The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office announced today that a Grand Jury has indicted two former Paterson auxiliary officers for official misconduct. According to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, the panel found reasonable cause to indict Juan Martinez and Jonathan Lopez on a single count of official misconduct, a crime of the second degree. The… Continue Reading
State Must Prove Defendant’s Biased Intent in Committing Bias Crime
In a decision reached on Wednesday, January 30th, the New Jersey Appellate Division found that in order to convict a defendant for a bias crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1a(3), there must be proof of his/her biased intent. To convict merely upon the victim’s perception of the defendant’s conduct is now unconstitutional. The matter of State v.… Continue Reading
Second Newark Vehicle Carjacked With Child Inside
For the second time this week, a vehicle was carjacked in Newark with a child inside. Thankfully, in both instances, the children were found unharmed. But this is an unsettling trend. At about 7:00pm last night (January 30th), a woman left her Nissan Altima idling outside an auto repair shop on Central Avenue with her… Continue Reading
Bergrin Cross-Examines Woman Who Testified That He Coerced Her to Lie as a Child
On Monday, January 28th, Carolyn Velez (now 20 years old) took the witness stand in the trial of Paul Bergrin. She explained to the federal jury how in the early 2000s, when she was only 9 years old, Bergrin had helped to isolate, frighten, and coerce her into lying about her father’s stabbing of her… Continue Reading
Girlfriend of Slain Man Charged With Murder
On December 31st, the partially-clothed body of a 24-year old man was found by a passer-by behind the Getty station on Tonnelle Avenue (near the ramp to Route 3) in Hudson County. Officers from the North Bergen Police Department responded and discovered the man on the ground with his hand bound behind his back. He… Continue Reading
