Man accused of threatening to kill Neptune police officer

NEPTUNE – An Asbury Park man was arrested on New Year’s Day after he allegedly threatened to kill a township police officer, according to court documents. Ameer Washington, 24, told an officer, “I’ll Pat King a hundred cops. I’ll catch you sitting in the car at Alpha’s,” according to a criminal complaint. Pat King was a… Read the rest of this entry »

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Man tried to remove air conditioner to break into Ocean Township apartment, police say

Maybe it’s not so bad to still have your air conditioners in your windows

OCEAN TOWNSHIP —A Toms River man tried to remove an air conditioner from the window of an Ocean Township apartment he was trying to burglarize, but his plans were foiled when he fell two stories, police said on Friday. Jamaar Jefferson, 23, was charged with attempted burglary after police determined he tried to break into an… Read the rest of this entry »

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Authorities identify Hazlet husband, wife found dead in apparent murder-suicide

 HAZLET – Authorities on Monday identified the couple who were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at their township home. Christine Dzienisiewski, 37, was killed, while it appeared her husband, 37-year-old Richard Dzienisiewski, died from self-inflicted wounds, said Thomas Huth, director of the major crimes bureau at the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. First Assistant Prosecutor Marc…

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Two found dead in Hazlet, authorities say

HAZLET – Two people were found dead in a township home Saturday night and one of the deaths has been ruled a homicide, authorities said. Police responded to a Peter Place residence at 7:53 p.m. and found man and woman, both 37, dead, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Charles Webster. A medical examiner determined… Read the rest of this entry »

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Colts Neck Teen Indicted in 2013 stabbing and carjacking

photo via facebook

Brennan Doyle, 17 of Colts Neck, was indicted by a Monmouth County Grand Jury on 6 charges related to a July 2013 stabbing and carjacking in the Township.

Doyle will be tried as an adult on charges of first degree Carjacking; first degree Attempted Murder; third degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose; fourth degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; third degree Hindering Apprehension of Oneself; and fourth degree Obstructing the Administration of Law according to a statement by Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni.  His name was not previously released due to the juvenile confidentiality statute.

Doyle was released after posting $760,000 bail with no 10 percent option, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge James J. McGann, J.S.C.  Judge McGann also ordered Doyle to have no victim contact and no return to scene on all charges.

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Two Middletown Men Charged With Arson

Sean Powers photo via facebook

Sean Powers, a twenty-two year old Middletown volunteer firefighter has been charged with starting the fire that left him with critical burn injuries.  William Rohweder, 23 of Middletown was also charged with arson of an abandoned barn in a residential area.  The fire at 251 Monmouth Ave was reported to Middletown authorities on Saturday morning at 5:48 AM.  Powers’ address is 260 Monmouth Ave.

According to a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, both young men have been charged with one count of second degree Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Arson, one count of second degree Aggravated Arson and one count of third degree Aggravated Assault.

Because of his status as a volunteer firefighter, Powers has also been charged with Official Misconduct, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of ten years and a minimum period of parole ineligibility of five years, upon conviction.

Powers is in critical but stable condition at The Burn Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.  Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen set Powers bail as R. O. R. (Released On Recognizance) so long as he remains in an in-patient. Upon his release from The Burn Center, his bail will be reviewed.

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Beware of scammers claiming to be from the IRS

Phone scammers are targeting local residents with aggressive phone calls claiming that they are from the IRS and threatening jail if the residents don’t pay immediately, according to a statement by the the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The callers take various approaches to extort money by either demanding that funds be paid immediately or in some cases saying that there is a refund due. Whichever tactic the caller uses, the objective is to trick unsuspecting resident to give over private information.

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Arrest is made in Long Branch double murder

Cousin of elder victim is charged

Related: Suspect Checked In With Prosecutors One Week After The Murders

Brian R. Foster, a registered sex offender, was convicted of aggravated assault in 1996

Brian Farmer, 58, of John St in Long Branch has been charged with the strangulation murders of his cousin, Joan Colbert and her 10 year old foster daughter Veronica Roach.  Farmer also faces child pornography charges in connection with the 10 year old girl, according to a statement by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Prosecutor’s office has confirmed that the defendant is the the same Brain R.  Farmer, 58 of Long Branch, who is a registered sex offender convicted of aggravated assault in 1996.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Long Branch Police Department was launched after Colbert and Roach were found in their first floor apartment at 61 Lippincott Ave. on August 1, 2014.  Long Branch police responded to the home around 5:22 p.m. following a report of suspicious circumstances at the address.

A 13-day investigation revealed Farmer was at the home on July 30, where he was discovered by Colbert taking pornographic photographs of the 10-year-old girl. A confrontation ensued ending with Farmer killing Colbert and the girl. Farmer then fled the scene of his crimes.

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Matawan-Aberdeen teacher arrested for talking dirty to students

Philip Riveley

A substitute teacher at Matawan-Aberdeen High School was arrested on Thrusday and charged with engaging in sexually explicit conversations with two female students, ages 15 and 17.

Philip Riveley, 29 of Woodbridge, was charged with two counts of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on $150,000 cash bail.

The arrest is the result off an investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Bureau and the Matawan Police Department.  The Woodbridge Police Department assisted in Riveley’s arrest.

If convicted, Riveley faces a prison term of five to 10 years.

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Red Bank Regional substitute teacher charged with bedding 16 year old student

Accused rapist is founder of a youth advocacy organization

Darnell Lewis recruiting youth to make the right choices in Newark, August 2010. photo via I.M.P.A.C.T.’s facebook page

A substitute teacher and assistant football and basketball coach at Red Bank Regional High School is facing charges of sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child after it was learned that he engaged in sexual intercourse with a 16 year of girl in his Red Bank home, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced from Afghanistan yesterday.

Gramiccioni is on a six month deployment with the Naval Reserve JAG Corps.

Darnell Lewis, 37, is charged with three counts of second degree Sexual Assault and one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on $200,000 bail with no 10 percent option, as set my Superior Court Judge Angela White Dalton. He is to have no contact with the victim, should he make bail, according to White Dalton’s order.

Described as a hall monitor, substitute teacher and coach by Gramiccioni’s statement, Lewis recently resigned from Red Bank Regional and has not returned to the school.

Lewis is the founder of I.M.P.A.C.T., an organization he founded in 2010 that purports to help people make better choices.

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