black Labrador, sat calmly by her side as the two waited to board a United Airlines plane. "You're making a difference in someone else's life, there's nothing better than that," Kollmer said. Shari was the 18th dog she'd help raise. 

Frank Radics, the interim deputy general manager at the airport, said they've been hosting the animals for more than 20 years.

"This program has trained nearly 3,500 dogs to assist visually impaired passengers navigate busy airports like ours, making air travel a little easier," Radics said. 

The Seeing Eye pairs about 260 people who are blind with guide dogs every year; about 500 puppies are placed in volunteer homes to be raised for 12-14 months and then undergo four months of training with The Seeing Eye.

"We take her everywhere with us," Tricia Gomez said of her puppy, a six-month-old black lab named Kendall. Gomez, an elementary school teacher from Byram, said her students also love the lab.

"(Kendall) is used to a lot of chaos," Gomez, a first-time volunteer said. She said it's going to be hard to say goodbye. "Throughout the process I'm thinking what a good job she'll do for someone else."

Inside the plane, the puppies calmly curled under the seats, though a few paws and tails popped out of the aisles. Some rubbed noses with each other under the seat and others sniffed each other across the aisles. 

"It's a new experience," Jessie Kayalo, 15, of Union County said. Yurik, her 10-month Labrador lay on his back hoping to get a belly rub. "The hardest part is having patience."

Trained volunteers receive the puppies when they are seven weeks old and help the animals be good family dogs and learn commands like "park," which means go to to the bathroom. A few of the puppies -- still in training -- had accidents along the terminal. 

The puppies also livened up the terminal for passers-by. One family was on a two-hour layover and heading back home to Chicago when their four young children stopped to play with an 11-month black lab and rub her belly. 

Janet Keeler, a longtime volunteer, said taking the dogs to the airport was a good exercise in case they are paired with a person who travels often. 

"You never know who they are going to be matched with," she said. Keeler was holding the 55th puppy she's trained over the years. "I'll be back here with the next one," she smiled. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Federal and local authorities arrested 18 people and confiscated $100,000 in alleged proceeds.

IRVINGTON --An international gambling ring that took illegal bets based off the numbers of New Jersey and New York lotteries has been busted, federal authorities said Saturday.

Local and federal investigators on Friday raided 15 businesses in Irvington, Newark, Elizabeth and Roselle, where they said the illegal lottery tickets were sold. The tickets were based on the actual numbers drawn in the lotteries, but paid higher jackpots, authorities said.

The operation led to the arrest of 18 people and investigators confiscated $100,000 they said were proceeds from the gambling.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Newark resident charged with weapons offenses.

Alex Johnson (Photo: ECPO) 

NEWARK -- Detectives seized handguns and drug packaging materials, and arrested a 28-year-old man in a raid of a Newark home, authorities said Saturday.

The search came after officials with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Task Force, which includes city police, launched an investigation into drug distribution reported at the residence on Melrose Place, Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.

A search of the home revealed two semi-automatic pistols and a .38-caliber revolver, according to authorities. Detectives also found "numerous" rounds ammunition and drug scales.

Alex Johnson, of Newark, was arrested during the raid on charges including possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and having narcotics paraphernalia, authorities said. Johnson was held at the county jail ahead of a detention hearing.

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

A rookie's first taste of the major leagues will often be short.

In baseball parlance, it's known as having a "cup of coffee" in the big leagues.

The Baseball Almanac defines this as "a brief trial in the Major Leagues by a player or a pitcher. A rookie, often called up in September, will get their first taste of the major leagues and it will often be short. Figuratively speaking, it's barely long enough for them to drink a cup of coffee."

To mark the official start of the 2017 baseball season tomorrow, we decided to take a fun look at New Jersey players who managed a few sips of coffee in the "Bigs."

While the almanac lists a total of 965 men nationwide who appeared in one major league baseball game, for the sake of this gallery, we considered players who made up to three official appearances, whether as a pitcher, batter, position player or pinch runner.

By this guideline, there have been 30 men born in New Jersey who had a "cup of coffee" in the major leagues between 1876 and 2011.

Here's some information on these players who, while making only the briefest of appearances in the "Bigs" still managed to achieve what thousands, if not millions, of other young men could only dream.

And about the photo quality ... clearly, some of the graphic depictions of some of the earlier players aren't of the highest quality. It's interesting to note that in the case of numerous old-time ballplayers, including three listed here, no confirmed photo has ever been located of them despite scores of researchers trying to track them down.

Make sure captions are enabled to read about each of these interesting players.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

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There likely would have been no TV dinners without a resident of New Jersey and his penchant for invention.

Maybe you loved TV dinners and recall them as a special treat served only on nights when the babysitter was on duty. Or, maybe you hated them for masquerading as real meals.

 

But whether you remember them fondly or if they left a bad taste in your mouth, TV dinners were part of 20th century culture in America. That is, most baby boomers likely sat at a snack table at least once to eat a meal from a foil, compartmentalized tray.

According to Smithsonian.com, "In 1953, someone at Swanson colossally miscalculated the level of the American appetite for Thanksgiving turkey, leaving the company with some 260 tons of frozen birds sitting in ten refrigerated railroad cars." It was then when Swanson salesman Gerry Thomas, "inspired by the trays of pre-prepared food served on airlines," ordered 5,000 aluminum trays, which were filled with turkey with corn-bread dressing and gravy, peas and sweet potatoes. Swanson launched the TV dinner at a price of 98 cents. In 1954, the first full year of production, Swanson sold 10 million turkey dinners.

courtesy of the Campbell Soup Company 

Perhaps Thomas and Swanson were responsible for adding the words "TV dinner" to the American lexicon, but there would have been no such meals without a resident of New Jersey and his penchant for invention.

William Maxson established the W.L. Maxson Co. in 1935 while a resident of West Orange. He was personally credited with nine inventions, while his company was responsible for another 72 patents. During World War II, Maxson developed the concept of freezing cooked foods and then packaging them in reheatable containers to serve on troop transports.

After the war, these meals became available on commercial flights as "Strato-Meals," direct forerunners of the TV dinners that became a staple in supermarkets.

The name "TV Dinner" was removed from the packaging in the mid-1960s, and the Campbell Soup Co. replaced the aluminum trays of Swanson frozen TV dinners with plastic, microwave-safe trays in 1986. Today's ready-made meals of entrees, sandwiches and lunchables bear little resemblance to the divided metal trays that were enshrined in the Smithsonian Institute in 1987.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

 

Three other men face separate trials following Basim Henry's Friday conviction on murder charges in the fatal shooting of Dustin Friedland

NEWARK -- Trial dates for Basim Henry's three co-defendants have yet to be scheduled, but Henry's trial and conviction Friday in Dustin Friedland's 2013 fatal shooting at The Mall at Short Hills may provide indications of key elements of the state's case against the other men.

After a three-week trial before Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin, Henry, 36, of South Orange, was found guilty on all counts of an indictment charging him with carjacking, conspiracy to commit carjacking, felony murder, knowing or purposeful murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Hanif Thompson, Kevin Roberts and Karif Ford face separate trials before Ravin on the same six-count indictment for their alleged roles in the Dec. 15, 2013 shooting of Friedland, 30, of Hoboken, during the carjacking of a Range Rover in the mall's parking structure.

Here are elements of Henry's trial that could play big roles in the future prosecutions:

Cellphone evidence places defendants at key locations

FBI Special Agent John Hauger, a member of the bureau's Cellular Analysis and Survey Team, testified in Henry's trial that cellphone records show both Ford and Thompson's cellphones were active on cell towers near the mall at the time of the carjacking.

Hauger said all four of the men's cellphones were active on cell towers in Newark where prosecutors say the Friedlands' Range Rover was later found.

Hauger's analysis was also used by prosecutors to argue Henry and Thompson had stalked a different Range Rover from the mall to Bergen County three days before Friedland's shooting, an act they said established the men's prior motive and intent.

How murder and gun charges may be argued 

Of the four defendants, only Hanif Thompson is alleged by prosecutors to have physically possessed the gun used to shoot Friedland, an act he is accused of personally committing.

But in addition to felony murder -- a homicide that results from one's participation in the commission of another crime -- all of the defendants are also charged with knowing or purposeful murder.

Essex County assistant prosecutors Ralph Amirata and Brian Matthews successfully argued that as an accomplice, Henry -- who admitted driving the men to the mall with the intent to steal a vehicle -- aided Thompson in the committing the murder.

Henry's participation in the carjacking conspiracy was also key to the felony murder charge, as the prosecutors argued he was legally responsible for the actions of Thompson, Robert and Ford.

Answering questions from the jury during deliberations, Ravin clarified that it was also legally possible for Henry to be in "constructive possession" of the gun alleged to have been physically possessed by Thompson.

Prior convictions could have an impact

Murder -- the most serious charge Henry was convicted of -- carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life under state law, according to prosecutors.

But following Friday's verdict, Amirata told reporters that Henry is exposed to a sentence of "life-plus" as a result of his prior convictions, which include a federal bank robbery conviction.

Under the law, individuals with prior convictions for certain indictable offenses can be subject to sentences greater than the statutory maximum on subsequent convictions.

State court records show Thompson, Ford and Roberts all have prior convictions on indictable offenses. In April 2016, Thompson pleaded guilty to a third-degree burglary charge in connection with a burglary attempt in Newark less than a week before the fatal carjacking. He was sentenced in September to four years in prison, according to court records.

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

Grant, fees from private companies help cover costs of new firefighting and police vehicles.

NEWARK -- In a move to upgrade Newark's public safety fleet, officials this week announced the city purchased new police cars and a foam-dispensing fire truck.

The city purchased a new foam-dispensing fire truck (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety) 

The 51 patrol cars will be assigned to neighborhood precincts and the outside employment unit, which private vendors hire to staff safety posts at work sites, according to the city. The cruisers include in-car computers with access to various databases and a tracking device to pinpoint the location of a police vehicle.

"I am pleased that the technology inside the new cars gives officers automatic access to crime information that expedites communications and facilitates crime reduction," Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose added in a statement.

The computers allow officers to conduct records checks without having to radio a dispatcher to run the searches on suspects or vehicles.

'It could have been tragic' police say of dramatic bridge rescue

Newark purchased 19 Ford Explorers, five "stealth" Ford Explorers, 22 Ford Focuses and five "stealth" Ford Fusions, according to officials. Known as stealth cars, the vehicles are marked but don't have overhead light bars. The vehicles will replace some aging police cruisers worn down from constant driving in the city.

Fees collected from private companies that hired the city to provide officers for construction and road repair sites covered 22 of the new vehicles, officials said. The Explorer SUVs cost approximately $21,500 while the Focuses and Fusions cost about $14,500 and $17,500, respectively.

Purchased through a federal port security grant, the new fire truck will be based at Engine 14 on Vesey Street in the city's East Ward. The location, officials said, will provide a quick response to the Port of Newark, major highways, rail yards and homes in the area.

"This much-needed purchase has no impact on the city's budget and the foam truck's extended capacity and speed will help cut fire resolution times," Ambrose added.

The truck can carry 780 gallons of water, 250 gallons of foam and can pump 1,250 gallons of water per minute.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city would soon announce more technology to "make people safer and increase community involvement."

"In working to make Newark residents safer, I have emphasized deploying the latest and most effective public safety technologies as well as building trust between the police and community and increasing the size of our police force," the mayor added.

Baraka and Ambrose are scheduled to swear in 23 officers at a ceremony Monday afternoon. Officials said the police force is slated to boost its ranks by about 200 officers by the end of the year.

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

Chris Cerf: While we have miles to go to reach our ultimate goal, the achievement arrow is pointed decidedly in the right direction.

By Chris Cerf   

I serve as superintendent of the Newark Public Schools and previously served as the state commissioner of education. In both capacities, I have defined my goal in precisely the same way: to do everything possible to assure that every child, regardless of birth circumstances, has access to a free, high-quality public education that launches him or her into adulthood prepared for success.

The most striking aspect of Charles Wowkanech's opinion article in The Star-Ledger ("Charter schools threaten diversity") is that he is indifferent to this basic and, in my view, inarguable goal. Stuck in the same ideological quagmire that has consumed so many others, his view is that public charter schools are bad and traditional public schools are inherently good. In service of that argument, he then proceeds to misstate a rather remarkable array of objectively provable facts about public education in New Jersey.

I am not, as some will mistakenly suggest, a "charter school advocate." As state commissioner, I used great care in granting charter applicants the privilege of operating a public school. (Of 1.4 million public school students in New Jersey, fewer than 50,000 attend charters.) I also directed the closure of approximately 10 percent of the state's charter schools on the basis of poor academic performance.

In Newark, 31 percent of our 50,000 students attend charter schools, but our "portfolio" also includes one of the best magnet school systems in the state (attended by 36 percent of our high school students), several new traditional public schools, high-quality vocational-technical schools (public, but run by the county, rather than by the district), and a successful early-child program operated in equal measure by the district and private, nonprofit providers. This focus on public schools that work for children -- rather than on their governance -- is also reflected in how we manage performance. Over the past six years, several of our lowest-performing schools -- both traditional and charters -- were closed, repurposed or given a fresh start in an effort to catalyze student learning.

While we have miles to go to reach our ultimate goal, the achievement arrow is pointed decidedly in the right direction. Our students are seeing steady progress in every important metric, including dramatically improved graduation rates, increased reading and math performance and a narrowing of the racial and economic achievement gap.

This trend is directly attributable to our decision to empower parents with public school choice and to focus relentlessly on the twin values of school performance and equitable access to quality options. Put differently, whether it's a county vo-tech school, a traditional school, a charter school or a privately run early-childhood center -- we leave it to the ideologues to focus on how a school came into being and direct our attention instead on our central value -- is the school working for children?

I respect that Wowkanech's experience as a union leader may predispose him to a differing view on charter schools, which generally are not subject to collective bargaining. But that is simply no excuse for misstating the facts. He describes traditional public schools as exemplars of "diversity" and charter public schools as segregative. I would encourage him to review the national statistics accumulated in the 63 years since Brown v. Board of Education before he repeats his paean to the diversity of our public schools (or, if he prefers, to visit pretty much any school in at least 85 percent of the 580 districts in New Jersey, including the district where he lives).

In our state's urban centers, where charters have by far the largest footprint, the numbers belie Wowkanech's representations. Newark's school-age children are mostly economically disadvantaged, black and Hispanic. Both our district and our charter schools reflect that, with little difference between the two sectors.

Our nation's post-Brown failure to live up to its promise has nothing whatever to do with public charter schools but rather is the result of an unfortunate history of racial and economic residential isolation in this country. While more complex, the much-repeated canard that charters do not serve special education students also does not survive close examination. Nearly 10 percent of charter school students are classified, a number that has doubled over the past few years.

And what about our ultimate goal of advancing student learning? I would invite Wowkanech to review data from Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes. I am not fond of charter/district comparisons, but Newark's charters are unquestionably making a profound contribution to the overall positive academic direction of the city's public schools. The Stanford study reports that Newark's charter sector is the second-highest-performing group in the nation and is yielding seven months of additional learning per year in both reading and math.

But what really matters is whether the district as a whole is improving -- as measured by the percentage of Newark's students who have access to a free, quality public education. (Charters, of course, are free, not-for-profit, open to all and subject to democratically elected oversight.) And Newark's schools unquestionably are improving, with charters making a material contribution to those gains while the district's other public schools are also making progress across the board. Indeed, the Center for the Reform of Public Education found that Newark has more "beat the odds schools" than any other city in the country.

The argument that charters are taking resources from public schools is also misleading. When a student opts to attend a public charter school, it is only reasonable that the revenues associated with that student go with him or her. But it is also fair that adequate funding remain with the district to cover its fixed and legacy costs. In Newark, I have worked hard to ensure that the district retains funding to cover those costs.

Consider this thought experiment: If tomorrow all 15,500 charter school students in Newark returned to NPS, we would need to acquire buildings, buy supplies, hire new teachers and take responsibility for these and myriad other costs. The notion that charters are "draining" traditional public school resources is true only to the extent that districts don't simultaneously experience an equal and offsetting reduction in expenses. After a period of some imbalance (in both directions), the state funding formula is settling into a reasonable place in this one respect.

False claims about segregation and the imminent demise of districts may serve as useful propaganda, but they directly contradict both the facts and our own experience here in Newark. Charter public schools and district public schools are working together to lift all boats. Together, we are transcending political battles so that all of our students can reach their limitless potential.

Chris Cerf is superintendent of the Newark Public Schools.

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Experts sound off on recent race-based controversies in the South Orange Maplewood school district, and how New Jersey schools should be educating kids about sensitive topics.