Fog/Mist 48°
Police & Fire
South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise
South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise A nonprofit thrift store in Atlantic County is about to reopen more than three months after it was significantly damaged in an arson fire. The Goodwill store on Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township will hold a grand reopening on Thursday, May 2. The shop in the Cardiff Plaza Shopping Center lost all of its merchandise in a fire on Monday, Jan. 15. Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia announced the celebration in a Facebook post on Thursday, Apr. 25. "Thanks to the generosity of the local community, we are back and better than ever," the post said. "Come shop for a…

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by Chris Spiker
Sports
2024 NFL Draft: New Jersey Prospects Hoping To Reach Their Pro Football Dreams 2024 NFL Draft: New Jersey Prospects Hoping To Reach Their Pro Football Dreams
2024 NFL Draft: New Jersey Prospects Hoping To Reach Their Pro Football Dreams Several football players from the Garden State are hoping to hear their names called in downtown Detroit at the 2024 NFL Draft and reach their dreams of playing pro football. Rutgers cornerback and Mays Landing native Max Melton is looking to be the highest-drafted Scarlet Knight since defensive end Kemoko Turay was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 52nd overall pick in 2018. While 14 Rutgers players worked out during the team's pro day on Thursday, Mar. 28, Melton is the only Scarlet Knight listed on the NFL.com prospects list. According to his NFL.com draft profile, Melton was g…

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by Chris Spiker
Obituaries
Pennsauken's Sean Hill Killed In Car Crash Loved Church, Fireworks Pennsauken's Sean Hill Killed In Car Crash Loved Church, Fireworks
Pennsauken's Sean Hill Killed In Car Crash Loved Church, Fireworks Funeral services are Friday, April 26 in Philadelphia for a 20-year-old Camden County, NJ, man killed in a car crash earlier this month. Sean L. Hill, a graduate of Pennsauken High School, was a passenger in a car that rear-ended a tractor-trailer in Pennsauken on April 16. Sean developed a deep passion for cars and a greater love for fireworks, often saving his paychecks to buy enough for spectacular displays, according to his obituary published by May Funeral Home. "Sean loved attending car shows and monster truck events and cherished ending any occasion with a fireworks show," the obitu…

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by Jon Craig
News
WINNER: Powerball Lottery Player Takes Home $50K At QuickChek WINNER: Powerball Lottery Player Takes Home $50K At QuickChek
Winner: Powerball Lottery Player Takes Home $50K At QuickChek There was a lucky Powerball lottery player in Middlesex County. The prize was worth $50,000. The winning numbers for Wednesday, April 24 were: 2, 20, 22, 26, and 47 and the Powerball was 21. The Powerplay was 4x. The retailer that sold the $50,000 Powerball ticket is QuickChek #2, 191 Stelton Road in Piscataway.

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by Jon Craig
News
510-Acre Wildfire Contained At Wharton State Forest (UPDATED) 510-Acre Wildfire Contained At Wharton State Forest (UPDATED)
Wildfire Wharton State Forest Shamong Firefighters had contained a 510-acre wildfire at Wharton State Forest in Burlington and Camden counties early Thursday, April 25, authorities said. The fire had burned along Jackson Road in Shamong and Waterford townships, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Jackson Road reopened at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24. Forest Fire Service staff will remain on scene and continue to monitor control lines and address areas of concern until significant precipitation occurs to ensure public safety, they said. The public is advised that smoke may be visible for an extended period while …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
NJ Couple Convicted Of Turning Immigrants Into Slaves NJ Couple Convicted Of Turning Immigrants Into Slaves
Slaves South Jersey FBI Illegal Immigrants UPDATE: A South Jersey couple was convicted of forcing a pair of undocumented immigrants into slavery after luring them to America. Bolaji Bolarinwa, 50, and Isiaka Bolarinwa, 67, of Moorestown were discovered when one of the victims told her college professor, who alerted the FBI, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. Originally from Nigeria, the couple were living in New Jersey as U.S. citizens when they recruited two victims to follow them, Sellinger said. They "engaged in an egregious bait-and-switch, luring the victims with false promises of a life and an education …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Feds: Repeat Child Porn Collector Satisfied 'Deviant Desires' With Chats, More NJ Feds: Repeat Child Porn Collector Satisfied 'Deviant Desires' With Chats, More
NJ Feds: Repeat Child Porn Collector Satisfied 'Deviant Desires' With Chats, More A convicted NJ child porn collector had only just been released from federal prison when investigators said he tried buying kids’ shoes on Facebook Marketplace.  And that wasn’t all they said that Andrew Chu, 33, of Edison was up to. Authorities who examined Chu’s laptop and cellphone reported finding more than 100 pornographic images of naked underage girls. They also found live chats that Chu had with naked underage minors while masturbating, a complaint filed in federal court in Newark by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations says. One of them was only 11 years old, agents sa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG
Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG A local South Jersey police sergeant cherry-picked child porn images for himself from a case that his department was investigating, a grand jury indictment charges. Suspended Vineland Police Officer Christopher Ortiz, 39, of Estell Manor "requested from a subordinate and obtained via email" at least 17 images from a child pornography investigation for unauthorized use, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. All told, investigators found that Ortiz "possessed, viewed, or had under his control at least 100 items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of children," the attorney …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Country Star Zach Bryan Snaps Selfies At Jersey Shore Restaurant Country Star Zach Bryan Snaps Selfies At Jersey Shore Restaurant
Country Star Zach Bryan Snaps Selfies At Jersey Shore Restaurant A popular country singer was spotted snapping selfies at a New Jersey restaurant. Zach Bryan, 28, stopped by On The Deck in Atlantic Highlands on Tuesday, April 23, the Simon Lake Drive restaurant shared on social media. "Hey Zach Bryan, thanks for stopping in tonight !!!" the restaurant captioned the post. The "Something in the Orange" singer took photos with staff members and fans. It wasn't immediately clear why Bryan was in the area, however, photos shared to social media show he was hanging out on a boat in the area with Stefan Max, his manager. Stefan Max shared photos from the…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC 'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC
'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC A convicted killer facing new charges in connection with his second wife's death in Mercer County will be featured in a two-hour broadcast titled "Chameleon" on Dateline NBC on Friday, April 26. John David Smith III has served 20 years in an Ohio prison for the murder of his first wife. Now, he faces murder charges in New Jersey for killing his second wife, Fran Gladden-Smith, 33 years ago in West Windsor. At 9 p.m. Friday, Dateline NBC said it will reveal a "gripping investigation exposing (the) man suspected of multiple murders." Victims' relatives and detectives who put Smith behin…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors
Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors An Asbury Park ex-convict will spend more than three decades in prison after he was convicted of a home invasion and sexual assault, authorities said. Shawn Connolly, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday, Apr. 23 to 40 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced in a news release. He'll be eligible for parole after 34 years under the No Early Release Act. Asbury Park police responded to a home on Seventh Avenue just before 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Officers immediately found Connolly, arrested him, and recovered what he stole from his pockets. Investigat…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…

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by Jerry DeMarco