They'll arrive with in an hour if you live in many towns in north, Central Jersey and are a Prime member

Whole Foods customers in much of north and Central Jersey who are also Amazon Prime members can now get groceries delivered to their homes.

Delivery will be available in as little as an hour through Amazon's Prime Now app, according to an announcement Tuesday. On orders of $35 or more, two-hour delivery is free. If you want your groceries within an hour, there's a $7.99 fee on orders of $35 or more. 

"Our goal is to cover as many Prime customers as possible with this new service in New Jersey," Prime Now Head of Business Development Tanvi Patel said in a statement.  "Today we're excited to reach customers in North and Central New Jersey."

Delivery will be available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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It's available in parts of Bergen, Burlington, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, Somerset and Union counties. Customers should enter their zip code to see if they're in the delivery area. If they are not in the current delivery area, they can sign up to be notified when the service is added.

Amazon also announced that it's expanding the curbside pickup option to Dayton, Ohio as well as Louisville and Omaha. That service include eight areas, but not yet New Jersey. More locations are expected to be added later this year. 

Amazon delivers Whole Foods products to 53 areas. 

Whole Foods delivery is also offered through Instacart. Wegmans, Whole Foods, Costco, CVS and Petco products can also be delivered to customers' homes through Instacart in select towns. 

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

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When officers arrived at the crash scene shortly after 4 p.m., they found an SUV halfway inside a brick home in Nutley

School children narrowly avoided tragedy Tuesday when an SUV plowed into a house near an elementary school in Nutley, police said.

When officers arrived at the crash scene shortly after 4 p.m., they found the SUV lodged halfway inside a brick structure on the corner of Passaic Avenue and Lakeside Drive, authorities said.

The driver, a 46-year-old Nutley man, was pulled from the wreckage and taken to a local hospital in stable condition, according to Nutley Police Sgt. Anthony Montanari. His name was not released.

"We are very fortunate that no children were present at the time, the home is in close proximity to an elementary school, and children had just left for the day," said Nutley Police Chief Thomas J. Strumolo.

The chief added that the area of the home where the SUV crashed is "where the homeowner spends much of her time."

Police and first-responders from several North Jersey towns arrived Tuesday to a Nutley home after an SUV plowed into the structure. (Photo by Kevin Knight | TAPinto Nutley)

The residents were not home at the time of the crash, and utilities were "disconnected until determined safe to turn on," Strumolo said.

In addition to Nutley police and fire, EMS workers from University Hospital assisted along with fire departments from Newark, Hackensack and Paterson, Montanari.

No charges were filed against the driver, but the accident remains under investigation, Montanari said.

Police say a driver is in stable condition after crashing his SUV deep into a Nutley home Tuesday. (Photo by Kevin Knight | TAPinto Nutley) 

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Their trial had been expected to begin this week.

Two men charged in the May 2016 killing of New Jersey Institute of Technology student Joseph Micalizzi took plea deals Wednesday on the eve of their murder trial in Newark.

Taquan Harris, who admitted having fired the fatal shots, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler to a first-degree charge of aggravated manslaughter and a second-degree charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Micalizzi, a 23-year-old Freehold native, was killed May 2, 2016, during an early morning robbery at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Answering questions from his defense attorney intended to establish his guilt, Harris admitted he had pointed a revolver at Micalizzi when he encountered him in a third-floor bedroom. That sparked a struggle which ended with Harris firing three shots.

"You understand that at least one of the shots that hit him was the cause of his death, right," attorney Michelle Treiber asked, as Micalizzi's family and friends could be heard sniffling in the courtroom gallery.

"Yes," Harris responded, looking down at his feet.

Essex County homicide investigators arrested Harris and his co-defendant, Nafee Cotman, later that same week on charges of murder, robbery, burglary and other offenses in connection with Micalizzi's slaying.

Cotman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree robbery, admitting he had tried to take the engineering student's belongings while Harris threatened Micalizzi with the gun.

Opening statements in their trial had been scheduled to begin this week.

Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant said the state was asking Wigler to sentence Harris to 26 years in prison and Cotman to 12. Wigler said Cotman's attorney, Jonathan Gordon, had indicated he would seek a lesser sentence of 10 years in state prison.

The state has agreed to dismiss the remaining charges against the two men as part of the plea agreements. Wigler scheduled both Harris and Cotman for sentencing on Nov. 27.

Note: The headline has been corrected to reflect that while Harris pleaded guilty to manslaughter, Cotman only pleaded guilty to robbery.

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

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Complete list of N.J. boys soccer players that have committed to play at the next level

Robert Grillo was arrested for trespassing less than 90 minutes after the murder happened according to police.

A Bloomfield man is up to facing life in prison after a jury found him guilty of strangling a woman in 2015. 

The jury convicted Robert Grillo, 39, after a four-week trial for the murder of 35-year-old Yolanda Vega in her Rahway home. 

His charges include first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, second-degree burglary, six related weapons offenses, and fourth-degree criminal trespassing.

2016 photo of Robert Grilllo Union County Prosecutors Office  

Back in 2015, neighbors said one of Vega's two sons found a masked gunman hiding in his mother's closet on Dec. 6, 2015 and ran to tell his next-door neighbor.

The neighbor chased the gunman but when police arrived, the officers stopped the neighbor and questioned him while the gunman fled.

Police searched Vega's house with a dog that night but did not find her body. Family members filed a missing person's report, however Vega's body was found in the basement around 4 a.m. the next day. 

Grillo was already in custody for tresspasing at the Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery in Linden less than 90 minutes after police say Vega was killed. 

He was indicted in May 2016 in Vega's killing. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

According to her obituary, Vega was an administrative assistant for Dick's Sporting Goods in Edison.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.

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A health executive placed on leave last week after making comments about police needing training to "not shoot black children first" will keep her $1 million-a-year job.

A health executive placed on leave last week after making comments about police needing training to "not shoot black children first" will keep her $1 million-a-year position, RWJBarnabas's leadership announced Wednesday. 

The company's president and chief executive officer Barry Ostrowsky said in a statement that RWJBarnabas had taken close to a week to review its social media policy, studying the line between the expression of personal views on unrelated pages, and the messages and tone sent from the company's own social channels. 

Michellene Davis. (Margaret Schmidt | The Jersey Journal) 
 

"I am confident that Ms. [Michellene] Davis remains the proper executive to lead the Social Impact and Community Investment practice for RWJBarnabas Health," he said.  

Davis came under fire last week after she commented on a NorthJersey.com article her friend shared on Facebook. It detailed plans to install armed police officers at schools in Fair Lawn. 

"Who is going to train them not to shoot black children first?!?" she said in the comment, which did not appear on a public post, but was circulated via screenshots. 

She posted an apology to her Facebook page Thursday morning, before removing the page later that afternoon. 

"I want to publicly apologize for an extremely insensitive and offensive comment posted on Facebook," she wrote. "My concern for the safety of schoolchildren and gun violence led me to react to a headline without thinking. Having a late sister and other family in law enforcement I deeply respect the law enforcement community and appreciate their service and admire their sacrifice."

Davis has a history of serving in leadership positions in the state, and was the first African-American chief policy counsel under former Gov. Jon Corzine, as well as acting state treasurer.

She was also the the first woman and person of color "to be named to the senior-most level of the State of New Jersey's largest healthcare system," according to her website. 

According to IRS records, Davis received a $1,061,866 salary in 2017. 

RWJ Barnabas employees, local community leaders, members of law enforcement, physicians, educators, elected officials and other citizens from around the state all reached out to the company in the wake of the comments, Ostrowsky said in his statement. 

The statement mostly addressed issues of leadership on social issues, rather than Davis's statement directly, but Ostrowsky did say he believed her apology for the statement was sincere, and that her statement touched on valid concerns. 

"The issue of violence in our community is real and the toll that has been taken - particularly in our urban communities - is reflective of a true public health crisis," he said. "I believe this, Ms. Davis believes this, and members of law enforcement with whom I have spoken believe this. It is from this position of commonality that we should and must start, if we are to move forward as a state and health system."

Davis could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday afternoon. 

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

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He stored videos of child sex acts on his laptop and offered them to others on a file sharing network

A former computer programmer at a New Jersey university admitted Wednesday he possessed about 100 videos containing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Samuel LaSala, 47, of Cedar Grove, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography in federal court in Newark, the office said.

LaSala was employed as a computer programmer at a university when, between May 2017 and January 2018, he stored videos of child sex acts on his laptop computer and offered them to others on a peer-to-peer file sharing network, the office said.

The office did not publicize the university where LaSala worked. But federal court documents and online listings show LaSala worked at Montclair State University.

He took a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that calls for him to forfeit the computer he used to commit the offense, and register as a sex offender, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He's scheduled to be sentenced in January.

In a statement late Wednesday, Montclair State said LaSala, an information technology employee, informed the university in May he was being investigated for distribution of child pornography and the university promptly suspended him.

The university cooperated with federal authorities and launched its own parallel forensic investigation of university equipment to which LaSala had access, te statement said.

"During the period of his employment at the University, no complaints had been raised in regard to Mr. LaSala, his responsibilities did not involve any interaction with minors, and the University's on-going forensic investigation has not revealed any criminal activity by him on University equipment or systems or related to his employment," the statement said.

On Aug. 24, LaSala told Montclair he was pleading guilty and resigned the next day.

The U.S. Homeland Security Investigations' Child Exploitation Group investigated LaSala.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Look at the top sophomores in the state and cast your vote for the best of the best.

Nothing's funny when you have to hold your pee for three hours. Trust us.

You might not be able to hold in your excitement for "Joker," the new movie about Batman's most infamous enemy. But if you're going to be an extra when filming comes to Newark this weekend, you better be able to hold your pee.

Extras who took part in filming in Brooklyn this past weekend were locked in a subway car for more than three hours, according to TMZ, and resorted to urinating on the tracks between cars.

Sources told TMZ that extras were denied their mandated break after two hours, and banged on subways doors as they asked to be let out but were not, leading to the urination improvisation. The Screen Actors Guild has received a complaint about the violation, sent a rep to the set to find a resolution and will continue to monitor the set, according to TMZ.

Warner Brothers told TMZ that it was investigating the claims.

Jersey City hosted filming of "Joker" two weeks ago, but there were no potty problems reported. Production in Brick City will take place from Oct. 13 to 16, leading to several street closings and parking restrictions.

There are no apparent plans to film on trains in Newark, though there are plenty of trains nearby at Newark Penn Station.

The Todd Phillips film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix, is set to be released in October 2019. It's not the first time that a Batman film has been produced in the city, as "The Dark Knight Rises" filmed scenes in Newark back in 2011.

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

The Famous Boyz sold fentanyl-laced heroin and warned snitches on social media, 'there gone (sic) be a murder,' feds say

Federal prosecutors have charged 17 alleged members and associates of a Bloods street gang in Newark in a drug trafficking conspiracy authorities say used threats of violence to keep members in line.

Along with crack cocaine, members of the Famous Boyz gang sold fentanyl-laced heroin so potent it prompted one customer to remark, "I don't want to kill myself," an investigator from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said in a criminal complaint. 

Authorities identified John Mosley, 31, as the gang's part-time leader, as well as its primary supplier of drugs. Three other men -- Patricio Hernandez, Jonathan Hernandez and Jahid Vauters -- have in turn been accused of keeping Mosley flush with drugs to sell.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, which announced the charges Thursday, said a joint local and federal investigation of the Famous Boyz, initiated by ATF and Newark police, uncovered numerous social media posts threatening retaliation against police informants.

Members of the gang -- a subgroup of the Bloods' Brick City Brims faction -- adopted the mantra "no face, no case," warning associates "there gone (sic) be a murder" if they were found cooperating with law enforcement, according to the criminal complaint.

Federal agents and local investigators are still probing more than a dozen shootings prosecutors say are linked to a rivalry between the Famous Boyz and another unspecified gang, prosecutors said in a statement announcing the charges.

The gang, which operated in the area of South 15th Street and 18th Avenue, was founded in 2014 and became the target of federal investigators in April 2017, the complaint states.

Agents from ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with city police and detectives from the Essex County sheriff and prosecutor's offices, ultimately built a case against the 17 defendants using a combination of court-authorized telephone wiretaps, surveillance and search warrants, prosecutors said.

Fourteen of the gang members were arrested Thursday, while three others were already in state custody, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Gang members, investigators say, advertised many of their criminal activities on Facebook, posting photos of themselves flashing large amounts of cash and posing with firearms.

"Got Us Dancing With The Devil .... Chasing This Money," the caption of one such photo read.

The new case against the Famous Boyz is the second major takedown of a Bloods-linked drug-trafficking operation in Newark by federal prosecutors this year.

A total of 28 alleged members of the Brick City Brims were charged between March and September in what federal prosecutors said was an elaborate drug dealing operation run out of affordable housing in the city's Central Ward.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito's office has attributed the stepped-up prosecutions to the Newark Violent Crime Initiative, a partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement which pools investigators to target violent offenders and gang members in the city.

Prosecutors said the 14 defendants arrested Thursday were scheduled to make their first appearances in U.S. District Court that afternoon.

It was not immediately clear Thursday which, if any, of the defendants had attorneys who could comment on the charges.

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

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Investigators hope heightening the profile of the accused killer will lead to his capture

Lamont Stephenson has been on the run for almost four years as a prime suspect in the October 2014 killing of his fiancee and her dog in Newark.

Now, the FBI is raising the stakes in the search for the 43-year-old.

Lamont Stephenson, left, and Olga DeJesus. (Facebook)

The FBI's Newark Division on Thursday announced Stephenson had become the 11th fugitive from its jurisdiction added to the bureau's nationwide 10 Most Wanted list.

Investigators hope the heightened profile will finally lead to Stephenson's arrest in the slaying of Olga DeJesus.

"Placing this defendant on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, we believe, will significantly increase the likelihood of finding him," Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said in a statement Thursday.

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First responders found DeJesus, 40, asphyxiated along with her dog inside her apartment in the Stephen Crane Village housing project on Oct. 17, 2014.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office charged Stephenson with murder less than a month after DeJesus' body was found, but detectives were unable to find him.

The last sign of him was captured by surveillance camera's at Newark's Penn Station, from where investigators believe he fled the state.

Both DeJesus and Stephenson had attended Bloomfield Tech High School, and had begun an unlikely and fast-moving relationship after reconnecting at a 20th anniversary event, a classmate told NJ Advance Media at the time.

The two were engaged only shortly before her death.

In September 2017, federal prosecutors in New Jersey obtained a warrant for Stephenson's arrest on a charge of "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution" -- a move typically used to justify providing federal resources to local investigations.

The FBI says Stephenson has ties to Virginia and the Carolinas. An affidavit filed by a special agent in support of the federal warrant reveals residents of both Virginia and South Carolina have reported possible sightings of him in those states within the past three years.

Authorities have described Stephenson as standing between 5-feet, 6-inches tall and 5-feet, 7-inches tall, and weighing approximately 220 pounds. 

The FBI has asked anyone with information about Stephenson's whereabouts to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or submit a tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov/.

Anyone attempting to provide information from outside the U.S. should contact their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, authorities said.

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

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Newark airport's Terminal One is expected to open in 2022.

The news comes as the city fights a federal lawsuit by an international water group.

Newark will distribute free water filters to residents most at-risk of lead contamination after a study found part of the city's water treatment program "no longer effective."

The news comes as the city fights a federal lawsuit by an international water group that for months has flagged high lead levels in the tap water and claimed Newark is not properly treating its water. 

Newark has reported elevated levels of lead in its tap water for three consecutive six-month periods beginning last year, according to state data.

Lead is measured in parts per billion. Although no amount of lead in water is safe, lead levels should not exceed the federal action level of 15 parts per billion.

One sampled site in June had 182 parts per billion -- about 12 times acceptable lead levels. 

During a Friday press conference, city officials will announce their plan to hand out free, lead-certified water filters door-to-door to affected residents. 

Residents who have or are suspected to have lead service lines -- the pipes that connect the water mains to each property -- are eligible for a filter, the city said. 

There are at least 15,000 properties with lead services lines, records show. 

Search if your property is affected below: 

City officials said residents and businesses without lead service lines do not need to be concerned with lead in the tap water. 

But representatives with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which sued Newark over its "dangerously" high levels of lead on behalf of local residents in June, said lead can still get in drinking water even if a home does not have a lead service line. 

"Because the city now admits that the corrosion control plan isn't working, that means that lead can leach from anything in the plumbing system," said Erik D. Olsen, drinking water expert for NRDC. "The water is corrosive."

Lead contamination can occur when lead from pipes, faucets, fixtures or lead solder dissolve into the drinking water. If water is corrosive and not properly treated, it is more likely to cause lead from lead service lines or other plumbing to leach into the water. 

Newark officials for months defended the city's water treatment program and said it was conducting a corrosion control study.

City officials received the results of the study last week, which found the corrosion treatment used in a part of the water system was no longer effective. The study recommended new corrosion control measures. 

Olsen said the city's decision to distribute filters is a good step forward but the nonprofit remains concerns about who will enforce the program and ensure filters are properly installed and maintained. 

Last month, the NRDC asked a judge for an emergency order mandating door-to-door water deliveries or water filters for families with children under the age of six, pregnant or nursing women, homes with lead services lines or homes that tested above a certain threshold for lead in the water.     

"They are gradually moving towards realizing that they've got a problem," Olsen said. 

Friday's press conference will be held at 11 a.m. at 920 Broad Street.

Read more:

• Residents are exposed to lead. They should get free bottled water, group tells judge.
• Pipes in N.J. city were installed in the 1880s. There's lead in them, and it's a problem.
• The group that sued Flint, Mich. over lead water is about to do the same thing in Jersey
• Getting lead out of Newark's tap water? That'll take $60M, and 8 years

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

Newark Police Lt. Ronald Glover said the altercation happened around 8:30 a.m. last Tuesday outside Mayor Ras Baraka's office.

A woman allegedly assaulted a Newark Police detective at City Hall last week and bit another man who was trying to calm her down, officials said. 

Newark Police Lt. Ronald Glover said the altercation happened around 8:30 a.m. last Tuesday outside Mayor Ras Baraka's office. 

The woman, who was not named, has been charged with aggravated assault and simple assault, Glover said. 

He said the woman asked to the see the mayor but was told she needed to make an appointment. The woman then reportedly assaulted the officer and bit another unidentified man who was trying to help, Glover said. 

The assaulted officer was also not named. 

The woman was taken to University Hospital for an evaluation.

The incident remains under investigation. 

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

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