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Girls basketball preview: Players to watch in 2017-18

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A breakdown of players to watch in every girls basketball group in 2017-18.


Boys Basketball preview: Group 4 players to watch for in 2017-18

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Who are the top players in Group 4?

The boys basketball season gets under way on Friday, Dec. 15.

In preparation for the 2017-18 season, NJ.com took a look 44 of the top players to watch in Group 4 heading into the 2017-18 season.

Who do you think will have the biggest impact in Group 4? Let us know in the comments section below.

Jamal AndersonHightstown, Sr., Guard: Anderson is coming off a season that saw him average 17.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 4.2 steals per game. He is heading into the season 112 points away from the 1,000-point mark.

Mattias Arrindell, Piscataway, Sr., Guard: Piscataway is a good shooting team and Arrindell is no exception to that. He hit 15 3-pointers last season and finished second on the team with 11.5 points per game. He could tear things up alongside fellow senior Jordan Davidson this season.

Derek Astarita, Sayreville, Guard, Sr.: The captain and team-leader will be huge for Sayreville this season. On a team that lost a lot of key scorers to graduation, Astarita will need to build on his 4.1 point per game total if Sayreville is to return to the sectional semifinals.

Tyrek Battle-Holley, Dickinson, Sr., Guard: Dickinson fell to Columbia in the first round of the North 2, Group 4 tournament last season and is hoping Battle-Holley can led them out of the first round this season. He averaged 21.1 points, hitting 49 3-pointers in the process, and grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game last year.

Greg Billups, Freehold Township, Jr., Forward: Billups is the only player back from last year's Freehold Township squad, which battled to the Central Jersey, Group 4 final. He averaged 6.2 points per game last season.

Naseim Brantley, Howell, Sr., Guard: Howell may be moving from Central, Group 4 to South, Group 4, but will be in good shape with Brantley back. He led Howell with 16.8 points per game last season and will head a strong group of returners.

Ji'Ayir Brown, Trenton, Sr., Guard: Trenton fell to Freehold Township in the Central Jersey, Group 4 quarterfinals and will hope to advance even further this season. Brown led Trenton with 12.6 points and 4 steals per game. He also had 6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season.

Hassan CeesayNewark East Side, Sr., Guard: Ceesay helped key East Side's run to the North 2, Group 4 final. He averaged 11.5 points per game and will be a crucial force alongside Shamir Johnson.

Jaylen Colon, Paterson Kennedy, Sr., Guard: Colon led Paterson Kennedy with 16.3 points per game and knocked down 29 3-pointers last season. He has great ball control and even better footwork. Defensively, he is armed with active hands and will likely be matched against every squad's top guard. He can pull up, drive the lane or pass to open shooters on the perimeter.

Kadian Dawkins, Rancocas Valley, Sr., Guard: Dawkins will be the head of a very strong Rancocas Valley team looking to make some noise. He was the key offensively last season with 12.2 points per game last season.

Nazim Derry, Atlantic City, Sr., Guard: Derry will lead a pretty strong Atlantic City squad into this season. Derry is the team's top scoring threat back after putting in 10.4 points per game last season.

Dylan Deveney, Shawnee, Sr., Forward: Deveney was an intricate piece in Shawnee's run to the South Jersey, Group 4 championship and Group 4 semis. Deveney averaged 16.6 points and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau last season.

Anthony Dicaro, Cherokee, Jr., Guard: Standing at 6-1, Dicaro provides Cherokee with some size at the guard position. He can hit deep threes and uses his great vision to help run the point. DiCaro was Cherokee's leading scorer with 11.1 points per game last season. He helped key Cherokee's run to the South Jersey, Group 4 semis.

Tommy DrubulisScotch Plains-Fanwood, Sr., Guard: Drubulis heads a Scotch Plains team that returns four of its top six scorers. He led the Raiders with 8.9 points and was second on the team with 34 3-pointers last season.

Jake Dubois, Southern, Sr., Guard: DuBois is a primary ball handler and Southern’s returning leading scorer. He averaged 15 points per game last year and has 635 career points.

Stephan Gabriel, Columbia, Sr., Forward: Gabriel keyed Columbia's run to the North 2, Group 4 quarterfinals and will hope to take the team even further this season. He led Columbia with 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season.

Aaron Gao, Bridgewater-Raritan, Sr., Guard: Gao's biggest asset is his deadly pull-up jump shot. He led Bridgewater with 14.8 points per game and sunk 49 3-pointers. Bridgewater returns another strong shooter in fellow senior Sterling White. The duo should give defenses fits this season.

Danny Gaines, Colts Neck, Sr., Guard: Gaines will be tasked with leading Colts Neck's offense a season after averaging 17 points per game last season.

Ross Gang, Millburn, Sr., Guard: Millburn was stunned by Union in the North 2, Group 4 first round last season. Gang will try to erase that early exit this season. He led Millburn with 16.9 points per game last season.

Carl Gibson, Cherry Hill East, Jr., Guard: After graduating its top three scorers, Cherry Hill East will look to Gibson to lead the offense this year. He will likely serve as the team's point guard and has the ability to shoot as well. He averaged 7.7 points per game last season.

Mario Haklaj, Randolph, Sr., Forward: Randolph graduated a lot of key pieces from last year's sectional semifinal team and will look to Haklaj to build on a 5.6 point per game season. He was a solid player inside with good range and a jump shot to match. He is a good defender that clogs the lane with his active hands.

Sam Johnson, Hunterdon Central, Sr., Guard: Johnson averaged nine points per game last season, but will need to improve on that total if he hopes to lead Central back to the a sectional title with Tucker Richardson graduated.

Tavon Jones, Linden, Sr., Guard: Jones has been one of the top guards in New Jersey for quite some time and his senior season could be his best yet. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as he led Linden to the Group 4 championship.

Dylan Kaufman, Marlboro, Sr., Forward: Kaufman averaged 12.1 points and six rebounds per game. He helped key Marlboro's run to the Shore Conference Tournament final last season.

Rynell Lawrence, Millville, Jr., Guard: Few sophomores make the impact that Lawrence was able to last season. Millville's offense ran through him and he will be looking to step up even more this year. He averaged 18.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2 steals per game to lead Millville in all four categories last season.

Steve LeungMorristown, Sr., Guard: Morristown graduated its top four scorers and will be relying heavily on Leung to pick up the slack of those graduations. He averaged 4.9 points per game last season and is a pretty dangerous threat from 3-point land.

Chris MannPhillipsburg, Sr., Guard: Standing at 6-6, Mann might seem like he should be a forward, but he has the speed and shot to excel as a shooting guard as well. He averaged 18.3 points per game and hit 17 3-pointers last season.

DeAndrae McFarlane, Union, Sr., Guard: Union has some big-time replacing to do after losing its top three scorers. That will start with McFarlane. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game last season.

Jared Meyer, Old Bridge, Sr., Guard: With Kyle Parris and Rich Calandrino graduated, Old Bridge will rely on Meyer to lead the offense. He is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 6.4 points per game. He is a solid player inside and will need to continue improving on his play this season.

Charles Murphy, Montclair, Jr., Forward: Standing at 6-3 and weighing 175 pounds, Murphy provides Montclair with size and strength. He averaged 13.5 points per game and hit 49 3-pointers for the Mounties last season.

Mike Patterson, Williamstown, Sr., Guard: Patterson has been a three-year starter for Williamstown. He is an explosive scorer and playmaker that averaged 12.4 points per game last season. He needs 291 points to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Jovany Perdomo, Egg Harbor, Sr: Perdomo is Egg Harbor's top returning scorer after averaging eight points per game last season. He is part of a deep returning group for Egg Harbor.

Kemari Persol, Woodbridge, Sr., Guard: Persol ran the point for Woodbridge last season and shined behind his great ball handling. He is a ball-moving player that can hit shots on the perimeter. He is a good defender and averaged 8.7 points per game last season. This season, he should be a force alongside Hura Blaine and Curtis Nesbit.

Holden PetrickToms River North, Sr., Guard: The 5-10, wing guard averaged 10 points per game last season. He was a crucial part in Toms River North’s run to the South Jersey, Group 4 final.

Dan Pilsbury, Watchung Hills, Sr., Guard: Pilsbury is a great scorer and is coming off a season where he averaged 16 points per game and hit 29 3-pointers. He also pulled down 3.1 rebounds per game last year.

Ryan Purcell, Middletown South, Sr., Guard: The two-guard has over 600 career points and averaged 17 points per game last season.

Abdallah Saleh, North Bergen, Jr., Center: North Bergen won 22 games last season and battled to the North 1, Group 4 semifinals. It will look to improve on that success behind Saleh, who averaged 11.1 points per game.

Joe Sampson, East Brunswick, Sr., Guard: Sampson is hoping to lead East Brunswick back to success in the GMC after averaging 11.2 points per game last season.

Michael SchretterRidgewood, Sr., Center: Schretter was a huge part in Ridgewood's run to the North 1, Group 4 final last year. He will need to continue to use his 6-7 frame to be a force inside. He averaged 14.2 points per game last season.

Andrew Sims, Lenape, Sr., Center: Sims broke out last season as he led Lenape to the South Jersey, Group 4 semifinals. Although Lenape lost some key players to graduation, it returns Simms, who led the team with 13.8 points per game.

Romey TalleyPlainfield, Sr., Guard: Talley averaged 16.1 points per game and was Plainfield's leading scorer. He heads into this year closing in on the 1,000-point mark.

Atiba Taylor Jr.Hackensack, Sr., Guard: After initially transferring to Patrick School, Taylor Jr. is back at Hackensack. He is as dynamic of a player as they come. Last season he led Hackensack with 19 points, 4.9 assists and 4.6 steals per game. He finished third on the team with 5.8 rebounds per game.

Paul Woolhouse, North Hunterdon, Sr., Center: Woolhouse is a Carnegie Mellon recruit and is coming off a season that saw him average 9.7 points per game. If North Hunterdon hopes to have success, his play on the glass will be huge.

Andrew Yoon, Bergen Tech, Sr., Forward: Yoon led Bergen Tech with 14.3 points per game last season. The senior is hoping to build on a solid 2016-17 campaign and propel Bergen Tech out of the first round of states.

Richard Greco may be reached at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Richard_V_GrecoLike NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.

Rutgers boosts pay for student workers to $11 an hour amid protests

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Students working in dining halls, libraries and other facilities will see their pay go up 30 percent, but some protesters say the raise is not enough.

Rutgers University students who work minimum wage jobs on campus will start the new year with a big raise -- but some protesters say the pay boost is too stingy.

Minimum wage for student workers will go from $8.44 an hour to $11 an hour, starting Jan. 1, Rutgers President Robert Barchi said in a letter to students Monday.

The 30 percent raise affects more than 13,000 students who work in dining halls, libraries, offices and other facilities on the New Brunswick-Piscataway, Newark and Camden campuses, the president said. Student in the Federal Work Study program will also get the boost in pay.

"Over the last several years, I am proud that we have been able to keep tuition increases at a minimum while simultaneously strengthening our academic profile," Barchi wrote in his letter. "Despite our efforts, more than 13,000 of you still must commit many hours each week to working on our campuses to defray the cost of your education. While holding an on-campus job can offer many benefits, we are cognizant of the delicate balance that you must strike between work and your studies."

N.J.'s minimum wage going up 16 cents

The raise, which does not affect non-student workers on campus, comes after months of protests by students calling for Rutgers to boost its minimum wage from $8.44, the state's minimum wage, to $15 an hour.

Mariah Wood, one of the student organizers of the "Fight for Fifteen" movement, said the raise to $11 an hour is not enough for student workers who struggle to pay for rent, food and medical care while paying Rutgers tuition.

"This is only a partial victory," Wood wrote Monday on the group's Facebook page. "Barchi is TERRIFIED of us because we have POWER. He is willing to throw us a bone because he knows we have the ability to make it so he can't pass a budget -- he knows we can shut this university down."

Wood called on students to join a 2:30 p.m. "Fight for Fifteen" demonstration today at the Rutgers Board of Trustees meeting at the Douglass Student Center in New Brunswick.

The Rutgers fight to increase the school's minimum wage is part of a national movement for better pay on college campuses. There have been similar protests from the University of Maryland and Columbia University to San Francisco State University.

The University of Washington is among the schools that have raised their minimum wage to $15 an hour after student protests.

In New Jersey, Gov.-elect Phil Murphy made raising the state's minimum wage to $15 one of his campaign promises. Though the Democrat has not given many specifics on his plan.

"This is as high on the priority list as anything we've got," Murphy said in November, shortly after he was elected to succeed Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

New Jersey's statewide minimum wage is slated to go up 16 cents in January to $8.60 an hour. The minor increase is prompted by an increase in the consumer price index, which is used to set the minimum wage each year.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.

 

SZA's thrilling concert was boosted by a huge special guest (PHOTOS)

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The Maplewood native was shocked when a certain rapper walked out in NYC Monday night

NEW YORK -- For all I've gushed over SZA this year, from hailing the R&B songstress's debut LP "CTRL" as the most spectacular album any New Jersey female has released in the last 20 years, to recounting her five Grammy Award nominations and her fierce outing on "Saturday Night Live" just this past weekend, there remained the faint voice of doubt I always hear when I've yet to witness the musician perform on stage.   

So much can be about an artist augmented in the studio; what if the singer born Solana Rowe was just a clever manufacture? Even if Time Magazine and New York Daily News named SZA's record as the best of 2017, could she still be all hype? 

Sure, she could have. But in New York Monday night, a short train ride from her native Maplewood and before a sold-out and immediately devout crowd, the emergent Jersey girl was -- with all doubt officially expelled -- the real deal. 

First, let's unpack the moment from this Irving Plaza performance that had all the hip-hop blogs buzzing Monday night into Tuesday: midway through SZA's sultry, hour-long set, she looked off stage left and freaked out. 

"Chance!" 

Yes, Chance The Rapper, the revered Chicago emcee who scored Best Rap Album and Best New Artist at the Grammys earlier this year walked out to surprise and join a genuinely giddy SZA for "Child's Play," a track on which the duo had collaborated in 2014, before either of them was a household name. 

That's how popular SZA, who is already nominated for Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammys, has become in 2017: she didn't beg the guy who headlined Lollapalooza this year to come and rhyme with her. He showed up on his own, just to please her and to align himself with a talent that merges his own pensive hip-hop with Erykah Badu's neo-soul and unexpected flourishes of crestfallen indie-rock.

Of course, the crowd of one-thousand or so 20-somethings absolutely lost it for Chance, to the point that after its first wave of raucous cheers, most people shut up and froze with their smartphones in the air, laser-aimed on capturing the moment -- these would be coveted, brag-worthy videos. 

Though the 27-year-old singer would have thrived without her special guest; most everything from the delightfully vulnerable and textured "CTRL" album was performed this night with joy and validity. Despite the wave of accolades since the record's June release, there were no "too cool" moments to speak of -- quite the opposite, as SZA joked how she was never popular in high school and how she rarely "leaves the crib" to go party.  

And when a few Jersey fans yelled out her hometown, she responded with "Maplewood, up to no good!" which should obviously be the Essex County town's new motto.  

The performance began as the album does, with the hypnotic opener "Supermodel" and its liquid vocal lines laid brilliantly over a simple guitar riff that allows SZA to ad-lib and scat like her vocal muse Ella Fitzgerald. 

sza-nyc2823.JPGNew Jersey native SZA performs Dec. 11, 2017, during a sold out show at Irving Plaza in New York City. 

A modest, three-piece band -- guitar, drums and keys/synth -- were dutiful in keeping time with a singer whose loose style forces the instruments to find her ever-morphing pocket, not the reverse.  

While many of SZA's songs are restricted to her somewhat limited vocal range, she sells the hell out of them, her words popping like party favors as she grooves and slinks around the stage, her signature mop of hair bouncing in dark, curly plumes. 

But what ultimately draws most folks in are her depictions of love's upkept corners, from dishonesty and lust to the feeling that the cosmos has somehow selected you as the world's lone sufferer of failed relationships. 

The smoldering jam "The Weekend" is in reality song of desperation, where sharing a lover with others is better than no one at all. And her biggest hit "Love Galore" asks all the hard questions: "Why you bother me when you know you don't want me? / Why you bother me when you know you got a woman?"

Hopefully SZA has found solace in the fact that through her own turmoil -- and a heap of exceedingly deft songwriting -- she has eased the pain of others.

Yet Monday was largely a celebration of her recent successes, full of smiles and words of admiration for her fans, and when she brought out a small choir from Harlem to sing harmonies on her final few tunes -- particularly "Love Galore," where she really cut loose, head-banged and jammed -- felt like the beginning of a long, passionate relationship between the new artist and her adoring supporters.

garden | nyc tonight. @sza [?] : @er1kp

A post shared by SOS. [?] (@ctrltour) on

SZA's set list 

Dec. 11, 2017 -- Irving Plaza, New York  

"Supermodel"
"Anything"
"Broken Clocks"
"Go Gina"
"Drew Barrymore"
"HiiiJack"
"Child's Play" (with Chance The Rapper)
"Normal Girl"
"Doves in the Wind"
"Wavy (Interlude)"
"Garden (Say It Like Dat)"
"Love Galore"
"The Weekend"
"20 Something"

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

N.J. immigration sweep by ICE leads to 101 arrests across the state

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An enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leads to arrests throughout New Jersey.

Dozens of people--many from Mexico and Central America--were arrested in New Jersey by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week, in a five-day operation that officials on Tuesday said was targeted at "criminal aliens" and those charged with immigration violations.

ICE said most of those arrested, who ranged in age 20 to 71 years old, had prior felony convictions.

"As part of this operation, we continue focus on the arrest of individuals who are criminal and are a threat to public safety and national security," said John Tsoukaris, who heads ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Newark.

Nationwide, arrests under the Trump Administration of immigrants here illegally have jumped 40 percent in the fiscal year, according to figures recently released by the government. ICE refused to disclose the total of arrests it has made in New Jersey since January. A spokeswoman directed a reporter to file a Freedom of Information Act request for the data.

Among those arrested last week included 18 nationals of the Dominican Republic, 15 from Mexico, eight from Honduras and seven from El Salvador. Others included individuals from the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Korea, and the Philippines.

Officials offered no breakdown of the charges they faced, other than to report 80 percent of them had prior felony convictions. ICE said those convictions included sexual assault on a minor, possession and distribution of narcotics, DUI, shoplifting, and illegal reentry.

Immigration attorney Harlan York of Newark said the arrests were typical of ICE operations.

"The recent and frequent removals of non-criminal immigrants is a disturbing trend," he said. "Also, detention without bail of visa overstays is something that appears new."

Enforcement efforts by ICE have not been without controversy in the state, with New Jersey's chief justice earlier this year calling on federal immigration officials to stop arresting unauthorized immigrants at state courthouses.

In a letter to the federal Department of Homeland Security, Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner raised objections to the arrests people making routine appearances in New Jersey Superior Court. He warned the practice of targeting immigrants in court could undermine New Jersey's justice system.

ICE claims its agents go to courthouses only after options are exhausted.

Earlier this month, Oscar and Humberta Campos, who came to New Jersey from Mexico 30 years ago, were deported, leaving their three children behind. The couple, who lived in Bridgeton and own a landscaping company, had been working legally and paying taxes, as well as meeting regularly with immigration authorities. 

Nationally, nearly 90 percent of all deportation cases filed in immigration court in fiscal year 2017 do not involve criminal charges, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse or TRAC, a non-partisan research group based at Syracuse University.

In fact, an analysis by NJ Advance Media of immigration data compiled by the TRAC shows that over the past five years, the majority of those deported have not been convicted of any crime.

In New Jersey, of 8,273 new deportation proceedings filed in immigration court in fiscal year 2017, only 414 resulted from criminal charges, that data showed.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Man confessed involvement in fatal Thanksgiving Day carjacking, prosecutor says

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Murad Lampley is the fourth person to be charged in the carjacking during which Shuri Henry was shot to death.

A 26-year-old man arrested on murder charges in a fatal carjacking in Newark on Thanksgiving Day gave a statement to investigators implicating himself in the crimes, an assistant prosecutor said Tuesday.

Murad LampleyMurad Lampley. (Essex County Correctional Facility)
 

Following a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Superior Court Judge Peter V. Ryan ordered Murad Lampley jailed pending trial for his alleged role in the death of Shuri Henry, 40, of Newark.

Lampley, of Newark, is the fourth person arrested in connection with Henry's death, which the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said occurred during the theft of her 2015 Kia Sorrento in the 300 block of South 20th Street. Henry was with her young nephew when carjackers approached and shot her, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the day after the shooting.

Newark police officers spotted the car the next day near Springfield Avenue, and arrested Supreme Allah, Antonio Torres and a 14-year-old boy after a brief chase.

Lampley -- who was escorted into court by sheriff's officers Tuesday wearing a white and black plaid shirt and gray pants -- was arrested the following week, and charged with murder, felony murder, carjacking and weapons offenses, the prosecutor's office said.

"He provided members of the prosecutor's office with a statement implicating himself in those offenses," Assistant Prosecutor Naazneen Khan told Ryan on Tuesday.

Lampley's attorney, Christopher Dunn, told Ryan he would not contest the state's request for detention, pursuant to the state turning over certain documents.

Shuri Henry mugShuri Henry, shown in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Lyndon Brown)
 

Court records show Lampley has prior convictions for receiving stolen property and resisting arrest.

Allah, 18, of Newark, was ordered detained last week following a hearing before Judge Nancy Sivilli. He faces the same charges as Lampley. 

The prosecutor's office has not identified the 14-year-old defendant because of his age. The boy -- who also is charged with murder, felony murder and carjacking -- is being held in the Essex County Youth Detention Facility, authorities said. His case has been assigned to family court.

Torres, 20, of Newark, is being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility on a charge of eluding police, jail records show.

Henry had just returned home from Thanksgiving dinner with her nephew at the time of the shooting. Prior to her death, friends told NJ Advance Media, she had been organizing a meeting on solutions to social problems in the community. 

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

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2017 football honors, Part 1: Final 50, Group & conference rankings, more

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The final rankings of the season.

FINAL FOOTBALL RANKINGS
The Final 50: NJ.com's 2017 year-end high school football rankings

GROUP RANKINGS 
• Non-Public 
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
• Group 1

CONFERENCE RANKINGS 
Greater Middlesex Conference
 Mid-State 38
North Jersey Interscholastic Conference
North Jersey Super Football Conference
Shore Conference
West Jersey Football League

Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

'Deplorable' conditions at animal shelter have city leaders questioning $675K contract

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The long-time director of Associated Humane Societies will be moved to a marketing role as she faces animal cruelty charges

The head of a troubled animal shelter who has been charged with animal cruelty and issued municipal summonses will be no longer oversee the nonprofit's day-to-day operations, a lawyer for Associated Humane Societies said Tuesday. 

RoseAnn Trezza, the executive director of the nonprofit, will move to a marketing role as the agency restructures after being skewered in back-to-back inspections by local and state health officials. Associated Humane Societies (AHS) operates three shelters including the one in Newark which was cited for 40 violations ranging from questionable euthanasia procedures to mixing healthy animals with sick ones. 

The Newark shelter has contracts with 14 municipalities for animal control and sheltering services, state records show, and takes in more than 5,000 animals a year.

Trezza faces eight criminal counts of animal cruelty and eight civil counts of animal cruelty, filed by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Newark has also filed six summonses against Trezza for conditions at the shelter including: Improper ventilation, cleanliness and disinfection procedures, and improper housing of sick animals and animals in proper cage sizes.

In an emailed statement Trezza defended her work at AHS, where she has served as its director since 2003. 

"The challenges -- and achievements -- of an inner-city shelter were largely ignored in this report and by the media, plus misinformation supplied gave a distorted and mistaken impression of our being a neglectful operation," she wrote in part. "AHS has addressed all issues and has fully cooperated in every way possible."

AHS attorney Harry Levin said all 40 violations cited in its health inspection reports were corrected and the nonprofit was restructuring its management, including adding new board members to oversee the shelter. The board, he made clear, would not be gutted or replaced. 

Harry LevinHarry Levin, an attorney for Associated Humane Societies speaks before the Newark City Council on Tuesday. 

Levin said he did not know whether Trezza would keep her current salary. But if she's convicted on the animal cruelty charges, "she would have to resign," he said. According to the AHS's 990 tax filing, Trezza reported $112,000 in compensation in 2016. 

An online petition seeking Trezza's resignation has garnered more than 9,000 signatures as the shelter's conditions have made headlines and ignited rage among the animal welfare community on social media. 

Levin assured changes had been made -- and more were coming, including a national search for a CEO.

"We're in the process of transitioning," he told the Newark City Council Tuesday as council members sought an explanation for the deplorable conditions cited by health inspectors. "People got into a routine and they were not paying attention and they were not spending time and attention on maintenance and making sure the facility was as perfect as it was going to be. It's not going to happen again."

Newark pays the shelter $675,000 a year. The shelter receives an additional $372,000 from nine municipalities, public records show. The other four municipalities that contract with the Newark shelter did not immediately provide their contracts. 

Repeatedly, council members asked Levin how and why the shelter's conditions were allowed to deteriorate. Health inspectors found similar conditions in 2009 and 2011; the state also issued a scathing report in 2003.

"Why did the staff not know that the sick dogs should be separated from healthy dogs? I don't understand why -- would this problem have gotten fixed if a newspaper had not reported on it?" Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins asked. 

East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador said he would look at the shelter's improvements before greenlighting another $675,000 for the shelter next year. Newark provides the shelter with 40 percent of its revenues, city officials said.

"I was very very upset with what I read and the kinds of pictures that I saw in the newspaper," he said.

Operating with a 'conditional license'

Newark's Director of Health and Community Wellness, Dr. Mark Wade, said the city is in charge of inspecting the shelter and despite the corrected violations, it  remains under a "conditional license" until it can prove consistency in its inspections.

"It was deplorable," Wade said of the conditions during the September visit. 

"For the moment, AHS knows that they have a monopoly on what we can go to," he said, adding that the city was exploring other options but declining to elaborate.

Levin said the shelter was planning to refurbish the basement to create a sick ward for animals; the administrative offices would also be moved to create a floor for veterinary services.

"There has been credible evidence that the AHS was a safe and healthy environment for incoming animals," Trezza said in her statement. "Many that arrived had already experienced much mistreatment, abuse, and trauma from where they came ... Thousands of animals have received the first and perhaps the best care they have ever gotten at AHS."

Trezza, 70, of Matawan, was charged in relation with seven dogs and one skunk, SPCA spokesman Matt Stanton said. She faces a $1,000 fine per criminal charge and/or six months in jail.

Levin also serves as an attorney with the SPCA but he said Trezza was being represented by another lawyer. He insisted "there is no conflict of interest" with his dual roles and this was the first time the two overlapped.

"As a lawyer I don't control or have anything to do with operations," he said. 

Trezza is expected to appear in Newark Municipal Court on Dec. 19 at 8:30 a.m. 

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


Brendan Tevlin's accused killer took gun cross-country on a bus, cop says

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Ali Muhammad Brown is charged with killing three people in Washington state before coming to N.J. where he allegedly shot the Livingston teen

 

Three years ago, Ali Muhammad Brown fatally shot three men in Washington State using a 9mm handgun, then took a Greyhound Bus across the country to New Jersey, where he killed a 19-year-old in West Orange using the same gun, all as part of a plot to avenge the death of Muslims in wars overseas, prosecutors and detectives from both states said on Wednesday.

Brown, a 32-year-old Seattle resident, is the first person ever charged with terrorism in connection with a killing under New Jersey law, following the June 25, 2014 shooting death of Brendan Tevlin of Livingston, who had just finished his freshman year at the University of Virginia.

Separate murder charges are pending against Brown in Washington State related to the three fatal shootings there. He is also charged with a June 29, 2014 armed robbery in Point Pleasant Beach. Brown is now serving a 36-year state prison term after being convicted of another armed robbery, this one in West Orange, which occurred 15 days after Tevlin was killed while stopped at a traffic light at Walker Road and Northfield Avenue.

West Orange police arrested Brown at a makeshift campsite, where authorities say the murder weapon, a camouflage jacket, zip-ties and a copy of the Quran were also found.

The purpose of Wednesday's hearing in state Superior Court in Newark was to determine the admissibility of incriminating statements by Brown and other evidence related to the Washington State killings in Brown's New Jersey murder trial. The trial is scheduled to begin jury selection Jan. 29.

Judge Ronald D. Wigler will determine whether the Essex County Prosecutor's Office can present jurors with evidence from the Washington cases to support its assertion that Tevlin's killing was part of a broader scheme by Brown to kill Americans in retaliation for the death of Muslims at the hands of U.S. armed forces in the Middle East.

Two detectives who had worked on separate murder cases against Brown in the  Washington state killings testified about their investigations. 

Det. Jake Pavlovich of the King County Sheriff's Office, who investigated the killing of Leroy Henderson, 30, on April 27, said Brown used a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun in the fatal shooting and left him lying face-up in the street amid a handful of spent Ruger shell casings, Brown's preferred ammunition.

Pavlovich said a silver Dodge Durango SUV captured near the scene was traced to Brown's ex-wife and mother of his two children.

Pavlovich said Brown's ex-wife had purchased the gun two weeks before the shooting, and then reported it stolen. Pavlovich said that, although the couple had been divorced, she told him that Brown had access to her apartment and to the SUV.

Pavlovich also recounted statements indicating Brown had become increasingly religious, and angry about the death of Muslims at the hands of U.S. military forces in the Middle East.

Brown's lawyer, Albert Kapin, objected to Pavlovich's testimony regarding what the ex-wife had told him, insisting it was hearsay. Wigler allowed the testimony, however, ruling that while hearsay may not be admissible at trial, it was permitted  in the hearing.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutors Purva Desjpande and Jamel Semper then played a taped interview that Pavlovich and his partner conducted with Brown's ex-wife, in which she said Brown often watched lectures on YouTube denouncing the U.S., and that Brown had expressed his discontent living in the United States.

"He's not happy about all the Muslims being killed over there," she says on the tape. "He preferred to be in a Muslim county [rather] than here."

Pavlovich said Brown's ex-wife was not charged in the case.

During a break in the hearing, Pavlovich told NJ Advance Media that Brown traveled from Washington State to New Jersey on a Greyhound Bus, and that he was able to carry the Smith & Wesson on board with him undetected.

Cloyd Steiger, a former detective with the Seattle Police Department who investigated the June 1 killings of Ahmad Said, 27, and Leroy Anderson-Young, 23, in Seattle, said Brown used an online dating site, grindr.com, to lure the men to a night spot before leaving with them in Said's car, then shooting them both multiple times.

The hearing is scheduled to resume on Thursday morning, when the prosecution is expected to call additional witnesses.

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

Death of 8-year-old may be linked to Colorado girl's suicide, source says

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Authorities are investigating the sudden death of a Newark child.

Authorities are probing if the suicide of a 10-year-old girl in Colorado played a role in the death of a Newark child over the weekend, a source with knowledge of an investigation into her death confirmed to NJ Advance Media.

Investigators, a source said, are looking into the possibility that Imani McCray, 8, of Newark may have seen information on social media about the hanging suicide last month of Colorado fifth grader Ashawntey Davis before her own death Sunday.

Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly declined to comment Wednesday on whether or not McCray is suspected of taking her own life, saying the manner and cause of her death are pending a medical examiner's autopsy. He also declined to say whether or not her death was accidental.

The prosecutor's office Tuesday said preliminary autopsy results indicated the young girl did not have visible injuries.

McCray was found by an adult Sunday afternoon, unresponsive in her bedroom, in her family's South Orange Avenue apartment, authorities said. Family members performed CPR, officials said. She was pronounced dead at 3 p.m., about 40 minutes after arriving at University Hospital, authorities said.

"It's tragic ... it's just a horrible, horrible thing, no matter what the circumstances were around it, anytime an 8-year-old child is dead is just horrible," Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said when questioned by a reporter at an event Wednesday.

"My heart goes out to them. I hope it's not bullying, I hope it isn't a copy cat, I hope it's not none of those things. ... We just have to do better, you know all of us, as a community, as a society, we just have to do better."

McCray's family members did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday, but a woman who identified herself as the girl's grandmother posted a sorrowful message on Facebook about her passing.

"My family is broken," her message read, in part.

"My only granddaughter who is 8 yrs old passed away yesterday. ...for this baby, life had only just begun. Dear god nobody saw this coming. When she called me nana it made my heart smile and right now it's broken."

Staff reporter Karen Yi contributed to this story.

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

 

Top 16 storylines entering the 2017-18 girls basketball season

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With a new season about to kick off, there are plenty of unanswered questions.

Homicides hit a low but shootings on the rise in N.J.'s largest city

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Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose issued year-end crime statistics for the city of Newark on Wednesday.

Homicides in Newark have hit a historic low this year when compared to the last decade but non-fatal shootings have increased, city officials announced Wednesday. 

There were 70 homicides to date this year -- about a 28 percent drop from the year prior, Mayor Ras Baraka said during a press conference on the city's year-end crime statistics at the police-fire communications center. That's 26 fewer murders than last year's 96, officials said. However, an additional 75 people were involved in non-fatal shootings, about a 27 percent rise when compared to last year, police said.  

"Obviously this is not a victory, we're not claiming that we won here, we recognize that we still have a long way to go," Baraka said. 

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose credited better intelligence gathering and more officers on the streets for the dip in homicides. He said the increased use of high-powered rifles and automatic weapons has also led to a spike in non-fatal shooting victims.

"We're still plagued by violence in the inner city," he said. 

The state's bail reform law has often led to additional shootings, Baraka said, arguing that it needs to be fixed. When people are arrested for non-fatal shootings and let go, often there's retaliation that takes place and that "increases the opportunity for more shootings to take place," he said. 

"When a police catch a guy and put him in jail they have to go out and do it again ... so there is a pattern," he said. "There are police officers who are working really hard out here ... the intelligence unit is doing really well, they are focusing on a lot of these shootings." 

Since taking office, Baraka has beefed up the police division, boosting its ranks from around 900 officers to 1,135 by year's end. He highlighted the division's work engaging the community and the more than 500 firearms confiscated from the streets, a more than 23 percent increase in gun seizures. 

"We can't judge the police division by crime only," Ambrose said. "When you see that we have more contact with the community and we have less complaints, that means we're going in the right direction." He said there was also better cooperation between residents and police. 

Among other highlights from the division:

  • Homicides are down 38 percent since 2013.
  • There were 358 fewer robbery victims in 2017 compared to the year prior, about a 26 percent reduction.
  • Police interactions with citizens increased 22 percent; while complaints about police dropped by 20 percent.
  • Last year 10 homicides were related to domestic violence incidents; this year that number was 4.
  • 467 officers have been hired since 2014; Baraka wants the police force to number about 1,700.
  • Of the 516 firearms seized, 79 handguns were used in other crimes and 52 were high-powered guns.
  • Of the 200 police recruits that trained in Sea Girt, 123 will be sworn in this month. 

Baraka said 79 officers in the South Ward and 53 in the North Ward were equipped with body cameras and every precinct would receive cameras next year. Two new precincts will open in the North and West wards: One in the Vailsburg area and the other along North 10th Street. 

With the new police hires Baraka said the police division had stabilized and led to an overall reduction in crime.  

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

Vintage N.J. photos of supermarkets

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A trip to the supermarket - part of growing up in New Jersey.

I suppose I could write about the history of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Acme (pronounced Ack-a-Mee for many of us) or smaller supermarket chains such as United Service Grocers or National Self-Service Stores.

But I'd rather write about the sensory experience of going to the supermarket as a child.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

If your mother brought you along for the trip to the supermarket as a child, you might remember the multitude of aromas in the store; the sounds of the mechanical cash register and the squeaky cart with the bad wheel mom always managed to choose. The sight of aisle after aisle of things you'd give anything for her to put in the cart ... and the things you tried to toss out of the cart when she wasn't looking.

595e5ca499a25.image.jpgHe spent the next three years in his room. 

If you were fortunate, you made it through childhood without causing a dreaded call for a "cleanup in aisle four."

Maybe I'm over-embellishing, but I propose that riding in the folding seat of the shopping cart at the supermarket was as good as any amusement park ride.

Is it the same today? I can't say for sure, but those people I know with young children don't make a weekly trip to the supermarket; they make multiple stops and pick up a few things each time. It isn't the same weekly pilgrimage.

Here's a gallery of supermarkets from back in the day around New Jersey. And if the store you remember isn't in this gallery, there's a very good chance it's in one of the previous galleries linked to below.

Vintage photos of supermarkets in N.J.

A look at vintage food stores in New Jersey

Vintage photos of supermarkets and food stores in N.J.

Vintage photos of N.J. supermarkets

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

NJ Transit pays $4.4M for office space that sat vacant during lease

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Hartz Mountain Industries sold the 10th floor of Two Penn Plaza East to NJ Transit on Oct. 11

New Jersey Transit paid $4.4 million to purchase office space at its Newark headquarters that sat mostly unused during a two-year lease, The Record reports.

Hartz Mountain Industries sold the 10th floor of Two Penn Plaza East to NJ Transit on Oct. 11. According to public records, NJ Transit approved the deal in July.

NJ Transit began leasing the space in 2015 and later paid $1.8 million in renovations. Officials had planned for 150 employees to begin work in the space in October. An NJ Transit spokeswoman says 85 employees currently work on the floor.

NJ Transit has suffered as more personnel leave for retirement or better paying jobs. The agency came under federal review following a 2016 train crash that killed one person and injured 100 others.

 

How much did hacker who taunted Rutgers cost the school?

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Paras Jha, a former Rutgers student, admitted in court Wednesday to repeatedly hacking the university's computer network over two years.

The mystery is solved.

The enigmatic hacker who repeatedly crashed Rutgers University's computer network between 2014 and 2016 -- then taunted campus officials online for their weak cyber security -- was one of the school's own students.

Paras Jha, 21, admitted in federal court Wednesday that he was behind the series of cyber attacks that shut down campus websites and knocked tens of thousands of members of the Rutgers community off the internet.

The former computer science major caused days of frustration for students trying to submit assignments, professors trying to post grades and researchers who couldn't work on their projects.

But, he also cost Rutgers money -- lots of it, prosecutors said.

N.J. man wrote code that crashed the internet

Jha's online pranks may have cost Rutgers between $3.5 million and $9.5 million, said William Fitzpatrick, the acting U.S. Attorney in New Jersey. The exact amount will be determined at Jha's sentencing hearing in March.

"These computer attacks shut down the server used for all communications among faculty, staff and students, including assignment of course work to students, and students' submission of their work to professors to be graded," Fitzpatrick said. "The defendant's actions effectively paralyzed the system for days at a time and maliciously disrupted the educational process for tens of thousands of Rutgers' students."

The Rutgers attacks were one of several crimes Jha pleaded guilty to in federal court this month. In a separate case filed in federal court in Alaska, Jha pleaded guilty to conspiring with two other hackers to create computer viruses, including the "Mirai" botnet that was used by other hackers to disable much of the internet in an October 2016 worldwide cyber attack.   

Investigators opened the case in Alaska because that is where some of the first devices were infected by the "Mirai" botnet virus, which was named after a Japanese anime character Jha and his co-conspirators liked, prosecutors said.

Jha faces up to 10 years in prison, though he is expected to get less under the plea agreement he reached with federal prosecutors. He faces a fine of at least $250,000, but he could also be fined as much as twice the amount of money his victims, including Rutgers, lost because of his crimes.

The former student, who left Rutgers after two years, has already agreed to forfeit his bitcoin account, which he used to get online payments as a cyber-attacker-for-hire, prosecutors said. His account had 13 bitcoin-- currently worth about $220,000 due to a recent spike in the value of the online currency.

A Rutgers spokeswoman declined to comment on how much money the university lost because of Jha's cyber attacks, citing the ongoing legal proceedings. In 2015, university officials said they were spending at least $3 million to upgrade cyber security in campus due to the repeated DDoS, or distributed denial of service, attacks on its servers.

Rutgers officials later said the extra money spent on cyber security upgrades was one of the reasons they hiked tuition for the following school year.

In 2015, Jha used a Twitter account with the the screen name "Exfocus" to taunt Rutgers officials about the latest cyber attack that crashed Rutgers' websites and cut off internet and wifi to the campus.

"where internet go?? 3m dollar gone?" read one tweet, referring to the $3 million Rutgers said it spent on consultants and new software and equipment to upgrade its cyber security.

In a letter to the Rutgers community sent Wednesday, Rutgers' top internet security official said the university has made big improvements to it technology infrastructure since Jha's attacks.

"We recognize the threat posed by cybercriminals, and we will be tireless in working with law enforcement to pursue individuals who attempt to compromise the Rutgers network," wrote Michele Norin, Rutgers' senior vice president and chief information officer.

Jha, who lives with his parents in Fanwood, is remorseful for his attacks on Rutgers and his other crimes, his attorney said.

"He is fortunate to have loving, supportive parents and a bright future ahead. He has pled to charges here in the District of New Jersey, and in the District of Alaska, as the first step in his evolution into adulthood and responsibility," said Robert Stahl, Jha's attorney.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.


2017 football: All-State teams and complete postseason honors

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Get links to all the NJ.com all-star teams, final rankings and more in one easy to find location

POST-SEASON AWARDS
Team of the Year
Coach of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Overall Player of the Year/Offensive Player of the Year

ALL-STATE 
• First Team: Offense | Defense
• Second Team: Offense | Defense
• Third Team: Offense | Defense

ALL GROUP
• Group 1: Offense | Defense
• Group 2: Offense | Defense
• Group 3: Offense | Defense
• Group 4: Offense | Defense
• Group 5: Offense | Defense
• Non-Public: Offense | Defense

FINAL TEAM RANKINGS
NJ.com Top 50
 Group rankings: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | NP
 Conference rankings: GMC | Mid-State 38 | NJSFC | NJIC | Shore | WJFL

CONFERENCE REVIEWS
GMC
Mid-State 38
• NJSFC
NJIC
Shore 
WJFL


ALL-AREA TEAMS
• Shore Conference: All-Shore | All-Division
• Times of Trenton: All-County | All-Area | Prep
West Jersey Football League: All-Division
• South Jersey Times: All-Area
• Bergen County: All-County

STAT LEADERS 
Season stat leaders 
• Season heroes: Single-game leaders

Joe Zedalis may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.

Boys basketball preview: Teams to watch and title contenders

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Which teams have what it takes to win a state title this season?

Uber says these were the top 10 destinations in N.J. in 2017

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From the Jersey Shore to Bergen County, these are where people took Uber to the most in 2017.

Man found guilty in Essex County carjacking

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Man faces 25 year prison term, prosecutors say.

An Essex County jury on Wednesday convicted an Irvington man of a carjacking in the township earlier this year.

Judson Porter, 22, was found guilty of first degree carjacking, robbery, weapons offenses and other counts in the Jan. 27 incident, acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino said.

Porter ordered two people out of a parked Nissan Murano and stole their cellphones, money and car keys, according to prosecutors. The masked assailant fled to Newark with the Nissan.

The stolen car was found abandoned about 10 minutes later. Police arrested Porter when officers saw him walking toward the vehicle about two hours later, prosecutors said. Porter also resisted arrest when officers tried to take him into custody. 

In a statement, Assistant Prosecutor Joseph A. Giordano, who tried the case, credited cooperation from the public in leading to the conviction.

Porter, who has prior convictions for theft and receiving stolen property, is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 26, the prosecutor's office said. He faces a 25 year state prison term for the carjacking offense.

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

Have information about this story or something else we should be covering? Tell us: nj.com/tips

 

Girls Basketball: The NJ.com Preseason Top 20, 2017-18

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Breaking down New Jersey's top teams entering 2017-18.

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