A number of upsets caused another change in the NJ.com Top 20 this week.

Hot softball takes for the week of April 24.

A 38-year-old Bloomfield felon has been charged with shooting at a Bayonne residence while a woman and her husband were asleep inside a rear bedroom in their Newman Avenue home.

JERSEY CITY -- A 38-year-old Bloomfield felon who recently completed a 15-year prison sentence has been charged with shooting at a Bayonne home while a woman and her husband were asleep in a rear bedroom.

Phillip T. Palmer is charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and criminal mischief in connection to the April 9 incident on Newman Avenue, the criminal complaint said.

Palmer was in state prison from Dec. 14, 2001 to July 1, 2016 for offenses including robbery, burglary and receiving stolen property, according to state corrections records. 

Police said they recovered video from multiple locations tracing the vehicle driven by Palmer during and after the shooting, as well as two spent shells. The criminal complaint said that statements made by Palmer helped lead to his own arrest.

Palmer is also charged with criminal mischief for damage a bullet caused to a window frame and to an interior wall of the residence.  

Palmer made his first court appearance on the charges on Friday in Criminal Justice Reform Court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

At the hearing, the state moved to detain him and a detention hearing will be held on Wednesday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.

The complaint did not suggest a motive. 

John Towey, a retired Belleville Police officer, is charged with shooting his brother, Bernard, in 2015, leaving him paralyzed

NEWARK -- The trial of a retired Belleville Police officer charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting his brother has been adjourned while the ex-cop has back surgery, his lawyer said Monday. 

John Towey, 63, was indicted in August 2015 on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, endangering an injured victim, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office alleges that Towey, who retired in 2009, shot his brother, Bernard Towey, twice after the two rehashed an old argument following a night of drinking at the retired officer's home in Nutley on Feb. 28, 2015. Bernard Towey survived but was left paralyzed.

During a conference with the prosecution and defense on Monday morning, when the trial had originally been scheduled to begin, Superior Judge Peter Ryan scheduled a motion hearing for July 21, Towey's lawyer said.

The lawyer, Anthony Iacullo, said the hearing would involve arguments whether to admit certain evidence in the case. He declined to offer specifics. 

Ryan denied a 2015 motion by Towey and his lawyer to dismiss the indictment, based on the assertion that the prosecution failed to tell grand jurors that the defendant was drunk at the time of the shooting, and that he mistook his brother for a burglar and shot him in self-defense.  

Iacullo said his client still maintains that's what happened. 

"Our position is that John Towey never intended to hurt his brother," Iacullo said.

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

Police announced they arrested a wanted Newark man during an unrelated investigation.

UPDATE: Omar Solomon has been released and is not considered a suspect. 

NEWARK -- City police have arrested a man who has been wanted for nearly seven years in the shooting death of a father of five.

Solomon. (Courtesy Newark Police)
 

Omar Solomon, 30 was wanted on murder and weapons charges in the July 10, 2010 killing of Leon Truesdale, whose body was found in an apartment complex parking lot, police said.

Solomon was arrested Wednesday during a drug investigation at 14th Avenue and Hayes Street - about two blocks from the alleged 2010 killing, authorities said.

According to police at the time, Truesdale, 30, was shot multiple times after 4 a.m. in the hallway of a building in the 100 block of Newton Street. Responding officers found only a pool of blood in the hallway, and Truesdale's body about a block away, near the intersection of Bruce Street and 14th Avenue, in a parking lot. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

A warrant was issued for Solomon's arrest in August 2010. Additional details about the drug operation that led to Solomon's arrest were not immediately available.

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

Whole Foods, which operates nearly 20 locations in the state, could be taken over by an Idaho supermarket chain.

An Idaho-based supermarket chain is considering a potential takeover of the high-end grocer Whole Foods, which operates 17 locations in New Jersey, according to a report.

Albertsons, a supermarket chain based in Boise, Idaho, is reportedly exploring a takeover of the Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods, which has come under intense pressure in the past couple years from growing competition in the organic food market, the Financial Times reported citing unnamed sources close to the discussions.

Albertsons is one of the largest supermarket chains in the country, operating around 2,200 stores nationwide. It is controlled by buyout group Cerberus Capital Management which has reportedly been in initial talks with bankers about making a bid for the organic grocery chain, the report said.

Whole Foods, founded in Austin in 1978, opened up its most recent New Jersey spot in Newark last month. It currently has 440 stores in the U.S. -- nine of which the company plans to shutter this month, according to Business Insider.

The company, whose first fiscal quarter recorded sales of nearly $5 billion, has struggled in recent years having to compete with traditional supermarkets offering better organic products as well as with smaller retailers like Trader Joe's and Sprouts Farmers Market, the Financial Times reported.

Last year, Amazon explored a takeover bid of Whole Foods but ultimately decided against pursuing a deal, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The hacker or hackers used an encryption to lock up files

NEWARK-- Hackers have disabled some City of Newark computers and are now demanding about $30,000 worth of the online currency Bitcoin to render them operable once again, TAPInto reported Monday.

The computers were infected over the weekend with an encryption that affects nearly all files that operate on a desktop, according to a document obtained by TAPInto. Seth Wainer, the city's chief information officer, confirmed that some computers were attacked with a virus since Friday.

Wainer also said the hack has caused a disruption to some city services but police operations were unaffected.

State and federal law enforcement are investigating.

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

Police are investigating why an arrest warrant in the 7-year-old slaying had not been cleared

NEWARK-- A Newark man once wanted for the slaying of a father of five several years ago has been released when police realized the warrant for his arrest was no longer active, the department said in a statement Monday.

Omar Solomon (Newark police)  

Omar Solomon, 30, was arrested last week in an unrelated drug sweep at 14th Avenue and Hayes Street.

On July 10, 2010, the body of Leon Truesdale was found in the same general area. The following month, an arrest warrant was issued for Solomon.

He was arrested in March 2011, but not by Newark police, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.  

Newark police believed that warrant was still active following Solomon's arrest Wednesday, but it has now been voided and Solomon is no longer considered a suspect, police said. Police are now working to determine why the warrant had not been cleared previously.

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

Fleming died while coaching a track meet last week.

BLOOMFIELD -- A county track and athletic facility may soon be named for the Hall of Fame marathon runner who unexpectedly died last week after suffering an apparent heart attack while coaching at a track meet.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo announced Monday he has submitted a proposal to the county's freeholders to rename the "oval" in Brookdale Park the "Essex County Tom Fleming Athletic Coplex."

The section of the park, located in Bloomfield and Montclair, includes a rubberized, quarter-mile track and multi-purpose synthetic grass field.

"Tom reached the pinnacle of being a professional runner. In the 1970s, his name was synonymous with long distance running. He was an icon in the sport that he loved and helped make long distance running more popular and mainstream," DiVincenzo said in a statement about the proposal.

Tom Fleming. (Courtesy MKA)
 

"He was a very dear friend who inspired people of all ages with his accomplishments, and enjoyed coaching and mentoring young athletes. Naming the complex will be a fitting tribute that will keep Tom's legacy alive and hopefully inspire future generations to follow in his footsteps."

Fleming, who was raised in Bloomfield and began his running career at Bloomfield High School, died April 19 while coaching at a Montclair Kimberly Academy track meet in in Verona. Fleming had been a teacher and coach at the school since 2000, after retiring from competitive running.

During his running career, Fleming, 65, won multiple accolades and awards. He was a two-time winner of the New York City Marathon, three-time champion of the Jersey Shore Marathon and earned two second-place finishes at the Boston Marathon.

Running icon mourned throughout N.J.

Fleming's death prompted an outpouring of grief from the area's running community.

"Coach Fleming may have earned his notoriety as one of the greatest long distance runners in American history, but he was much, much more," Todd Smith, MKA's athletic director said.

"He was larger than life and simply enjoyed watching all kids train their hardest, work their hardest and be their very best selves...both on the track, on the course, in the classroom and in life."

The track at Brookdale Park's oval currently hosts the Essex County Special Olympics' Spring Games, as well as area high school athletic competitions and local running events and trainings. In Fleming's obituary, family members asked mourners to send donations, in lieu of flowers, to several organizations, including the Special Olympics.

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

Have your voice heard!

We're a few weeks into the season and N.J. baseball fans have already made their choices for the best senior at each position known. 

Now, it's time to move on to the juniors and figure out who is the best infielder and outfielder among the 2018 class?

VOTE: Who is the top junior infielder?| Who is the top junior outfielder?

This poll will close on Monday, May 1 at noon – so be sure to vote early and often before the cutoff!

Miss the previous winners? Check them out here:

• Top senior infielder
• Top senior outfielder
• Top senior pitcher
• Top senior catcher

Disclaimer: We know you take these polls seriously. We do, too. We encourage you to come back and vote often. Please note, the poll will view rapid-fire voting from any individual IP as an attack and will put that IP in a time out.

You can do anything you want within reason to win these polls - make your case in the comments below, use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, MySpace, carrier pigeons, telegrams ... whatever you want to get the vote out. BUT any tech-based method designed to rack up votes will be flagged and those votes will be thrown out.

Jury began this morning for the aggravated manslaughter trial of a Montclair man charged with slamming into a vehicle in the Lincoln Tunnel while traveling as fast as 91 miles per hour.

JERSEY CITY -- Jury selection began this morning for the aggravated manslaughter trial of a Montclair man charged with slamming into a vehicle in the Lincoln Tunnel while traveling as fast as 91 miles per hour.

Luis S. Pine, 41, is accused of driving about 55 mph over the Lincoln Tunnel's 35 mph speed limit when his Mercedes slammed into a minivan, propelling it into another vehicle at about 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2014.

A passenger in the minivan, Steven M. Benevento, 49, of Summit, went into cardiac arrest and was taken to a New York City hospital, where he died a few hours later.

The Montclair man was also charged with vehicular homicide 10 months after the fatal high-speed collision, authorities said today.

When Pine appeared in court in July 2014, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Leo Hernandez said Pine was traveling as fast as 91 miles per hour at the time of impact. He also said the entire incident was captured by Port Authority security cameras.

At that hearing, Pine's lawyer said that his client was on his normal morning commute to New York and suggested he may have fainted due to a medical condition, precipitating the crash.   

A half dozen other people were injured in the Weehawken crash and many of them were taken to area hospitals, officials said.  

Aggravated manslaughter carries a possible sentence of 10 to 30 in years in state prison upon conviction.

The trial is before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Martha Royster in the Hudson County Administration Building on Newark Avenue in Jersey City. Potential jurors began reporting to Royster's courtroom at about 10:30 a.m.

The judgement settles a bitter disagreement between the Orange board of education and its city council.

ORANGE -- A Superior Court judge has ruled that a question posed to voters last November was poorly worded and voided the overwhelmingly approved change to the makeup of the school board.

Judge Thomas Vena granted on April 13 an injunction filed by the City of Orange Township Board of Education to reverse a November 2016 referendum in which 77 percent of voters chose to switch from an appointed to elected board.

The judge agreed with the current appointed board that the referendum question - which was crafted and put on the ballot by the Orange city council - did not explain to voters all of the implications of the switch.

"No one can argue that the citizens of the City of Orange Township voted overwhelmingly to change from an appointed district to an elected district on the information which was made available to them when they went to the polls on Nov. 8, 2016," Vena wrote in the decision.

"The point here is that these same citizens should have been exposed to more information prior to voting. Nothing can be more integral to the electoral system, especially when that system directly bears upon the well-being of students, than an informed vote."

The referendum question the council wrote asked voters if they wanted to switch from one type of board to the other, but didn't explain all of the repercussions of the vote, the board argued. Those implications included the way the district would fund capital projects.

Under the appointed board, there is a Board of Estimate that passes bonds for capital improvements based on the city's credit. Under an elected board, capital expenditures need to be put up to a referendum vote, and bonding would be based on the district's credit.

Why an FBI raid has been a long time coming

After last year's referendum, the city council erroneously passed a $2.5 million bond for a slew of school building improvements. The council only later realized the bond was void under the new district type.

In his decision, Vena blasted the council.

City residents, the judge wrote, "were entitled to know how the financial process would work in light of their vote. It is clear to the court they did not know how the vote would impact the district's financial process. Apparently City Council was not aware either, as they attempted to pass an ordinance that they did not have the authority to pass."

Vena's decision undoes the referendum vote, and a special election held in March that would have added two new members to the board. It also reinstates the bond ordinance passed by the council.

Stephen Edelstein, the attorney representing the board of education, said the judge's decision made sense because the council's process was flawed.

He said the public was "deprived of the opportunity to cast a vote as they intended."

Robert Tarver, the council's attorney, said last week the council is considering an appeal.

"We are exploring several options at this point, but it's a possibility," Tarver said. "No judge in N.J. has ever overturned the results of an election under these circumstances."

Cristina Mateo, the board's president, has held that the board was not against changing to an elected body. She said this week she anticipates the council will try to get a revised version of the referendum vote on the ballot, possibly this November.

Mateo, who has said the board did not know of the referendum question until election day, said she'd "like to see this done in a more fair way. ...I'd like to see them have a protocol in terms of dealing with the Board of Education."

In the meantime, she called Vena's decision, and the reinstatement of the bond, "a victory for the children of the city of Orange."

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

Five men face drug and weapons charges.

BLOOMFIELD -- An illegally parked car led Bloomfield police to recover a handgun, marijuana and charge five men in the township, authorities said Monday.

Officers Robert Kish and Joseph Davis were on patrol when they spotted a vehicle parked in front of a fire hydrant at Oakland Avenue and Fremont Street Friday, according to the department. Police also smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle.

Authorities said officers discovered a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun with 11 rounds of hollow point bullets in two magazines and about 14 grams of marijuana in the car.

Man attacked cop, released the same day, authorities say

Five men in the car -- identified as Tahaka Bovell, 20, Ibnyusef Ali, 21, Uniki Armstrong, 21, all of Newark, Kervance Couyoute, 21, of Pennsylvania, and John Reynolds, 19, of Somerset, were each charged with weapons and drug offenses.

"These arrests not only took dangerous criminals off of our streets, but took another weapon into our possession that has the potential to cause serious injury or even death," Bloomfield Police Director Samuel DeMaio said in a statement. "Our officers will work tirelessly to keep dangerous criminal offenders off of our streets."

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

Andrew Rosenforf's play asks provocative questions about the balance between attending to the needs of the self and others.

Andrew Rosendorf's drama, "Tranquil," now receiving its world premiere at Luna Stage in West Orange is a play about family, fear and masturbation. And, really, it is this last element through which many of the play's other themes develop.

Occasionally heavy-handed and slower than necessary, it is a play that nonetheless asks provocative questions about the balance between attending to the needs of the self and others. 

Ellen (Brittany Anikka Liu) is recently paralyzed from the waist down, and the opening scene finds her experimenting -- frustratedly -- with an electric neck massager (and this is not the last time the play will stage physical self-exploration). This may seem tawdry or childish, but in the examination of one's sexual pleasure, Rosendorf locates a personal, private examination of one's fuller humanity. As Ellen, her brother Aaron (Tony Knotts), and her friend Paul (Brendan McGrady) perform or discuss sexuality at various points in the play, each is clearly also performing or discussing their tentative, amorphous identities.

Ellen tries to adjust as a paraplegic with natural teenager sexual urges, while Paul and Aaron seem no more certain of themselves, despite fully functioning bodies. Rosendorf thus turns to awkward, exploratory sexuality as a tool through which the individual might gain a fuller understanding of self.

At the play's center is the tattered family of Ellen, Aaron, and their father Rick (Frank Licato). The matriarch of the family died in the same accident that hindered Ellen's mobility and sent Aaron into a frightened pattern of running and hiding from family and feelings. He returns home unexpectedly at the play's opening for his grandfather's funeral, but, once unresolved issues of his mother's death arise, his instinct to run away flares. It is only Rick's sudden business trip that guilts him into staying in order to assist Ellen who, for her part, argues that she needs no such oversight. 

At the play's center, Liu and Knotts do fine work creating conflicted characters whose challenges threaten to overwhelm. Ellen seems initially like a young woman defiantly determined despite her injuries -- she is training for a wheelchair 5K, in part to emulate her marathon-winning mother -- but Liu shows us a much more interesting character once Ellen's frustrations surface. Aaron is all skittish nerves, but Knotts finds room to show the character's desire for a return to the comfortable routine of family life, even if it is an unconscious desire.

Although there is certainly room to hasten the production's pace, director Cheryl Katz proves eager to explore the tense, awkward moments that inevitably accompany individuals unsure of themselves. Within the inventively claustrophobic confines of Christopher and Justin Swader's set, Katz guides her cast confidently into conflicts that are as necessary as they are exhaustingly awkward for the characters.

Ultimately, this is a play about the halting, imperfect process of healing, something which Rosendorf suggests can only happen communally after it has happened individually. The playwright seems to have lofty goals for complex layers of meaning here, ambition that occasionally feels forced (the relevance of the play's title, for example, only eventually becomes clear in a pat turn of phrase about sex). But the point about the challenging balance between self-care and domestic duty remains salient. 

Tranquil

Luna Stage Company

555 Valley Road, West Orange

Tickets: $32-37; available by phone, (973) 395-5551. Running through May 13

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

Man continued to fight with police after two blasts of pepper spray, according to authorities.

NEWARK -- Essex County sheriff's officers seized a loaded gun after they pepper sprayed a man during a "violent struggle" in Newark Monday night, officials said.

Terrell James, of Newark (Photo: Essex County jail)

Members of the county patrol division pulled over a Lexus for having illegal blue-tinted headlights on Eagles Parkway, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

Officers said they smelled marijuana coming from the car and saw a leafy residue on the shirt of backseat passenger Terrell James, of Newark.

As James got out of the car, the officers saw the barrel of a handgun sticking out from under the backseat, Fontoura said. Officers went for the gun while James fought with the police.

New sheriff's station touted as boost for Newark neighborhood

Despite being hit with two blasts of pepper spray, James continued to flail his arms and legs at the officers, according to the sheriff. He tried to run from the scene, but was soon arrested, Fontoura said.

Officers recovered a loaded .45-caliber, Hi-Point semi-automatic weapon, Fontoura said. Authorities charged James with offenses including possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and resisting arrest. He remained at the Essex County jail Tuesday, records show.

Details on the prior conviction were not immediately available.

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

Man faces drug and weapons charges.

West Rodriguez, 40 (Photo: Essex County jail) 

NEWARK -- Essex County Sheriff's detectives recovered $125,000 worth of heroin and a loaded gun from the Newark apartment of a reputed Crips street gang member Monday night, officials said.

West Rodriguez, 40, was charged with a range of drug distribution and weapons offenses after the search, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura, who described Rodriguez as a heroin distributor who peddled the drug to other dealers.

Narcotics detectives were watching an area near South 7th Street and 11th Avenue as part of an ongoing drug probe when they spotted Rodriguez leave his house with a plastic bag, officials said. Detectives knew Rodriguez from other investigations.

Sheriff's narcotics officers stopped Rodriguez when he drove away without wearing his seatbelt in a car that had illegally tinted windows, according to officials. Rodriguez tossed a plastic bag on the floor of the front passenger seat, causing 125 heroin-filled glassine envelopes to spill out in the stop. 

Authorities said they also recovered approximately $380. After getting permission to search Rodriguez's apartment, sheriff's detectives also found a loaded .40-caliber Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun and 1,058 decks of heroin packaged in "bricks" for distribution.

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

The jury began its deliberations Tuesday in the case of Monique Smith, who was accused of striking South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James's vehicle

NEWARK -- A jury on Tuesday unanimously acquitted the Irvington police captain accused of following South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James through the streets of Newark and striking his car three times after he broke up with her via email. 

The jury deliberated for about an hour and a half and found Monique Smith, 46, not guilty of two indictable offenses: unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. 

"I think what the jury did was the right thing, I can't tell you how pleased I am," Smith's attorney, Steven Altman, told NJ Advance Media after hugging Smith outside the courtroom. 

Smith, too, was visibly overjoyed and smiling but referred to her attorney for comment. Smith still faces a disorderly persons offense and two motor vehicle offenses that will be decided by the judge.

During closing statements before Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin Tuesday, Altman said Smith was in love and wanted to reach out to James after he ended the relationship in a Jan. 5, 2015 email, the same day she was being promoted to the rank of captain. 

"Monique is obviously guilty of being hurt, devastated, being in love," Altman said before the jury began deliberating at 2:50 p.m. "She did nothing which made her guilty of a crime, don't make her a criminal," he said. 

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Carlo Fioranelli argued James, 48, had the right to end his relationship but Smith had no right to use her vehicle as a weapon. 

"What gives her the right to use her vehicle as a weapon to try and force him to pull over?" Fioranelli said, pointing at Smith. "To force him into a confrontation he doesn't want to have?"

Prosecutors alleged Smith rear-ended James' Nissan Xterra twice and side-swiped it once with her Honda Accord as she raced from his Pomona Avenue apartment building to his father's home on Wilbur Avenue to confront him over the breakup.

"What matters is the manner in which she's driving," Fioranelli said. "It shows us she has a problem with John and that she's targeting him."

Assistant Prosecutor Cheryl Cucinello declined to comment further after the verdict. 

One juror told NJ Advance Media that at first the decision was not unanimous but after looking through the evidence, "In the end, we didn't see enough evidence to really find she was guilty on those specific charges beyond a reasonable doubt," the juror said. 

Smith, who did not testify, sat quietly throughout the entire proceedings. She was suspended from the police department following her arrest in the case. It's not yet clear what will happen to her position.

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James testified earlier this month that the Jan. 5, 2015 confrontation ended in front of his house. 

"She came running up toward my son, her arms waving to reach him," the elder James, dressed in a suit with a purple tie, told the jury April 12. "I didn't know what was happening."

James described his conversation with Smith as "calm, collected, responsible" but when they talked about his son, she grew emotional, he said. 

Former Newark Mayor testifies in son's ex-girlfriend's trial

Altman, who frequently rested his hand on Smith's shoulder during his closing, called James' plan to avoid her and break up with her through an email during her promotion ceremony, "cold." 

"He didn't want to communicate, total insensitivity, disrespect, the coldness," Altman said. "He never told Monique why or what was going on."

Councilman James declined to comment on the verdict. 

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

Haniel Saldana allegedly had a pistol in a hidden compartment, police said

FORT LEE -- A 28-year-old Newark man was arrested on a weapons charge Monday while traveling on the George Washington Bridge, Port Authority police said in a statement.

Officer Patrick Devins saw a 2003 Honda cross a solid white line on the lower level around 5:30 p.m., the agency said. Devins stopped the car and noticed modifications that indicated it had a hidden compartment of a type often used to conceal contraband, according to police.

The driver, Haniel Saldana, consented to a search. Police found a loaded Glock 9-mm pistol, the Port Authority said.

When Saldana was told he was under arrest, he ran but was captured by police, according to the Port Authority.

Saldana was charged with possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, careless driving and making an unsafe lane change. He was being held at the Bergen County Jail.  

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

Zakariyya Ahmad, now 20, was convicted of felony murder and other charges in the killing of 41-year-old Joseph Flagg four years ago

Zakariyya Ahmad, now 20, was convicted of felony murder in the 2013 killing of a Newark cafe ownerECPO 

NEWARK -- A Newark youth, who was 16 at the time of the incident, was convicted of felony murder and other charges Tuesday in the 2013 killing of a Newark cafe owner, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Zakariyya Ahmad, now 20, was found guilty by an Essex County jury of multiple charges, including reckless manslaughter, felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, first degree armed robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced on Tuesday.

Following a 5-day trial in Newark, Ahmad was convicted of killing Joseph Flagg, 41, of Union Township.

Judge James W. Donohue of state Superior Court, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to sentence Ahmad on June 16. He faces 30 years to life in prison.

Flagg, was the owner of Zakiyyah's Cafe on Chancellor Avenue in Newark, where prosecutors say he was fatally shot on Oct. 27, 2013, when Ahmad and two other teens went there to rob the place.

Prosecutors say the young trio ended up leaving the cafe without any money at about 11 a.m., while Flagg lay dead or dying, after he was shot following a struggle with his assailants. Flagg's body was not discovered until 12:45 p.m.

Joseph Flagg, 41, of Union, was shot and killed in his Newark cafe in 2013Flagg family photo 

A juvenile defendant, whose name has not been released, pleaded guilty to felony murder in connection with the fatal shooting. Murray's office said a third defendant, Daryl Cline, 20, is in custody awaiting trial.

Flagg was a well-known figure in the community, where he started another business hiring former inmates for construction work. He would let local cheerleaders use his parking lot for car wash fundraisers. He had named the cafe after his wife.

"This case is tragic on so many levels," Assistant Prosecutor Portia Downing, who handled the case, said in a statement. "The victim moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey and opened Zakiyyah's Cafe in Newark. That business was a big part of the community. In addition, Mr. Flagg wanted to help the community and started a labor support company matching former inmates with construction jobs. He understood the importance of giving people a second chance.''

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

Police also seize cash and weapons

NEWARK-- Police arrested dozens of people and seized drugs and cash during a citywide narcotics operation carried out over the weekend, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

A total of 41 people have been charged with various offenses, while police also recovered 3 guns, 194 decks of heroin, 216 vials of cocaine and 118 bags of marijuana as well as $2,367 in cash. The drugs have an estimated street value of more than $5,500.

The gun arrests were made at Pennington and Broad streets; at Springfield and Fairmount avenues and at Bright Court near Martin Luther King Boulevard.

"I applaud the officers' hard work during this operation along with the arrest of three armed suspects without the officers firing their weapons," Ambrose said.

The following were arrested for  unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose: Florida Benton, 35, Ronnie Kellum, 23, and Ayoni F. Williams, 27, all of Newark.

Arrested for possession and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance are: Mustafa Ward, 26, Jason Sparks, 38, Dorsey Gilbert, 37, Wendell Morris, 45, Tyree J. Miller, 23, Zakee J. Day, 38 and Charles Spruell, 50, all of Newark; and Kevin Clevil, 30, of East Orange.

Michael Carter, 20, who was also in violation of parole and wearing an Intensive Supervision Monitoring Device, April Mitchell, 32, Hasson A. Connett, 29, Scott Campbell, 32, Tiffany M. Rhone, 44, Marod K. Wilcox, 23, Morell Smith, 26, Omar Jackson, 22, all of Newark; and Ernest Davis, 18, of East Orange, Dayquan Oxner, 19, of Perth Amboy, Christy Snyder, 32, of East Freedom, PA and Anthony Rogers, 25, were all charged with possession.

James Hemingway, 33, Robert Boyde, 36, and Keith Finney 54, all of Newark, and Jason Jiosne, 37, of Hazlet all were charged with wandering to obtain a controlled dangerous substance.

The following were wanted on outstanding warrants: Nelson Camacho, 25, Dorsey Gilbert, 37, Rashon J. Owens, 21, Karim Jessie, 28, Robert L. Andrews, 25, Victor Ulloa, 27, Christopher Lawrence, 46, Teriq Moore, 23, Antwine King, 26, Daquan Lockhart, 26, all of Newark; Henry K. Acheampong, 35, of East Orange; and Franco Palmieri, 46, of Bloomfield.

Terrance Jackson, 36, of Newark, was arrested for Obstructing the Administration of the Law.

Darrell Cheeks, 18, of Newark was arrested for Failure to Make Lawful Disposition and Resisting Arrest. And Kevin L. Wiley, 24, of Newark was arrested for Failure to Make Lawful Disposition and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

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