Hospital officials said the man was admitted Sunday night after he was hit by a car in Newark.

The unidentified man. (Courtesy University Hospital)
 

NEWARK -- A New Jersey hospital is asking for the public's help in identifying a patient who was hit by a car Sunday night. 

University Hospital released a photo Friday evening of an unidentified patient who officials said was admitted after being struck by a vehicle near Don Pepe restaurant on McCater Highway in Newark late Sunday evening.

The man may have been at a White Castle in East Orange earlier in the day, the announcement said.

The patient is about 40 years old, five-foot-three-inches tall, and about 150 pounds, the hospital said. He is possibly of Hispanic or Portuguese descent, and has no identifying marks or scars, it said.

Hospital officials declined to comment on the man's medical condition or how he got to the hospital. Newark police did not immediately respond to questions about the circumstances surrounding the pedestrian strike.

Anyone with information about the patient's identity, family or friends is asked to call University Hospital at 973-972-4050.

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

 

Essex cities banking on transit village concept

The first railcars to cross the Oranges to Newark were pulled by horses.

That's how old the modern "transit village" idea is.

So the recent development of housing and businesses around the train stations in urban Essex County, in concept, is nothing new. It's just an extension of a 180-year history of development, decay and redevelopment.

"Now that the New York economy is booming again, the people in all these towns have access to good jobs," said Tom Schulze, coordinator of the Urban Essex Coalition for Smart Growth. "There is great potential for new development."

There are two new residential buildings near the Orange Station, with 24 market-rate condos and 117 subsidized "workforce" apartments.

The F. Berg Hat factory, with 32 condos and commercial loft space for artists, is near completion a half-block from the Highland Avenue Station, also in Orange.

A new building with 128 apartments, on the former Monroe Calculating Machine Co. near the Highland Avenue Station, is about to break ground.

Like the visionaries from 1835 who formed the Morris & Essex train line, the members of the modern Essex smart growth coalition understand the value of proximity to the railroad.

What is new is the emphasis on regional planning and using the arts to gel communities.

The architectural foundation is already there. Those 19th-century brick factories and buildings were built to last, with exteriors that have held up through cycles of neglect and repair.

The housing stock, for the most part, has been equally durable. The building boom in the 1920s brought more luxury apartment buildings and millionaires' estates to the Oranges. Most are still standing.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns

In those days, Essex was one of the richest counties in the world and attracted the country's best architects. Stanford White designed the Orange Library. Frederick Law Olmstead's firm was responsible for Newark and Orange parks. Cass Gilbert drew up the plans for the Essex County Courthouse. Wilson Eyre shaped the home in the Tremont section of Orange where Troy Simmons lives today. Architecturally, Essex County is a study of the masters.

"There are many homes of that type of quality," said Simmons, an architect and member of the Orange Historic Commission. "When people come through here, they're surprised by what they see. There are people here who can afford to live anywhere, but chose to buy these historic homes."

The early 20th-century wealth is apparent in the Seven Oaks and Tremont sections of Orange, the Montrose section in South Orange and the parts of East Orange that border both. Downtown East Orange was known as "Little 5^thAvenue," because of B. Altman, R.H. Muir and other high-end department stores.

And they all came because of the railroad.

So did other businesses: the insurance companies and law firms, the metal arts companies, the tanning and leather processing plants, the early electronics makers, and the business machine and hat factories.

The Urban Essex Coalition knows those days aren't returning, but the area is rebounding from the urban blight-decades of the last century.  

Schulze is paid by the Greater Newark Local Initiatives Support Coalition, a major partner in Urban Essex Group, and works in the Orange office of the Housing and Neighborhood Development Services (HANDS), another major partner, which has been in the urban redevelopment business for 25 years.

"People are turning back toward these towns," he said.

One piece of evidence is NJ Transit ridership. While overall ridership grew 8 percent, over the last year, four of the five train stations the Urban Essex coalition has taken under its umbrella reflect double-digit increases.

The Broad Street station in Newark showed a 10 percent increase, East Orange spiked 24 percent, Brick Church (also in East Orange) jumped 12 percent and the Orange Station ridership grew 11 percent. Only Highland Avenue (also in Orange) remained flat.

READ: The Urban Essex Smart Growth agenda

"We know new investment is coming," said Pat Morrissy, executive director of HANDS. "These communities have assets that have gone ignored. Now, they're fighting back against the forces (that caused the downturn) to create stronger communities that work for everybody."

HANDS is refurbishing the F. Berg hat factory in Orange's Valley Arts district, one of several major projects for market-rate and affordable housing, and retail shops in the region, with more to come. Newark's Westinghouse site, for example, is cleared just feet from the Broad Street Station.

"We know development is going to happen," Morrissy said. "We also know areas that work best are planned. We shouldn't be developing without thought to the public realm."

On the coalition agenda is a study of the impact of Route 280 on the area, and how to undo its community-splitting effect. The interstate cuts Orange and East Orange right down the middle, through the heart of the downtowns. Worse, it runs parallel with the rail line, creating a barrier to the transit village idea, clearly without thought to "the public realm."

"When the highway opened, there wasn't even an exit for Orange," said Candace Gabbard, the executive director of Valley Arts, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has fueled the recent craft and artisan movement in Orange.

Gabbard's group is part of the coalition and is studying ways to create a more hospitable community environment along Freeway Drive, the wide and pedestrian-hostile Route 280 access road that looks more like Daytona than a friendly city street.

On Thursday night, Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren held an information session about new residential development and the restoration of the Highland Avenue train station.

"Younger people are marching back to the cities and we're well-positioned to be a transit hub because we have the resources," he said. "We have a housing stock that can bring in families. We have million dollar homes and we have working class housing."

At the meeting Andrew Davlouros, of HANDS, talked about the hat factory development and Joseph Alpert presented a plan for the 128 apartments and a parking deck on the site of the old Monroe building.

Alpert talked about the push-and-pull of getting more NJ Transit "Midtown Direct" service to the urban stations.

"They (NJ Transit) say, 'Show us more riders and we'll give you more service,' " Alpert said. "I say, 'Give us more service and we'll show you more riders.' "

But the way things look now, those riders are coming, just like they did 180 years ago.

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

Two men were shot, and another killed, in 24-hours in Newark.

(File photo)

NEWARK -- Authorities are investigating a fatal Saturday afternoon shooting that occurred in the vicinity of Pearson Lane and Doby Place, authorities said.

Police responding to the scene at approximately 1 p.m. discovered the male victim, whose name has not been released, suffering multiple gunshot wounds, confirmed Anthony Ambrose, Essex County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Detectives.

Emergency officials later transported the victim to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead, Ambrose said.

An investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force is in its initial stages, Ambrose said. No other information was immediately available, he added.

The shooting was the third in Newark in 24 hours, sources close to the investigations confirmed.

The first in the series occurred Friday at approximately 6 p.m in the 100 block of Fairmount Avenue, said a source familiar with the investigation. The male victim, whose name has not yet been released, was found suffering multiple gunshot wounds, the source said. He was later transported to University Hospital in Newark for treatment.

The most recent shooting occurred Saturday at approximately 5 p.m. According to a source, a male victim, whose name has not been released, sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was later later transported to University Hospital in Newark for treatment, the source said.

The day's violence brings the city's homicide count to 92, according to a county by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities recorded 93 homicides in all of 2014.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The employees say they have no contact with the public and are not a risk

A New Jersey social service agency has followed through with its threat to fire three office workers over their refusal to get a flu shot or, as an alternative, wear a surgical mask while in the company's Burlington Township headquarters, an attorney for the women said.

Alanda Watson, Megan Duncan and Denise Mercurius, who worked in the accounting and billing departments at Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey, were suspended without pay last month for failing to follow the flu-prevention protocol, which went into effect in June.

The company began enforcing the mandate at the onset of flu season in October.

Days after the employees were told of their second weeklong suspension on Nov. 17, the women received letters informing them they were fired for cause, said Cherry Hill lawyer Alan Schorr, who is helping two of the workers secure unemployment benefits. Duncan, a Howell resident, has found another job.

"While we respect your personal preference to decline the flu vaccine, your decision not to avail yourself of the accommodation we offered leaves us no choice but to terminate your employment with the organization," the letter said.

The women say they are deeply opposed to mandatory vaccinations and argue they should not be required to wear masks, calling them invasive, impractical and not wholly effective at preventing the virus.

They said no to mandated flu shot and now fear firing. Here's why.

They join a growing number of workers fired for violating so-called vaccine-or-mask policies, which have been widely adopted by hospitals and healthcare companies in recent years, according to the American Hospital Association.

Lutheran Social Ministries' president, Colleen Frankenfield, told NJ Advance Media last month she instituted the policy to better protect the agency's clients, many of whom are elderly or disadvantaged and therefore at greater risk of harm from the flu.

The agency, with about 630 employees, operates nursing homes and shelters throughout the state and provides additional services at satellite offices.

Frankenfield, a registered nurse and attorney, said the 30 or so employees at the company's headquarters were not exempted from the mandate because clients occasionally visit the building.

A Google street view image of the Burlington Township headquarters of Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey 

In addition, she said, some workers routinely visit the agency's various facilities, raising the possibility of cross-contamination.

Watson, 36, Duncan, 30, and Mercurius, 45, contend they should not have to comply with the policy because they have no contact with the public. Moreover, they call the mandate illogical, arguing that because the vaccine varies in effectiveness from year to year, employees who receive the shot are not always protected.

The women declined comment Friday, referring calls to Schorr, the attorney, who said the fired employees "tried to get this worked out" with the agency.

"They were asking really fair questions," Schorr said. "Do you really have to leave the building to eat? In a hospital, they go to a lunchroom."

He said he is assisting Watson and Mercurius in the event they are denied unemployment benefits. The state may deny those benefits if an employee is found to have engaged in misconduct.

"Here the employer is taking the position that they engaged in misconduct by being insubordinate and violating their policies," Schorr said.

The issue was at the heart of a state appeals court decision last year. The three-judge panel ruled the state Department of Labor should not have denied unemployment benefits to a nurse fired by Hackettstown Regional Medical Center for refusing a flu shot. The refusal, the court wrote, did not amount to misconduct.

Mark Mueller may be reached at mmueller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkJMueller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The show, titled "Hot for the Holidays," was put on by Hot 97 at the Prudential Center. Spanning over three hours, Busta Rhymes gave tearful speeches and high energy performances all night.

NEWARK--Rapper, Busta Rhymes, celebrated his career--one of the most prolific in hip hop--Saturday night in Newark. Joining him was one of the most stacked lineups of the year, with everyone from Puff Daddy, to Lil' Wayne, to Jersey favorite, Fetty Wap, making appearances.

The show, titled "Hot for the Holidays," was put on by Hot 97 at the Prudential Center. Spanning over three hours, Busta hosted, giving tearful speeches and high energy performances all night. 

Check out photos from the event here. Have pictures of your own? Upload them in the comments!

.@iamdiddy blows the roof off The Rock! @hot97 #hot4theholidays https://t.co/zavA8TxByx

-- Prudential Center (@PruCenter) December 6, 2015

@conglomerateent #bustarhymes put on an amazing show #lastnight #nonstop #bustarhymesandfriends #VMBWASTHERE

A photo posted by VJ Ralph McDaniels (@videomusicbox) on Dec 6, 2015 at 8:24am PST

Lategram from @Hot97 @ConglomerateEnt #Hot4theHolidays show. Shout out to @atcq @monicajtalavera for the love. So cool to see all these hip hop legends on one stage. #ATCQ #BustaRhymes

A photo posted by Robert Santini (@samorob) on Dec 6, 2015 at 8:04am PST

Alex Remnick may be reached at aremnick@njadvancemedia.com or on Twitter @AlexRemnick. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Authorities have identified the victim killed Saturday amid a series of shootings in Newark as a 21-year-old city man.

NEWARK -- Authorities have identified the victim killed Saturday amid a series of shootings in Newark as a 21-year-old city man. 

Eric Wright sustained multiple gunshot wounds in a 1 p.m. incident near the intersection of Pearson Lane and Doby Place, said Anthony Ambrose, Essex County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Detectives. Wright was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he was later pronounced dead, he added.

An investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force is in its initial stages, Ambrose said. No other information was immediately made available.

Wright's killing occurred during a violent 24-hour span in Newark that saw two others injured in shooting incidents, sources close to the investigations confirmed.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/12/1_killed_2_injured_in_newark_shootings.html

The first in the series occurred Friday at approximately 6 p.m in the 100 block of Fairmount Avenue, a source said. The male victim, whose name has not yet been released, was found suffering multiple gunshot wounds, the source said. He was later transported to University Hospital in Newark for treatment.

On Saturday afternoon, four hours after the shooting that killed Eric Wright, a male was shot and injured in an incident near Central Avenue and 2nd Street, a source said.

According to the source, the victim, whose name has not been released, sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was later transported to University Hospital in Newark for treatment, the source said.

Wright's death brings the city's homicide count to 92, according to a count by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities recorded 93 homicides in all of 2014.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Authorities have yet to determine what caused the fire at 63 Heckel Street Saturday night

BELLEVILLE - Two families were displaced after a four-alarm fire broke out at their home Saturday night.

Capt. Scott Wentworth of the Belleville Fire Department said the blaze at the two-story brick building at 63 Heckel Street around 10:30 p.m. Firefighters were able to place it under control by around midnight, though not before it spread and damaged a neighboring building.

Wentworth said "several" people were displaced, though none were injured by the fire.

MORE: Glimpse of History: Handling crowd control in Belleville

Authorities are still unsure what caused the fire.

Red Cross spokeswoman Diane Concannon said the group responded to the fire early this morning and provided temporary lodging, food and clothing to 11 people from five families.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

There were 107 registered animal shelters and pounds in New Jersey as of March, 2015.

According to the New Jersey Office of Animal Welfare, there were 107 registered animal shelters and pounds in the state as of March, 2015. There are well over 100 rescue groups and organizations working in the state to find homes for pets that have been rescued as strays, abandoned or given up by their owners.

Many of these groups depend on volunteers, people who give their available time and homes to caring for and fostering pets until permanent placements can be made.

Here is a gallery of homeless pets from northern and central New Jersey, just a handful of the thousands of animals in need of homes. Be sure to activate the captions to access all the information needed to contact these groups and adopt these pets.

More adoptable pets can be viewed here and here

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

See new trends based on recently released Census estimates.

ESSEX COUNTY -- There are almost 12,000 more people in Essex County now than there were five years ago, but according to comparative U.S. Census estimates released last week, that's not the only change that's come to the local population.

According to the comparisons, from 2010 to 2014, Essex saw meaningful shifts in residents' education rates, marriage rates, and personal economies.

The five graphs below showcase these population trends over the past five years.

1. Fewer people are getting married.

The percentage of Essex County residents who are married decreased from 2010 to 2014. Moreover, there are more men and women now who have never been married than there were five years ago.   

2. Residents are learning more.

Essex County is hitting the books. More residents are staying in school longer, according to the Census. By 2014, more than 102,000 of the county's nearly 800,000 residents reported having a Bachelor's degree.

3. More people are moving to Essex from overseas.

Newark was recently named one of the 100 most diverse cities in the nation, so it may not come as a surprise that a growing number of Essex residents are immigrating to the area. By 2014, more than a quarter of the county's population was foreign born.

4. More residents are living in poverty.

In line with Kids Count survey that recently found that kids in New Jersey's largest city are getting poorer, the percentage of residents living below the poverty level is increasing. From 2010 to 2014, the median household income in Essex County decreased from $55,125 to $54,499, according to the Census.

5. More people are making more.

And, adding fodder to Essex's spot as the New Jersey county with the most income inequality, there are more residents making more than $200,000 a year, too.

The Brick City Lions Pee Wee team will face a Rhode Island-based squad Tuesday for a chance to advance to the title game

ORLANDO, FLA. - The Brick City Lions are one step closer to bringing a championship home to Newark.

The Pop Warner football club's Pee Wee team, made up of boys between 9 and 11, defeated the East Vancouver (Wash.) Venom 39-0 on Saturday. The win earns them a spot in the annual Pop Warner Super Bowl's second round on Tuesday, when they will take on a team from Mt. Hope, R.I.

Should they emerge victorious, the team would advance to a championship game on Friday.

The Brick City Lions also sent their Midget division team of players between 10 and 12 to the annual tournament at Walt Disney World. That team fell to a St. Petersburg, Fla.- squad on Saturday, and will play a consolation game on Tuesday.

The trip to Florida nearly never came for the Lions, who were able to raise more than $30,000 to cover airfare, hotels and other expenses last week.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Don't pack away those T-shirts just yet. Our warmer-than-usual December is about to get even warmer.

If you thought it's been feeling warmer than usual this month, you're right.

But wait until the upcoming weekend, and you might be wearing a T-shirt if you venture outside to take a jog or put up your outdoor Christmas lights.

Temperatures across New Jersey are expected to hit 60 degrees on Saturday and Sunday -- 15 degrees above the normal high of 45 for this time of year.

"It has been a warm start to December," said Valerie Meola, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. "Normal highs are typically in the 40s for this time in December."

So far this month, the high temperature in most towns across the Garden State has hit 50 degrees or higher every day, and Monday is expected to be the same. The high could struggle to get past the upper 40s on Tuesday, but after that the mercury should creep up into the low- to mid-50s before hitting 60 this weekend, even in northern counties, forecasters say.

PLUS: Newark ties record for warmest November

Although the warm December days may seem unusual, they're not likely to smash any records.

The high in New Brunswick Monday is forecast to reach 54, but the city's record high for this day is 77 degrees, according to AccuWeather data. That high was reached in 1998. 

With temperatures in the 50s every day this month so far, Meola said, Newark's December high has been running 6.4 degrees above normal, Trenton's high has been 5.7 degrees above normal and Atlantic City's high has been 5.9 degrees above normal.

NO THREAT FROM COASTAL STORM 

Tuesday is shaping up to be the coolest day of the week, with some cloud cover over parts of the state, but a coastal storm that is developing near North Carolina Monday is not expected to impact the Garden State, Meola said.

"All indications are showing the storm will remain off shore," she said.

The only possible impact on New Jersey, she said, is cloud cover and the possibility of light rain in coastal southern areas of the state late Monday night. 

 

That potential coastal storm for this week is now an 'off-the-coast' storm. Precipitation forecast for next 3 days. pic.twitter.com/IeHTMuFUdE

-- Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) December 7, 2015

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

 

Glorive Negron and Oscar Cortez are being held on $100,000 and $75,000 bonds

Glorive Negron, 40, was ordered held on $100,000 bond and Oscar Cortez, 25, was ordered held on $75,000 bond on various counts of drug possession and distribution, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said in a statement.

The two landed in custody on Friday afternoon, when members of Fontoura's Bureau of Narcotics set up an undercover surveillance operation at the corner of Park Avenue and North 5^th Street in the city's North Ward, after numerous neighbors complained about open-air drug dealing.

MORE: 21-year-old man ID'd as victim in series of Newark shootings

At about 1:30 p.m., detectives noticed Negron loitering on the corner. Before long, Cortez showed up to hand off a white shopping bag. Police moved in, and Cortez took off on foot, tearing through a number of backyards before disappearing inside a home, according to Fontoura.

"Our officers chased after him and apprehended him inside the home without further incident," he said.

Negron was detained at the scene, and police allegedly found 500 glassine envelopes of heroin inside the shopping bag, each stamped 'TOP CHEF' in red ink. Further investigation found that Negron also had five open warrants out of Atlantic County.

Both suspects were held at the Essex County Jail in Newark over the weekend, and remain there as of this afternoon.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The handgun was found in a bag that belonged Chad Wiegand of the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, police said.

Chad Wiegand, of Lanoka Harbor, pictured left, was arrested on Saturday at Newark airport after a loaded handgun was found in his carry-on luggage, authorities said. (Photos courtesy of Port Authority police and TSA)Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

NEWARK -- A New Jersey man who authorities said packed a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage was arrested this weekend at Newark Liberty International Airport. 

Chad Wiegand, of the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and unlawful possession of hollow point bullets, according to Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo.

The Transportation Security Administration said an officer operating the X-ray machine at a security checkpoint on Saturday found the weapon in a zippered case inside a knapsack. 

Undercover sting leads to arrests in Newark Airport smuggling operation

Port Authority police who responded to the checkpoint in terminal B of the airport confiscated the .25 caliber handgun and arrested Wiegand, Pentangelo said. The gun was loaded with six hollow point rounds, Pentangelo said.

Wiegand was ticketed to fly to Hong Kong, according to the TSA, who said there was no impact to airport operations.

Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Chenedu Ibrahim Ali claims he was bullied to enter a plea on outstanding traffic tickets despite not being provided with an interpreter

NEWARK - A deaf man has filed suit against the city and its municipal court, claiming he was repeatedly denied a sign language interpreter while attempting to take care of outstanding traffic tickets earlier this year.

In his federal complaint filed Nov. 25, Chenedu Ibrahim Ali of Plainfield, alleges he was "ignored, humiliated and treated with discrimination and deliberate indifference" by both judges and court officers, violating his rights in the process.

Ali, who communicates primarily through sign language, contends he was pulled over in Fanwood on July 2 for driving without a working headlight. He was cited and paid a fine, but was soon advised that he had two unresolved tickets issued by the Newark police.

He claims he was unaware of the citations, and opted to take them to court for a hearing.

On July 21, he arrived at the downtown municipal court, but allegedly waited for nearly three hours without being assigned an interpreter. When he approached the unidentified judge, he claims he stated he was deaf and needed more information before making a plea.

PLUS: Crumbling jail complex in Newark may be facing wrecking ball

"The judge, becoming aggravated with the Plaintiff, yelled at him to decide whether he was guilty or not and sign the paper and screamed at him loudly stating, upon information and belief: 'That's a lie! You can hear me!'"

Ali alleges that his hearing was rescheduled for Aug. 7, when the court once again failed to provide him with an interpreter. He eventually took the stand without one, and both tickets were dismissed, according to his complaint.

However, he alleges the experience caused him "shame, anxiety, frustration, emotional distress, fear and discrimination", and that the court failed to implement fair practices and provide proper training to staff.

In a statement, Ali's New York-based law firm Eisenberg & Baum called the alleged lack of proper accommodations for deaf defendants a "sad reality" in many courthouses across the country.

"Court systems are designated to protect citizens from civil wrongs and in this instance, they are the ones whom have violated our clients rights," they said. "Our client's hope is that this case will spread a clear message across the country that illegal discrimination in the Courts of any kind against Deaf individuals is unacceptable."

Municipal Court Director James Simpson could not immediately be reached for comment. A city spokesperson acknowledged a request but did not immediately offer a response.

Ali is seeking unspecified damages.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The tickets were bought in Bergen and Essex counties

The pair of $1 million Mega Millions tickets sold for Friday night's drawing were bought in North Jersey stores about 22 miles apart.

The lucky tickets were sold at Montclair Food & Fuel on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair and a 7-Eleven on County Road in Tenafly, state lottery officials announced Monday afternoon.

Had either ticket buyer exercised the Megaplier option for an extra $1, he or she would have won $5 million.

Friday's winning numbers were 26, 42, 47, 61 and 73. The Mega Ball was 6.

The odds of a single ticket matching five numbers are 18,492,204 to 1.

Since no one hit the $47 million jackpot on Friday, the top prize for Tuesday's drawing will be $57 million with a cash option of $34 million.

Mega Millions is played in 44 states as well as Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is worth $145 million with a cash option of $88 million. 

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

 

Police said officers saw the men trying to flee the convenience store's parking lot after another man was allegedly robbed of $140 in cash.

HILLSIDE -- Officers arrested five men after one of them robbed a man in the 7-Eleven parking lot Saturday night and the others attempted to help him get away, police said.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., officers saw a gray 2006 Dodge Charger arrive at the Liberty Avenue convenience store at a rapid speed with an open back door, according to Det. Lt. Vincent Ricciardi. 

Five men were arrested for robbery in a 7-Eleven parking lot Saturday night, police said. NJ Advance Media file photo 

He said one of the four men in the car yelled to a man who was involved in a struggle in the parking lot, saying "Come on! Let's go! Get in!"

Police ended the struggle, and one of the men jumped into the Charger, Ricciardi said. 

The other man told police he had just been robbed of $140 in cash, according to Ricciardi.

Other police units arrived and stopped the Charger, he said.

MORE: Dad tried to steal TV with 5-year-old son in tow, Linden police say

Ricciardi said the Charger's occupants were Rickardo Francis, 19, of Orange; Jason Hene, 20, of Maplewood; Dyshear Hicks, 19, of Orange; Brandon Jenkins, 19, of Orange; and Marlon E. McKenley, Jr., 19, of Maplewood. 

All of them, except McKenley, were charged with robbery, Ricciardi said. He said all five were also charged with possession of 37 pills of prescription narcotics and under 50 grams of marijuana. 

Ricciardi said McKenley was released without bail, and the other four men are being held at Hillside police headquarters, pending transport to Union County jail. 

MORE UNION COUNTY NEWS

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

 

Authorities have asked anyone with information on the man's whereabouts to contact them.

Darryl A. Craft. (Courtesy Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
 

NEWARK -- Authorities are asking for the public's help in bringing to light a Newark man wanted in connection with a city homicide earlier this year.

A warrant for Darryl A. Craft's arrest was issued last week, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced in a release Monday. The 24-year-old is wanted on murder and weapons charges in connection with the Oct. 24 shooting death of Darnell Smith, 19.

Smith, of Newark, was shot and killed in the 200 block of 6th Street, officials said.

Smith's death marked the 81st homicide of the year in Newark. The current count stands at 92.

Authorities declined to comment on the motive behind the murder, or how the two men knew one another.

Craft's bail has been set at $1 million, authorities said. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 1-877 TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

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

 

The incident caused a lockdown at Columbia High School, authorities said.

The incident caused a lockdown at Columbia High School, authorities said. (Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

MAPLEWOOD -- A 15-year-old New Jersey boy has been brought up on a host of charges, including terroristic threats and aggravated assault, after authorities said he brought a toy gun to school and threatened a classmate with it.

The ninth grader at Columbia High School was arrested following a lock-down at the school on Dec. 3, and has now been charged with possession of an imitation firearm, false public alarm, terroristic threats, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon in an educational institution, Maplewood Captain Dawn Williams said in a release Monday.

According to Williams, the boy had a toy gun in school that had the safety feature identifying it as a toy taken off.  Multiple students saw the boy with the gun, and reported it to building administration, police said.

The boy then showed the gun to a 14-year-old classmate during an interaction that "caused (the younger boy) to become fearful that the weapon would be used against him," Williams said in the release.

The school alerted police and had students shelter-in-place while the threat was investigated, officials said.

No other information about the nature of the boys' altercation or what potential penalties the 15-year-old is facing was immediately available.

The incident marked the second such scare in the high school in as many months. In November, a ninth grader was charged after making a threat against the school on Twitter.

Last school year, the school community reacted to two serious weapons threats - one in which a seventh grader brought a loaded gun to a South Orange Maplewood middle school, and one in which a high schooler brought an airsoft gun and knife to Columbia High.

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

 

NEWARK — Four residents were arrested in connection with three incidents over the weekend, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said. Five loaded guns were also recovered. The first of these arrests were on Friday morning at around 4 a.m., when members of the carjacking task force were on patrol near Clinton and Elizabeth avenues and were flagged down by a...

NEWARK -- Four residents were arrested in connection with three incidents over the weekend, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said. Five loaded guns were also recovered.

 

The first of these arrests were on Friday morning at around 4 a.m., when members of the carjacking task force were on patrol near Clinton and Elizabeth avenues and were flagged down by a member of the public. The resident told police the driver of a Mercedes had a gun which he his when police patrols passed by, Glover said.

Police spotted a vehicle matching the description and tried to stop it shortly afterwards when officers determined the plate did not belong to the car. The car drove off, leading police on a low-speed chase that ended when the Mercedes and another car got into an accident at Branford Place and Washington Avenue, Glover said.

The driver and passenger of the Mercedes tried to walk away from the scene, then the driver ran when police ordered the two to stop. The driver, who tossed a gun during a foot chase, was caught and two weapons were found, a 44-caliber and a 45-caliber, Glover said. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were also allegedly found inside the Mercedes.

Wali Muhammad, 40, was charged with multiple weapons- and drug-related offenses. He was also charged with receiving stolen property and given multiple motor-vehicle summonses.Luther Russell, 32, was charged with several narcotics violations.

A few hours later, at 7 a.m., detectives assigned to the Violent Crime Task Force, which is comprised of members of the FBI, Newark and Jersey City Police Departments as well as members of the Essex County and Hudson County Prosecutor's Offices, were conducting an investigation near Clinton and Johnson avenues. They entered a hallway to a building in the 100 block of Johnson Avenue,  where they saw Derice Clark, 50, Glover said.

Clark, who police said was seen with a gun in his waistband, was arrested after trying to run into an apartment, Glover said. A loaded 45-caliber Luger was allegedly in his possession.

As Clark was being cuffed, a woman who said she lived with Clark emerged from the apartment to ask why he was being arrested. The woman gave police permission to search the home, where they found a second gun, a .40-caliber, in Clark's coat pocket, Glover said.

Clark was charged with multiple weapons offenses as well as a charge of receiving stolen property when police determined one of the guns had been stolen, Glover said.
On Sunday morning around 1:30 a.m., members of the Carjacking Task Force were on quality-of-life patrols near S. 17th Street and 15th Avenue and were also gathering information on a recent homicide.
As they patrolled, they spotted a group in a parking lot, including a 16-year-old who officers knew had been issued a monitoring bracelet.  When officers approached, the teen allegedly removed a gun from his waistband and ran, tossing the .38-caliber Smith and Wesson during the chase. He was captured and charged with a number of weapons offenses and was also found to be wanted on two warrants, Glover said.

"I would like to commend the men and women in the field for the outstanding police work they are doing. In arresting these individuals and removing several guns and drugs off our city streets, they have again shown that we and our partners, other police agencies as well as the citizens, stand united and dedicated to making a better, safer Newark," said Police Director Eugene Venable.

Police ask that anyone with information about these or any other crimes call the Department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 877 NWK-TIPS
(877 695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867).

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

 

Weapons, drugs found Sunday night

NEWARK -- Four residents were arrested Sunday night on drug and weapons charges, a police spokesman, Sgt. Ron Glover, said.

 

Shortly before 5 p.m., detectives with the Narcotics Enforcement Section were sent to the 100 block of Wakeman Avenue on reports of drug activity. Dressed as civilians and in unmarked cars, the detectives conducted surveillance of the area, watching as a group of males congregated in front of a building.

One man, Christian Padilla, 20, was spotted with what appeared to be a gun handle sticking out of his pants, Glover said. When officers approached the group and ordered them to stand still, Padilla allegedly ran off, throwing the gun under a car as he was being chased, Glover said. He was eventually captured after a short foot chase and charged with unlawful possession of the loaded 9-mm handgun and other offenses.

At 8:30pm, detectives assigned to the Special Conditions Team were patrolling near the Bradley Court Village on South Orange and North Munn avenues when they were approached by a citizen who reported two people who frequently sold drugs in the area. The witness provided a description of the two and where they could be seen.

Detectives spotted one man who matched the tipster's description, who alerted the second suspect when police approached, Glover said. The two fled into a nearby apartment as one of them dropped an item on the hallway floor, Glover also said.

When police entered the apartment they saw a woman and the two suspects in a back room, one of whom had a gun in his waistband, Glover said. Detectives ordered everyone to lie on the floor and retrieved a weapon, a 40-mm Glock handgun. Drugs, paraphernalia and cash from suspected drug sales were also found.

Police arrested Lateefah Martin and charged her with possession of narcotics. Jamil Smith, 32, was charged with drugs and weapons violations and Raheem Johnson, 33, was charged with drug offenses.

"These arrests were the result of information being funneled to our officers and the officers' due diligence in investigating the complaints via surveillance before acting," said Newark Police Director Eugene Venable.

"They we able to arrests four suspects and safely remove two guns and drugs out of the hands of known criminals. With the continued cooperation between the residents and the police we can make our city a nicer place to live and work in."

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