The other escapee was apprehended Friday afternoon.
View full sizeNew Jersey Department of Corrections PhotosMichael Bentley and Corey Agostarola are now in custody after escaping from Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility in Clinton Township.
Michael Bentley, 23, was taken into custody about 4:45 this morning in Hardyston Township, Sussex County, the New Jersey Department of Corrections spokeswoman said.
That arrest came after a high-speed police pursuit of a stolen car Bentley allegedly was driving and then a foot chase involving several law enforcement agencies and police canines.
Corey Agostarola, 21, was apprehended Friday evening in Pinehill, Camden County, another spokeswoman said.
An investigation into how the escape occurred remains ongoing, authorities said this afternoon.
Corrections officials said both Bentley and Agostarola will now face escape charges, which carry a three- to five-year prison sentence if convicted. Bentley was also charged with eluding, receiving stolen property and being a fugitive from justice, and officials say additional charges are also likely to be filed against Agostarola.
Bentley suffered some dog bites during his apprehension and treated at a hospital. He was released later this morning and was being held at an undisclosed site.
No further information was available about the arrests.
Bentley has been incarcerated since Jan. 13 on a five-year sentence for a theft conviction, according to the department of correction's website. He would have been eligible for parole March 13.
Agostarola was serving a three-year sentence on a weapon possession and
burglary conviction, and had been jailed since March 2011, the
department's website shows. He would have been eligible for parole Dec.
10.
A 30-year-old woman was charged with criminal trespass.
A 30-year-old Clinton woman was charged with criminal trespass after police said she entered an unlocked apartment at the Clinton Garden Apartments, 11 School St.
Police identified the woman as Kristi Wertz.
Police were called to the apartment complex at 1:15 a.m. Sunday for a reported prowler. A resident told police a woman in a black hoodie entered her apartment through an unlocked door.
Police said Wertz left the apartment when confronted by the person who reported the intruder.
Wertz was released after being charged, police said.
The 2:45 a.m. crash closed Route 513 between Gallmeier Road and Route 519, police said. The stretch of road will likely remain closed for the rest of the day, according to police.
The driver of the truck was transported to Hunterdon Medical Center for minor injuries, police said. No other injuries have been reported.
The truck, which was heading north on Route 513, took out a utility pole during the crash, but it is unclear if any nearby houses lost power, police said. JCP&L crews repaired damaged lines this morning, according to police.
Details on the crash were not immediately available. Police are still working to remove the truck from the side of the road.
The overdose victim was 'near death' but has since recovered, the Hunterdon County prosecutor said.
A Clinton man faces obstruction and hindering apprehension charges after he allegedly hid evidence of heroin use as a 21-year-old man was overdosing in his basement Friday, according to town police.
Sean Ahlquist, 20, of the first block of Lingert
Avenue, allegedly concealed evidence of drug use before emergency personnel arrived to aid the Bradley Beach, N.J., man overdosing on suspected heroin in Ahlquist's home, according to town police.
An 18-year-old man, who did not live in the home, called police about 3:30 a.m., according to reports. While the 18-year-old sought help
for the Bradley Beach man, police say Ahlquist hid hypodermic syringes and other drug paraphernalia.
Emergency personnel transported the 21-year-old man to the Hunterdon Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition, according to authorities. Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III announced today that the man has since been released from the hospital.
"The young man who was hospitalized was near death, but has been released from the hospital," Kearns said.
Kearns declined to release the man's name because charges have not been filed against him, he said.
Police charged Ahlquist with obstruction of the administration of law, hindering apprehension, possession of hypodermic syringes and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is being held in the Hunterdon County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.
"We commend the
efforts of the town of Clinton police, Clinton rescue squad and EMS for their efforts in sustaining the life
of a young man," Kearns said in a news release. "This incident reminds us we are not isolated from the problems
plaguing our communities."
Express-Times File PhotoTwo Clinton men face criminal mischief charges after tagging local bridge, sidewalk and sign.
Two Clinton men face criminal
mischief charges after allegedly spray painting profanity on a municipal building sign and under a town bridge, according to Clinton police reports.
Christopher Kane, 22, and Patrick Levandowski, 20, are charged with spray painting expletives on a Town of Clinton Municipal Building sign and underneath the West Main Street Bridge, police say.
Before discovering these markings, police responded to a report of graffiti on a Main Street sidewalk, according to reports. The phrase "YOLO CK" -- an acronym meaning "You only live once" -- followed by Kane's initials, was spray-painted on the walkway, police said.
The two men were released pending a future court date.
Anyone with information is asked to call county authorities.
Courtesy PhotoThe Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office seeks three fugitives.
Hunterdon
County authorities seek help in
finding the following fugitives:
Two suspects,
who fled Clinton police after
trying to defraud a bank this summer, were recently charged with theft and
conspiracy following a 10-month investigation, Hunterdon County
Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III announced today.
Mark Ives, 29, last address in Florida, and Victoria Davis, 27, last address in
Virginia, each face theft by deception, theft of identity and conspiracy charges
following a suspected attempt to defraud the PNC
Bank on Old Highway 22 on Aug.
5, 2011, according to authorities. Ives also faces an eluding
police charge, for fleeing in a four-door black 2011 Cadillac with Davis
when police arrived, reports say.
Ives is
described as a white man, 5 feet 7 inches, medium build with brown hair. Davis
is a white woman, 5 feet 4 inches, medium build with blonde hair, Kearns said.
Following an 18-month investigation, one of two men tied to a series of thefts
in Hunterdon and Somerset counties
remains at large, according to Kearns.
Joseph
Cloud, 34, last known address in Philadelphia, was charged in helping steal valves used in irrigation and sprinkler systems that are each worth
several hundred dollars, according to Kearns.
A witness
spotted Cloud and Ryan Dorofy, 30, in the act in Clinton,
leading to Dorofy's arrest on theft and receiving stolen property charges,
reports say.
***
Anyone with information on any of these fugitives is asked to contact the Town
of Clinton Police Department at 908-735-8611 or the Hunterdon County
Prosecutor's Office at 908-788-1129.
All tips are kept confidential.
The bicyclist and the truck driver were driving in opposite directions on Route 29 when the crash occurred at 7:47 p.m., state police at Kingwood said.
View full sizeA bicyclist was struck by a pickup truck Friday night at the intersection of routes 29 and 523, police said.
The bicyclist and the truck driver were driving in opposite directions on Route 29 when the crash occurred at 7:47 p.m., state police at Kingwood said.
The bicyclist became entrapped under the truck, police said. He was flown to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. where he was listed in critical but stable condition, police said.
Police said more information would be available on the crash later this evening when the troopers who responded to the crash return to duty.
Nine drug-related overdoses have happened in the last six months.
Courtesy PhotoThe Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office issued a warning today to heroin users.
Heroin users beware: the quality and care of the drug isn't a mystery to be tested, warns Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III.
Today's announcement comes in the wake of nine drug-related overdoses in the last six months in the county, according to Kearns. One of these cases resulted in the death of a 21-year-old Clinton man in January.
Lab reports indicated that the heroin found at the scene of the man's overdose was 90 to 95 percent pure, according to Kearns. This isn't the only fatality this year. A Franklin Township man died of heroin overdose in May, according to Kearns. And most recently, a Bradley Beach, N.J., man overdosed in a Clinton home.
Part of the warning issued by the prosecutor focused on the quality and preparation of the heroin. He said users don't know what they are getting into.
"We cannot ignore this. As with any illegal drug sold on the street,
there are no quality control standards," Kearns said in a prepared statement. "You just don't know what you are
getting. You do not know what the purity level of the Heroin is or what toxic
substance was used to cut the Heroin. Users are risking death every time they
get high. This is not a problem limited to urban areas. People are overdosing
here in Hunterdon County."
The Lebanon Township Committee is tasked with fixing emergency medical services that faltered after the Lebanon Township First Aid Squad was dissolved and replaced by township firefighters.
Two firefighters who handled most day calls resigned, and the township has since relied on neighboring EMS squads during the day.
Cryan, the fire company president, said he prefers a blend of paid and volunteer emergency medical services, although the EMS fix will have to be decided through a number of meetings, beginning with one Wednesday night.
As much as EMS, Cryan said his win was due to voters who “wanted fiscal responsibility and a fresh look at situations.”
Wunder said he was forced to refrain from talks on a rehabilitation facility proposed by his son’s employer and that some voters might have confused that for inaction or for too much involvement.
“I’ll just keep doing exactly what I’m doing. I’ll keep telling people the truth, even if that’s not what they want to hear,” he said.
He faces five to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison.
View full sizeSubmitted PhotoHunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns said "It's always a sad day when we need to prosecute one of our own."
A former Clinton police
officer has pleaded guilty to official misconduct after being investigated for selling police gear on eBay, authorities announced today.
Former officer Leon Cohen, of Andover, N.J., faces five to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison
for selling police issued equipment on the
internet, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III said. Under the plea agreement offered by county prosecutors, theft by deception and forgery charges were dismissed. Cohen also agreed to resign from the police department and pay restitution, according to Kearns.
While working as the school resource and D.A.R.E. officer at Clinton
Public School, Cohen falsified
documents, claiming to acquire additional equipment for the Drug Awareness and Resistance Education program. Kearns declined to provide details on the equipment, but confirmed that Cohen didn't sell any weapons. He sold and kept the equipment for his own use, according to authorities. Investigation of misconduct allegations began in June 2011, leading to Cohen's arrest July 12.
Kearns said that he wasn't aware of
any prior incidents of officer misconduct similar to Cohen's case.
"It's always a sad day when we need to prosecute one of or
own," Kearns said. "But we hold all our officers to a higher standard."
Since Cohen was suspended last year, the 10-officer department has operated on a short staff, said Clinton police Chief Bret Matheis. He commended the department for working hard in Cohen's absence.
"The rest of the men have stepped up," he said. "And now we're looking to move forward and provide the best service to our community."
Courtesy PhotoThe Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office said a woman struck by a car in Raritan Township Thursday is listed in critical condition.
A 26-year-old woman struck by a car Thursday in Raritan Township is listed in critical condition, according to authorities. Santana Cockburn, 26, walked into oncoming traffic on Route 31, and was hit by a northbound vehicle driving through a green light near the Stop and Shop, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns announced today. It was not immediately clear if the driver stayed at the scene.
As of today, Cockburn was listed in critical condition at Morristown Medical Center. She was staying with relatives in Franklin Township at the time, Kearns said.
Raritan Township police and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office's Fatal
Accident Collision Team are investigating the crash.
Voorhees High School celebrated its Class of 2012 with a graduation ceremony tonight on the high school's campus.
Ashley Batson, of Lebanon Township, was the class's valedictorian. Nicole Ortega, of Tewksbury Township, was the salutatorian. Batson will be attending Brown University this fall. Ortega is going to Johns Hopkins University in the fall.
The Class of 2012 comprised 261 students. They are:
North Hunterdon High School celebrated its Class of 2012 with a graduation ceremony tonight on the high school's campus.
James (Yang) Li, of Clinton Township, was the class's valedictorian. Anne Kuster, of Clinton Township, was the salutatorian. Both will be attending the University of Notre Dame this fall.
The Class of 2012 comprised 430 students. They are:
She lost control of her vehicle after suffering from a medical emergency.
A woman drove into a house Wednesday after suffering from an undisclosed medical emergency and losing control of her vehicle, according to Readington Township police reports.
The woman crashed her 2008 Mercedes Benz into a home on Pulaski road, police say. No one inside the home was injured, according to reports. The driver was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center and was treated for an undisclosed medical condition, police say.
Tommy Cucuzella of Glen Gardner worked with Operation Shoebox New Jersey to organize the event.
Eagle Scout Tommy Cucuzella is doing his part to help U.S. troops overseas.
Cucuzella, friends, family and other volunteers will gather 10 a.m. Sunday at VFW Post 5119 with a goal of packing 200 boxes of supplies for the troops.
The Voorhees High School junior said he feels that everyone should do what they can to help soldiers overseas, so he always knew his Eagle Scout project would somehow revolve around that idea.
He made his final decision about the project last summer.
“I have always had a great respect for our military men and women,” Cucuzella said. “My grandfather was in the Army and my other grandfather was in the Navy, so the military is in my family.”
He said preparations have been going on for the last eight months. After submitting a detailed written plan to his local scout council, Cucuzella, 17, said research led him to the nonprofit organization known as Operation Shoebox New Jersey.
Founded in 2005, Operation Shoebox New Jersey is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to collecting donated supplies and shipping care packages to U.S. troops based in countries overseas. The volunteer organization has shipped more than 55,000 total packages to U.S. military personnel.
Using the Operation Shoebox New Jersey template, Cucuzella has been collecting small packages of food and personal care items.
“Tommy has been working diligently since October, assisted by his parents, grandfather, friends and other Scouts, to assemble enough donations to pack and ship 200 care packages overseas,” said Rod Hirsch, Operation Shoebox New Jersey founder and executive director.
“I have been standing outside of (local grocery) stores asking customers for donations of money and materials,” Cucuzella said.
****
VOLUNTEERS
Anyone wishing to volunteer can go to VFW Post 5119, 179 Main St, Glen Gardner, 10 a.m. Sunday.
Call 908-638-0333 or visit opshoeboxnj.org for more information about Operation Shoebox New Jersey.
The Appellate Division of the state Superior Court on Tuesday awarded Hunterdon County guards and deputies three-year labor contracts that include salary schedules for the first time since 2003.
View full sizeHunterdon County Democrat File PhotoThe Hunterdon County jail.
New Jersey’s lowest-paid jail guards and second lowest-paid sheriff’s deputies should get tenure-based raises, an appellate court ruled last week.
The Appellate Division of the state Superior Court awarded Hunterdon County’s guards and deputies three-year labor contracts that include salary schedules. The workers haven't had salary schedules since 2003.
The county could still appeal the decision, which would take the contract negotiations before the state Supreme Court.
Thomas Dodd, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 29 that represents the guards, said a new contract would help the
county keep experienced workers.
“We’re very pleased. It’s a just ruling,” Dodd said. While Hunterdon
guards would remain the lowest paid in the state under the new contract,
he said, “they’ll tend to stay because there’s a guarantee of what
they’ll make.”
Attempts to reach the deputies' union president were unsuccessful.
The salary schedules are the major sticking point in negotiations that have lasted more than three years.
Freeholders, who prefer annual percentage raises, have systematically negotiated salary schedules out of all of the county's labor contracts.
The guards and deputies say the lack of a salary schedule has led to rapid turnover as workers leave for better pay. The ruling indicates other
New Jersey counties, all of which have salary schedules, have had better success retaining guards and deputies.
Walton has said the schedules are unfair to taxpayers because they guarantee raises even after a contract ends. He also has said they create “double raises:" one for an employee's extra year of experience annually and one because the amount paid for each step increases annually.
The negotiations three times have come before a third party, each of which favored salary schedules.
“We won at the arbitration level. We won at the PERC (Public Employment Relations Commission) level. We won at the appellate court level,” Dodd said. “Taking it this last step (to the Supreme Court) would be a complete waste of taxpayer dollars.”
Walton said in March the county will “exhaust every avenue” to avoid
salary schedules. But he said Thursday the county hasn’t decided if it will
appeal to state Supreme Court.
The new contract for guards provides a 13.4 percent increase over the life of the contract. Deputies are getting a 14.96 percent raise over that time.
That works out to $236,336 more paid to 30 guards and $115,300 more paid to deputies over three years, according to a 2011 relations commission ruling.
The commission ruling also reflected the guards and deputies low pay in relation to peers in other counties. Under an existing contract, guards start at $31,000 per year.
The Hunterdon County Democrat contributed to this report.
***
TURNOVER
Eighty-five percent of Hunterdon County sheriff’s deputies left the county between 1996 and October 2008, and only four of 32 deputies hired between 2000 and 2005 are still working for the county.
Prison guards had a 60-70 percent turnover rate in the past 10 years, and the county hired 100 new guards from 2000 to 2010.
Santana Cockburn, formerly of Franklin Township, Hunterdon
County, walked into oncoming traffic on Route 31 and was hit by a northbound vehicle near a Stop and Shop grocery store, according to Hunterdon County Prosecutor
Anthony Kearns, III. The car had a green light at the time, Kearns
said.
Cockburn, of Wildwood, N.J., graduated from North
Hunterdon Regional High School
in 2005. She was staying with family members in the Annandale
section of Franklin Township
this week, Kearns said.
Kearns said charges are unlikely. Raritan Township
police and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office's Fatal Accident Collision
Team are investigating the crash.
A long, secretive custody case came to an apparent milestone late last month in state Superior Court. Heath Campbell told The Star-Ledger that Judge Robert Reed ruled he and his wife, Deborah, can't have their kids back.
Less than a month after news stories made the world aware of
a boy named Adolf Hitler in Hunterdon
County, the government took the
toddler and his younger sisters from their parents with no public explanation.
View full sizeAP File PhotoHeath Campbell, left, with his wife, Deborah, and son Adolf Hitler Campbell, 3, pose in Easton in this 2009 photo.
Adolf Hitler Campbell has spent his fourth, fifth and sixth
birthdays in foster care arranged by the New Jersey Division of Youth and
Family Services. Joycelynn Aryan Nation Campbell has turned 2, 3, and 4 years
old in foster care. Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, taken as an infant,
hardly knows any life other than that as a foster child.
And 17 hours after Heath and Deborah Campbell gave birth to a
fourth child, Hons Campbell, on Nov. 17, the state took the newborn boy, too,
again with no public explanation.
A long, secretive custody case came to an apparent milestone late
last month in state Superior Court. Heath Campbell told The Star-Ledger that Judge
Robert Reed ruled he and his wife, Deborah, can't have their kids back.
Yet hardly anyone knows why.
Those allowed behind the closed doors of family court in
Flemington, including the Campbells'
attorneys, say they can't disclose the reason because of a gag order. DYFS representatives
say state law forbids them from discussing individual custody cases.
Aside from a court ruling that emerged in 2010 alleging
domestic violence in the Campbell
home, the only reason the public has heard for the seizure comes from Heath
Campbell, who says the kids were taken solely for their names.
As DYFS once again declined Friday to acknowledge that a Campbell
case exists, Heath Campbell reaffirmed his position.
"It is just because of the names," he said, also claiming his
children were abused in foster care and that a Jewish neighbor made a false
report to DYFS. "Nothing else."
Each day that passes with only the father's explanation makes
it more likely people will question how much the names were the reason — or if
the names were the only reason — that New Jersey took the kids.
"Obviously, it would be helpful for the public to know," said
Patricia Garity Smits, who practices family law in Clinton Township, "because
it sounds like here's a state agency just taking kids out of a house."
What's in a name?
Smits and two other Hunterdon
County lawyers who practice family
law and have tried cases in front of Reed don't believe Heath Campbell's story.
They highly doubt the state would take the children only
because of their names, and they're certain Reed wouldn't terminate custody over
them.
None of the lawyers is involved in the Campbell
case, and each knows no more about it than has been reported in the media.
William Deni, of the Deni Law Group in Flemington, which regularly
tries cases against DYFS, said Heath Campbell's claim that the children were
taken only for their names is "absurd."
Britt Simon, of the Simon Law Group in Flemington, said Reed
is "very conservative, intelligent and ascribes to keeping a family in tact. He
must have had some real concerns."
Still, each of the lawyers had no trouble imagining a
scenario where the names played a role in the removal.
What happened with the family between then and Jan. 9, 2009 — when DYFS reportedly
took the kids from their Holland Township
home — is unknown.
But Deni, Smits and Simon agreed the publicity might have led
to threats against the family. Such threats could make DYFS feel the children
were in danger, the lawyers said.
"Any time a child would be exposed to some type of
endangerment, yeah, the parents have to act and if they don't act, they're
negligent," Deni said. "... That would justify protecting the children."
Heath Campbell has said previously that neighbors and others
were harassing the family after the names were publicized. Local police have
previously reported a death threat that was apparently intended for Deborah
Campbell, although it was mailed to the wrong person.
Scenario 2: Names drew complaints
The lawyers also said someone who learned of the names might
have complained to DYFS, which is bound by law to investigate any report of
child abuse or neglect.
Without acknowledging the Campbell
case, agency spokeswoman Kristine Brown confirmed Friday that the agency
follows up on every report of child abuse or neglect it receives.
"DYFS exists to investigate and follow up on cases of child
abuse and neglect. Those are important words: child abuse and neglect," Brown
said. "If someone calls and says I think Johnny Smith across the street is
being abused, we have to investigate."
Smits wasn't sure a complaint over only the names would draw
a DYFS investigation. But if it did, the lawyers said, DYFS might have found something
to make them believe the kids were in danger.
The 2010 court ruling said Deborah Campbell wrote a note
to a neighbor saying Heath Campbell made her fear for her life, and that
she feared for the children's safety.
The ruling reflects she later retracted that claim, and Heath
Campbell said the note was written under stress from publicity.
The ruling
also revealed police reports of loud arguments in the Campbell house and a history of domestic
violence in Heath Campbell's first marriage.
Scenario 3: Names invoke hate
Simon said a third but unlikely scenario is that DYFS and
Reed determined the names are so likely to invoke hate that the children were
in danger.
"These children were named with the intention of eliciting a
reaction or emotional response from people ... to identify with some of the
evilest characters who ever existed," Simon said. "That puts the kids in
danger."
But he doubted the judge or DYFS would act on a reason so
closely tied to the name.
Heath Campbell's attorney, Pat Gianetta, and Deborah
Campbell's attorney, Mike Calabro, each have said they'd like to discuss the
case but can't because of the gag order.
The closest DYFS has come to commenting on the Campbell
case was shortly after the children were removed, when a spokeswoman said the
agency never would take a child over a name.
A pipe broke Sunday, shutting down the pump at New Jersey American Water Co.'s Bedminister, N.J., booster station.
Parts of Tewksbury Township remain under a boil water advisory after a pipe broke Sunday shutting down New Jersey American Water Co.'s Bedminster, N.J., booster station, according to the Hunterdon County Department of Emergency Management and the water company.
The broken pipe flooded the station causing the pump to shut off, the company reported. About 1,400 customers are impacted in six towns. The company is attempting to fill its water towers with a bypass pump, authorities said. It all goes well, normal service could be restored with a "couple of days," a company spokesman said.
Water levels dropped throughout Sunday and reached a critical level at 3:15 pm., according to the Borough of Peapack and Gladstone Office of Emergency Management. Customers in that area were asked to conserve water. Tewksbury resident should also conserve water, a company spokesman said.
Customers should bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow it to cool before drinking it, the company advises.
The water company advises affected customers to:
Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes if made with tap water during the advisory
Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking
Rinse hand-washed dishes for a minute in diluted bleach (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle
Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing
Provide pets with boiled water after cooling
Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms
For those without water, the company has established a water station at the Peapack Municipal Building at 1 School Street, Peapack, where impacted customers can have water jugs filled or receive bottled water. It will run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as long as the advisory is in place, the company said.
View full sizeMichael Bentley and Corey Agostarola are now in custody after escaping from Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility in Clinton Township.
