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Big towns, long commutes: Here's how much time it takes to get to work

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3 cities in Hudson County are among the 10 worst in the state

The average commute to work keeps getting longer for New Jerseyans. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 American Community Survey shows the average commute to work for those 16 and older increased by 18 seconds between 2015 and 2016 to 31.7 minutes. While 18 seconds may not seem like much, when added up...


1 killed in Saturday night shooting in Newark

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The victim, 39-year-old Farad Green, was found shot to death inside a retail store on the 400 block of Hawthorne Avenue, officials said.

NEWARK -- A 39-year-old city man was fatally shot Saturday night on Hawthorne Avenue, officials said. 

The victim, identified as Farad Green, was found inside a retail store on the 400 block of Hawthorne Avenue shortly after 11:30 p.m., according to Chief Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly. 

Newark police first responded to the scene after receiving a report of shots fired, Fennelly said.

Green was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Family and Friends gathered at the site of the shooting, just a block away from the Clinton Hill Community Early Childhood Center. They held each other tight outside strips of yellow crime scene tape.

No additional information about the shooting was immediately available on Sunday morning. It remains under investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office's Major Crimes Task Force, which includes detectives from the Newark Police Department. 

There have been nearly 50 shooting deaths in Newark this year, but that's down from 68 during the same time in 2016. 

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

N.J. pets in need: Sept. 25, 2017

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Dogs and cats from around New Jersey waiting to be adopted.

Here is this week's collection of some of the dogs and cats in need of adoption in New Jersey.

We are now accepting dogs and cats to appear in the gallery from nonprofit shelters and rescues throughout New Jersey. If a group wishes to participate in this weekly gallery on nj.com, please contact Greg Hatala at ghatala@starledger.com or call 973-836-4922.

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

Football Top 20, Sept. 24: Who's in, who's out and a Top 10 shakeup

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There was some juggling after Week 3 results.

Girls Soccer: Can't-miss games for the week of Sept. 25

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A look at the top games for the upcoming week.

Students selected for the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps

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Students will report for Scholastic's website.

 

NUTLEY - Silia Kate Dimasi, a seventh-grade student at John H. Walker Middle School, is one of four New Jersey students chosen to be a member of the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps during the 2017-2018 school year.

The Scholastic News Kids Press Corps is made up of 44 student reporters ages 10 to 14 who will report on current events, breaking and entertainment news and sports for the Scholastic News Online website during the upcoming school year.

This year, more than 400 students from around the world applied for a place on the corps.

Dimasi will be joined by fellow New Jersey Kids Press Corps members Josh Stiefel of Teaneck, Ava Park-Matt of Hoboken and Robert Gardner of Haddon Heights.

"We were extremely impressed with the quality of the applications this year and are delighted to welcome these 44 young journalists to the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps," said Suzanne McCabe, Scholastic News Kids Press Corps editor.

To submit school news send an email to essex@starledger.com.

Boys Soccer: Can't-miss games for the week of Sept. 25

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A look at the best boys soccer games in New Jersey for the week ahead.

Bloods gang member gets 22 years for attempted killing, heroin distribution

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Laquan Reed admitted he tried to kill a member of another gang during a shootout in 2011

NEWARK -- A member of the "Sex Money Murder" set of the Bloods gang was  sentenced Monday to 22 years in prison for a racketeering conspiracy charge that included attempted murder and heroin distribution.

reed.jpgLaquan Reed 

Laquan Reed, 28, known as "Drama," also received five years of supervised release when Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced him in a federal courtroom in Newark.

Reed and other Sex Money Murder members attempted to kill a man in a rival gang during a shootout in and around Newark on Aug. 3, 2011, authorities said. Reed, of Montclair, also admitted that from 2007 to 2011, he committed other violent crimes for the gang. 

The gang organizes itself into subgroups, called sets, which operate in different areas, authorities said. 

Reed also previously admitted distributing more than two pounds of heroin in the Newark area. 

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

South Jersey man arrested in Newark on Trenton charges

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The charges stem from an incident in downtown Trenton earlier in the month, officials said.

TRENTON -- A 20-year-old man wanted in Trenton was arrested in Newark by the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force Friday, the Mercer County Sheriff's office said.

Grimsley 2017.jpgGrimsley

Daquan Grimsley, of Pine Hill, Camden County, had multiple warrants for his arrest from Trenton police on charges of unlawful possession of weapon, possession of a high-capacity magazine, aggravated assault on police, resisting arrest and possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance. 

The office's statement said the warrants stem from an incident earlier in the month that occurred downtown.

Grimsley was arrested inside a hotel room on the 800 block of Broad Street in Newark along with a female minor. They were found with a small amount of marijuana, the statement said, and were both charged with possession. 

The female minor was released, pending a family court appearance at a later date.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.comFollow her on Twitter @By_paigegross. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Hillary Clinton to promote her new book in N.J. Tuesday

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Watchung Booksellers said it took an hour to sell all 1,000 tickets to the event, which includes a copy of "What Happened?"

MONTCLAIR -- Street closures and parking restrictions will mar Montclair's Watchung Plaza shopping district and train station on Tuesday, when Hillary Rodham Clinton will greet 1,000 people who paid $30 for a signed copy of her new book, "What Happened." 

The first woman to win a major party nomination for president of the United States will be at Watchung Booksellers on Fairfield Street for a 6 p.m. book event, which is expected to last up to three hours in the famously liberal Essex County suburb.

NO PARKING signs had already been posted by the Montclair Police Monday afternoon on Fairfield Street, between North Fullerton Avenue and Watchung Plaza, barring parking from Noon to 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

The same block of Fairfield Street, as well as the full length of block-long Watchung Plaza, will be closed to traffic from 3:00 p.m. until about 10:00 p.m., on Tuesday, according to the township, which also advised that NJ Transit commuters must be picked up on the Park Street side of the Watchung Plaza train station train.

The Fairfield Street parking lot for the station will also be closed from 3:00 p.m. until approximately 10:00 p.m., though commuters will be able to drive their cars out of the lot.

"We had 1,000 tickets and they sold out in less than an hour," said Margot Sage-EL, owner of Watchung Booksellers, who spent some of Monday afternoon coordinating security and logistics in the store with several members of Clinton's Secret Service detail.

"What Happened," is Clinton's third memoir, this one a reflection on the 2016 election and why she thinks she lost to the Republican nominee, Donald Trump. 

"In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I've often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net," Clinton writes in the book's introduction. "Now I'm letting my guard down."

Clinton beat Trump handily in New Jersey, taking 55% of the vote to the Republican nominee's 41 percent, and Montclair is one of the most heavily Democratic suburbs in the state. In July, Gov. Chris Chris Christie was guest-hosting a sports radio show when he told a hostile caller, "I love getting calls from communists in Montclair."

Clinton is not scheduled to deliver any remarks during Tuesday's event, Sage-EL said. Rather, the former first lady, U.S. senator from New York, and secretary of state will exchange a brief greeting with each ticket holder.

Maria Sanders is one of them.

"I think it's a great opportunity," said Sanders, a 41-year-old parent, coach and resident of neighboring Glen Ridge, who was at the store on Monday. "It's good to have her in town. And I like seeing her stay out there and engaged with the community."

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

Irvington man gets 4 years in prison on child porn charge

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The 31-year-old man must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and will be placed on lifetime parole supervision

Child porn defendant convicted.jpgKevin Jones-Ward, 31, of Irvington, was sentenced to 4 years in prison, prosecutors said. 

NEWARK -- A 31-year-old Irvington man was sentenced to 4 years in prison Monday, after admitting he shared pictures of children engaged in sex acts, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino announced.

Kevin Jones-Ward had pleaded guilty to a single count of endangering the welfare of a child on July 26, after investigators determined he had shared more than 25 images depicting the sexual exploitation of children, Laurino said.

Jones-Ward was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle in Newark.

Jones-Ward was arrested on June 22, 2016, following an investigation by the prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit and the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Laurino said.

The investigation focused on file-sharing programs used to distribute sexually explicit images of children. Laurino said officers executed a search warrant at Jones-Ward's home, seizing several devices later found to contain illicit files.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Jones-Ward will be placed on lifetime parole supervision and must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law, Laurino said.

A woman who answered the phone at Jones-Ward's home said she had no comment on his sentencing and hung up. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office did not have the name of Jones-Ward's lawyer.

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

'Day of Healing' in Newark takes aim at crime victims of trauma | Carter

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A Day of Healing for Newark embraces victims of crime who are traumatized

Sharon Redding held it together until she reached the Newark police precinct.

Her 32-year-old son, Aaron Redding of Newark, had been shot, the victim of random gunfire, about 9:30 p.m. last Wednesday at Wolcott Terrace and Hawthorne Avenue, near Route 78. He was fine after being treated at University Hospital and released. But by the time Sharon and her son reached the police station so he could give a statement, she was emotionally spent.

"I had a little panic attack,'' said Redding, a Newark resident. "I started shaking.''

The gravity of what happened was traumatizing, giving new meaning to a project in the South Ward that Sharon Redding is intimately involved with, one that helps people who have gone through similar trauma.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

Oct. 7 can't come fast enough. That's when the New Jersey Crime Survivors, a nonprofit organization that supports crime victims and their families, is sponsoring A Day of Healing -- Triumph Through Tragedy. The event is aimed at letting people who have been traumatized by violence know that they are not alone.

Sharon Redding an inspiration for aEUoeA Day of HealingaEU an event for victims of violenceSharon Redding, a South Ward resident in Newark, is intimately involved with New Jersey Crime Survivors, a nonprofit organization that supports crime victims and their families. She has been the inspiration for the organization to have a Day of Healing event to let people know who have been traumatized by violence that they are not alone. The event on Oct. 7 takes on a new meaning for Redding, whose 32-year-old son was shot from random gunfire recently. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media) 

The five-hour event starts at 11 a.m. with a march from Chadwick and Hawthorne avenues to the Belmont Runyon School. There will be a healing circle with an African drum ceremony and panel discussions on helping people to understand trauma, how they can heal from it and how to provide sorely needed support to children who are victims.

"People walk around with all of this trauma and they are alone in it,'' said Elizabeth Ruebman, an organizer with New Jersey Crime Survivors.

  Flyers are circulating through email and social media about the event and listing the community stakeholders: Newark Anti-Violence Coalition, Newark Community Street Team, My Brothers Keeper, FP Outcry for Youth and Safer Newark Council.

    Redding's name is among those listed, because it belongs there. The South Ward has been her home for 60 years.

"She's kind of like the mother to the whole neighborhood,'' said Nate Burkard, NCST project administrator. "It doesn't matter how tough you are. You're going to straighten up when she walks by. She's a special women.''

Redding has been looking forward to this event, attending meetings and giving input toward a movement that had been underway for about a year.

"She gave us that extra inspiration to get it done quickly,'' said Ruebman.

This statewide campaign is to help crime victims, many of whom are people of color. Too often, Ruebman said, people of color in cities such as Newark are not seen as crime victims and do not receive assistance when violence strikes.

"There are all these people that are crime survivors and they're not getting any help or support from the systems that are supposed to support them,'' Ruebman said.

New Jersey has failed them, she said, by not using most of its federal allocation through the Victims of Crime Act.  Of $59 million the state received in 2015, only $21 million reached community groups that deal with crime victims.

As Redding learned of the issue, she wanted to do something but didn't quite know how to go about it.

Then she found NCST, a legion of outreach workers who diffuse violence, which was holding meetings and gauging resident interest in improving the community.

Redding knew her community needed a break, a day to heal. She knew the family of the 11-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl and a 23-year-old woman, who were stabbed to death in a home on Hedden Terrace last year. In April, 16-year-old Malik Bullock was gunned down near Hawthorne Avenue School.  Two months later, her nephew, Malcolm Gardner, was shot and killed on Hawthorne Avenue. On the same street last Saturday night, police found Farad Green, 39, fatally shot inside a retail store.

"As a community, sometimes we think that gunshots are just normal,'' she said. "But it's not. You have a neighborhood that's traumatized.''

Redding also has seen it in children during the 25 years she was a preschool teacher in Newark. When she held circle time, Redding said, a child talked about his father putting a gun to his mother's head. Another time, a child saw police come into the house because the family had guns.

"She embodies why we do this,'' Ruebman said. "She has been seeing trauma for decades.''

MORE CARTER:  She is Newark's community warrior and servant     

Even though she wasn't aware of what the organizations were planning, "God had put something on my heart'' to do something in her neighborhood.

"It was kind of serendipitous,'' Burkard said.

Now Redding's son is a victim, shot less than 100 feet from the community building on Hawthorne Avenue where NCST held a meeting last Tuesday that Redding attended.

The bullet entered underneath his right breast and exited just above his chest. He didn't realize what happened until he had crossed the street toward a restaurant and felt his shirt wet with blood. He is still shaken by the incident.

Redding said her son wasn't yet ready to talk, but he plans on making remarks at the Day of Healing event. And despite her moment of trembling at the police station, she's coming around, grateful that her son is OK.

The day of healing "took on a different meaning for me,'' she said. "It takes a toll on you. It has taken its toll on me.''

On Oct. 7, Redding hopes to see crime victims and their families lean on and embrace each other. Not only is it a day to heal, she said, it's a day to remember those loved ones and move forward.

No one should carry this weight alone.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or 

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

Murphy vows to reverse Christie-era rule blocking details of child deaths

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The leading candidate for governor said he wants more transparency of the state child welfare agency's interactions with families in cases of a child fatality or near fatality.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION:
'THE LAST GOODNIGHT'

TRENTON -- The leading contender to be New Jersey's next governor would reverse a Christie administration rule that limits the release of information in many infant and child deaths.

Democrat Phil Murphy, who holds a double-digit lead in the polls in advance of November's election, said the pledge comes in response to an NJ Advance Media investigation into the child welfare agency's botched handling of a call to its hotline about a baby in danger.

The agency did nothing, and the baby died 103 days later.

"The answer is yes, absolutely," Murphy said Friday about reversing the rule. He also took a swipe at Gov. Chris Christie, noting "transparency comes up a lot in this administration."

Rolling back the controversial measure, implemented four years ago under the auspices of protecting child privacy, would result in the disclosure of additional details in dozens of cases of child deaths or near deaths every year that are currently shielded from public view.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno, the lieutenant governor, said through a campaign spokesman she would consider repealing the rule.

"As a mom, she knows education is key and as governor, she'll revisit the rules and procedures," the spokesman, Ricky Diaz, said in a statement. "In her eyes, we cannot do enough to alert parents to the dangers of bed sharing with their infants."

The candidates' comments come as pressure mounts on the agency to increase transparency, which some believe has taken a backseat as the administration pushes forward with a plan to end its supervision by a federal court-appointed monitor.

"This administration is more concerned about getting out from under monitoring they are with making sure there are proper abuse and neglect investigations," Hetty Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America, said.

She added the next governor needs "to look carefully at whether people are being encouraged to downgrade investigations, to be able to show lower (caseload) numbers."

State and federal laws require that when a child dies or is seriously hurt by a parent or caretaker, the child welfare agency must disclose the child's name, whether the agency has ever investigated the family and the outcome of those inquiries.

But four years ago, the child welfare agency -- the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, formerly known as the Division of Youth and Family Services -- implemented a rule narrowing what information the state must make public.

Under that rule, the agency must release information only "to the extent it is pertinent to the child abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or near fatality." The commissioner overseeing the agency, Allison Blake, said the move was to protect the privacy of children.

Critics pounced on the change as a thinly veiled way for the Christie administration to limit public disclosure of mistakes by the agency, noting that the highly subjective determination of what information would be considered "pertinent" would be left up to state officials.

Those concerns re-emerged this month in response to NJ Advance Media's investigation.

On May 1, 2015, two days after Jalon Josiah "JoJo" Lemons was born at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a hospital worker called the state child abuse hotline to report the baby's mother, Micael Jordan, had revealed that one of her children had suffocated while sharing a bed with her and other family members.

But the news organization's investigation found the child welfare agency never followed-up or dispatched caseworkers to Jordan's apartment on South 11th Street in Newark, where they would have seen a family with four children financially struggling -- and without a crib.

On the night of Aug. 11, 2015, JoJo was put to sleep on a single, full-size mattress with four other people, including his mother, Jordan, and his father, Hakeem Lemons. When the parents awoke the next morning, they found JoJo not breathing.

Jordan tried to revive him, but JoJo was pronounced dead an hour later at University Hospital in Newark. Lemons told investigators it was a "mistake" to lay JoJo with them on the mattress. He was the third of Jordan's children to die while bed-sharing, or co-sleeping.

A day later, on Aug. 13, 2015, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office signed an arrest warrant for Jordan and Lemons on charges of reckless manslaughter and child endangerment. The two later pleaded guilty to a single count each of child endangerment.

Despite the plea, the child welfare agency concluded JoJo's death was not caused by abuse or neglect. That meant the agency was not legally obligated to release any information about the death, including the botched hotline call or its other interactions with the family.

What's more, agency investigators omitted any reference to the hotline call from their final report on JoJo's death. That report has never been made public, but sources familiar with it confirmed its contents to NJ Advance Media.

For the past two years, the division has declined to answer questions about the case and JoJo's death. It has also declined requests for interviews with Blake, the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, which includes the child welfare agency. Blake has since released a letter to employees and child welfare advocates defending the agency's work.

As a result of the new organization's investigation, the federal court monitor overseeing the agency, Judith Meltzer, has opened an inquiry into the case, and state lawmakers have said they intend to hold the child welfare agency accountable and take steps to improve transparency.

"There's no accountability mechanism," said Cecilia Zalkind, the president and CEO of Advocates for Children of New Jersey, who objected to the rule change four years ago.

Zalkind noted that Christie abolished the Office of the Child Advocate and defunded the Office of the Public Advocate -- two independent watchdog agencies that had the power to demand records to re-examine the state's role in child abuse fatalities.

The state Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board exists "but only to note trends and comment on case practice issues," Zalkind said. No one outside of the division itself examines whether a child's case was handled properly before a death, she said.

The governor's office has defended its moves, pointing out the major investments that have been made in the child welfare system under the federal court-appointed monitor. Meltzer, the monitor, has praised the agency for its vast improvements.

READ MORE OF
'THE LAST GOODNIGHT':

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

N.J. leaders seek to raise $100K to help crisis in Puerto Rico

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The city of Newark is hosting a fundraiser with a goal of $100,000 to help Puerto Rico as it recovers from Hurricane Maria.

These N.J. mayors were forced from office over criminal charges

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The Garden State has a long history of public corruption


Who were N.J.'s best football players last week? Here are 36 top performers

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There were great performances on both sides of the ball in Week 3.

Which high schools have the most girls soccer alums in D1 college soccer?

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Can you name the No. 1 team that produces D1 talent? The answer might surprise you.

NJIT prof suspended over video of him discussing Hitler's legacy

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Jason Jorjani says his comments in an alt-right video were taken out of context.

NEWARK -- A New Jersey professor at the center of an alt-right scandal since a video of him apparently spouting anti-Semitic sentiments was revealed last week has been placed on administrative leave.

JasonJorjani.jpgJason Jorjani.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology released a statement Monday evening announcing the suspension of lecturer Jason Jorjani, who was captured on video as part of a New York Times opinion piece about nonprofit Hope Over Hate's undercover investigation into the white nationalism movement.

Jorjani has insisted his comments in the video were taken out of context.

"NJIT is a university that draws great strength from the diversity of its campus community, and statements made by Mr. Jorjani in a video published by 'The New York Times' are antithetical to our institution's core values," the school said in a statement.

"A review of this and related matters is ongoing, and Mr. Jorjani has been placed on administrative leave pending its conclusion."

In the video, Jorjani is seen talking about the return of concentration camps and foreseeing a future in which Adolf Hitler is regarded as a "great European leader."

Jorjani has come out strongly against the video, saying it was edited to remove the context of the conversation, which he says was about a dystopian society that would result from continuing current U.S. political practices.

"I don't mean to endorse that," he told NJ Advance Media of Hitler's politics and anti-Semitism. His prediction, he insists, was a negative warning, not an endorsement, as it seems in the video.

Jorjani acknowledged his future at NJIT is uncertain, but said, "I love teaching."

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

Boys soccer Players of the Week for all 15 conferences, Sept. 18-24

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See which players stood out among the rest in week 3 of the boys soccer season.

Man gets 8 years over fatal overdose in Hanover

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Blaine Holley pleaded guilty to strict liability for a drug-induced death this past July.

MORRISTOWN -- A man who admitted to providing the heroin and cocaine responsible for another man's fatal overdose was sentenced on Tuesday to eight years in prison, authorities said.

FullSizeR[9].jpgBlaine Holley in court Monday 

Blaine Holley, 35, of Hillside, pleaded guilty on July 17 to first-degree strict liability for a drug-induced death in Morris County Superior Court, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.

Holley, formerly of Irvington, must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he'll be eligible for parole, and will be subject to a five-year period of parole supervision after his release, authorities said.

Holley was charged with strict liability for drug-induced death and conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances (heroin and cocaine) on June 1, nearly nine months after the fatal overdose of a 31-year-old man in Hanover, authorities said.

Police responded to America's Best Value Inn on Sept. 19, 2016, on a report of an unconscious man suffering from an apparent overdose. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on the investigation, police learned Holley had sold narcotics to the victim  on several occasions, including on Sept. 19, 2016. 

Holley's plea agreement doesn't resolve other charges he's facing in Bergen and Essex counties, authorities have said.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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