Long Branch Roommates Busted For Drugs, Weapons

Robert Stohlin, facebook photo

4,000 bags of heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana, drug distribution paraphernalia, $8,000 in cash,a .22 caliber handgun, 9mm replica handgun and several knives were seized on Thursday when the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s Gang Bureau and the Long Branch Police Street Crimes Unit arrested Robert Strohlin, 46, of 177 West End Ave,  and his roommate Syr Berry, 47, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Strohlin and Berry’s arrests was part of a months-long investigation into illegal drug distribution in Long Branch.

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Former Long Branch city worker gets $500K to settle suit, report says

A former Long Branch employee who said she was harassed and later fired for reporting financial shenanigans has settled her lawsuit against the city for $500,000, according to a report. Julie Juliano Acerra alleged she was threatened and bullied before being fired in 2011 for blowing the whistle on a superior’s improperly cashed out sick days.… Read the rest of this entry »

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Long Branch Fire Victims Suffered Gunshot Wounds

photo via facebook

The four bodies recovered from the two alarm fire in Long Branch on Tuesday each suffered gunshot wounds, according to a statement released this morning by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

While it appears that Lyndon “Shane” Beharry, 35, shot his sons Brandon Beharry, 7, and Brian Beharry, 4, and their mother, Amanda Morris, 29, before setting the fire and shooting himself, the investigation is ongoing and the cause of the mother and boys’ death has yet to be official determined by the Middlesex County Coroner’s Office*.  Ms. Morris and her sons’ death have been ruled homicides.   Shane Beharry’s death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Long Branch police and firefighters responded to multiple 911 calls at 11:48 p.m. reporting a fire at 245 Joline Avenue in the city. Once on scene, Long Branch fire officials elevated the fire to a two-alarm fire and requested assistance from additional fire companies from West Long Branch, Sea Bright, Oakhurst, Oceanport and Eatontown.

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Murder-suicide suspected after family pulled from burning home, authorities say

LONG BRANCH — The fire in a Long Branch home where a family of four was found does not appear to be accidental, authorities said. All four family members — the father, Lyndon Beharry, 35; mother, Amanda Morris, 29, and their two children — Brandon Beharry, 7, and 4-year-old Brian –have all died, according to the… Read the rest of this entry »

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Long Branch house fire kills 3

LONG BRANCH — Three members of a family were killed in a late-night house fire in Long Branch, according to reports. The fire broke out shortly before midnight Wednesday at a home on Joline Avenue, according to a report on WABC-7’s website. Firefighters had trouble reaching the trapped family as thy battled heavy smoke and flames,… Read the rest of this entry »

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Long Branch Drug Dealer Gets 50 years

Anthony “Nygee” Stevenson, a 48 year old Long Branch restaurateur , was sentenced to 50 years in state prison today by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge John T. Mullaney, Jr, according to a statement by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christoper J. Gramiccioni.

Stevenson was convicted by a Monmouth County Jury in May on 91 counts of selling drugs and guns out of his Long Branch restaurant,  Christabell’s American Soul Food Restaurant.  He has been incarcerated at the Monmouth County Correction Insitution since his August 1, 2011 arrest, according to the Sheriff’s Office website.  He will be eligible for parole in 26 years.

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Long Branch shooting victim in stable condition, authorities say

LONG BRANCH – A township man remains hospitalized in stable condition Thursday after he was shot Wednesday night on Coleman Avenue, authorities said. At approximately 9:10 p.m., Long Branch police responded to the 100 block of Coleman Avenue for a report of shots fired, said Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. When… Read the rest of this entry »

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Monmouth County man jumps to death from GWB, police say

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Jury acquits Long Branch man of felony murder, robbery

FREEHOLD – A Long Branch man was released from jail Monday, days after a jury acquitted him in the 2011 killing of an Asbury Park man. Joshua Simmons, 27, was acquitted Friday of felony murder, armed robbery, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to his attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo.… Read the rest of this entry »

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Murder suspect checked in with law enforcement one week after the double murder

Brian R. Farmer’s mugshot taken August 6, 2014, one week after the murders of Joan Colbert and Veronica Roach, for which he is accused.

The man accused of murdering Joan Colbert and her 10 year old foster daughter, Veronica Roach, in their Long Branch home on July 30, visited the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office one week after the murder occurred, as part of his mandated monitoring as a registered sex offender.

Brian R. Farmer was convicted in 1996 of aggravated assault for engaging in sexual penetration of a 15 year old girl while he was armed with a knife.  Farmer confined the victim and her mother for three days, keeping them tied up.  The victims escaped and Farmer burned down their house, according to the New Jersey State Police Registry of Sex Offenders.

Farmer was arrested early this morning for murders of Colbert and Roach. He was additionally charged with first, second and third degree Endangering  the Welfare of a Child.  Photos of Farmer engaging in a sex act with the 10 year old Roach were found on his phone.

Sex offenders are monitored by the County Prosecutor’s Offices of the county where they reside, according to State Police Information Officer, Trooper Jeff Flynn.  As part of that monitoring, their photos are updated periodically for the Sex Offenders Directory.

Farmer’s most recent mugshot was taken on August 6, 2014, one week after the July 30th murders occurred.

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