A recent article in the Star-Ledger has said that there were eleven murders in Newark in May, and around fourteen in June so far. Strangely, my list only records seven in May, and a further three in June for Newark. The Star-Ledger doesn’t report all murders in Newark, which I found somewhat shocking, due to the gravity of the crime. If this omission was anywhere but Newark, there would be outrage. Murders of suburban middle-class people not being covered is apparently unthinkable, and ignoring the impoverished dead on urban streets is the norm.
If anyone has information on these missing Newark murders, as well as any other crime, please contact me. The crime data for Newark on my map is artificially low, due to the Star-Ledger neglecting to report on most major Newark crimes, even murder.
The crimes of Newark are not the crimes of the suburbs, and a shocking attack like the one on June 12 would be unlikely in Millburn or Paramus. Only a block away from where a 19-year-old was murdered weeks before, a man pulled up in an SUV by the Stratford-Aspen apartments and began to argue with a 23-year-old man. The assailant pulled out a silver handgun and fired eight shots, striking his target in the back. However, stray bullets hit a 12-year-old boy who had been standing nearby in the stomach, buttocks, and arm, severely wounding him. The shooter escaped, leaving the boy clinging to life.
Early Saturday morning in Hoboken, another young life was ruined, but in a far different way. An 18-year-old junior in Hoboken High School and all-star of the basketball team was arrested after two vicious crimes. Around 1 AM a New York man was punched unconscious and robbed of his wallet; while police were investigating this robbery, the young man and friends were beating another man in Church Square Park for trespassing in their territory at night. The teen was arrested for robbery and assault, and his promising athletic career presumably ended.
On June 14, a sickening crime was discovered in East Orange. A family-owned grocery store was burglarized, and a citizen called the police to investigate. The police arrived at the store early in the morning before the owners got there, and discovered illegal fighting roosters bred for cockfights, and steroids used to bulk them up. The roosters were scarred, some covered in fresh wounds that suggested they had been battled within the previous few days. The owner, and his wife and teenage son, were arrested for animal cruelty, and the roosters were euthanized.
One notoriously bad area that I’ve discovered through my plotting of crimes on the map is the southern part of Montclair, especially in the vicinity of Mission Street. A hub of assaults, drug dealings, and occasional exchange of gunfire, this neighborhood was in uproar again Sunday night when a 33-year-old East Orange man was attacked by a gang of people on Mission Street. He was struck in the head with a pipe and stabbed, requiring evacuation to Newark Medical; several of his assailants were arrested, but the motive is still unclear.
As well as the Muddy Banks of the Hackensack crime blog and the New Jersey Murder Map, I’ve also been working on a study of organized crime in New Jersey. Any contributions to this would be welcome.
Murder Map
Showing posts with label east orange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label east orange. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The crime map for May coming to an end.
The month is nearly over, and the full crime map showing the areas and levels of crimes in the region can be posted. In the meantime, here’s an overview of the previous week in crime, and some statistics of the crime data so far:
On May 18, four hooded suspects robbed a jewelry store in Hackensack. Two were arrested, the others returned to Brooklyn with the stolen property. Also on that Monday, a 51-year-old inmate at a Newark rehab center was found strangled by two other inmates in a dispute over $20.
On May 19, a Tuesday, a man was arrested for attempted sexual assault on a minor in Ridgefield Park (the hometown of the author) on an internet sting, where he was told to come to a certain location to have sex with a ten-year-old girl. Police arrested him as soon as he got out of his car. Also, a post office in East Orange was robbed at gunpoint.
Wednesday, May 20, had police investigating two shotgun blasts in Irvington, and a gang of gun-toting robbers breaking into a Montclair house, tying up the three occupants, and stealing their wallets as well as possessions in the house.
On Thursday, May 21, a police sting arrested a Parsippany man with 40 loaded pistols, assault rifles, and other weaponry in his house. A few miles east in Paterson that morning, a policeman shot and missed an axe-wielding man who had tried to attack him.
On May 22, two men with Uzi assault rifles robbed a construction boss of $11,000 in cash in downtown Jersey City. Also, two teenagers were carjacked in Paterson, robbed, and left abandoned in northwest. The carjackers were found outside a liquor store an hour later, and were arrested for the carjacking, as well as the twelve baggies of crack cocaine, as well as cannabis and heroin, in their car.
On Saturday, May 23, a young woman claimed to have been raped by two men at the house of Jets’ safety Kerry Rhodes in Morristown. Also, in the early morning of downtown Jersey City, a drive-by shooting critically injured two men. One escaped with a bullet in the leg, but the other was struck six times, in the upper back, stomach, arm, leg, and hand, leaving him in intensive care in the hospital.
On Sunday, May 24, an open air drug market was busted in Jersey City, leading to six men being arrested on drug and illegal weapons charges. Also, a Laundromat owner was stabbed by a homeless man over a small sum of money in Paterson.
In the early morning hours of May 25, a 23-year-old man was fatally shot in the head on a street corner in Jersey City. Later in that day, a Crip in East Orange drew a .38 caliber pistol on his ex-girlfriend and threatened to shoot her in the head; she called the police and he was arrested. He was already facing charges for operating an organized gang of drug distribution all over Essex and Morris Counties.
Since midnight on May 1, there have been:
86 burglaries
33 non-fatal assaults
27 robberies
14 non-fatal shootings
12 stolen vehicles
6 disorderly conducts
6 distribution charges
4 fatal assaults
4 fatal shootings
3 arsons
3 larceny charges
3 sexual assaults
3 weapons offenses
2 lewd acts
1 blackmail
1 breaking and entering
1 carjacking
1 combined distribution and weapons charge
1 manslaughter
1 prostitution charge
In the northernmost six counties of New Jersey. Jersey City clearly appears to be the most dangerous place, with three murders standing out on the list, as well as eleven assaults, two non-fatal shootings, and four armed robberies. Crime has even extended into Bergen and Morris Counties, where robberies, drug distribution, burglaries, and sexual assaults have all shown up on the radar. Sussex County is the only county that’s comparatively quiet. Passaic, Essex, and Hudson are all teeming with crime.
The murders so far have been:
May 5 – Shooting in Newark, man killed with gunshots to chest and head in Vailsburg
May 6 – Stabbing in Paterson, man stabbed multiple times in Wrigley Park
May 6 – Stabbing in Jersey City, man stabbed in his neck and shoulder in Journal Square
May 11 – Shooting in Newark, man killed with gunshot to head in Weequahic
May 17 – Shooting in Newark, man killed with gunshot to chest in Weequahic
May 17 – Strangling in Jersey City, man killed by choking in The Heights
May 18 – Strangling in Newark, man killed by choking in Newark Bay
May 25 – Shooting in Jersey City, man killed with gunshot to the head in Bergen-Lafayette
For some final county data on violent crime before the crime map goes up:
Bergen County has five nonfatal assaults, three robberies.
Essex County has three fatal shootings, five non-fatal shootings, one fatal assault, one non-fatal assault, eleven robberies.
Hudson County has one fatal shooting, two non-fatal shootings, two fatal assaults, sixteen non-fatal assaults, and seven robberies.
Morris County has one non-fatal shooting, five non-fatal assaults, and two robberies.
Passaic County has six non-fatal shootings, one fatal assault, four non-fatal assaults, and three robberies.
Sussex County has two non-fatal assaults and one robbery.
Not a day goes by that I don’t reflect on the human cost behind the numbers. While it’s easy to say that Paterson is doing well compared to Jersey City and Newark in terms of violent crime, the crime that does occur affects real human lives. Each of these shootings, robberies, and burglaries means the world to someone, and it’s something that isn’t spoken to in these cold, hard statistics.
On May 18, four hooded suspects robbed a jewelry store in Hackensack. Two were arrested, the others returned to Brooklyn with the stolen property. Also on that Monday, a 51-year-old inmate at a Newark rehab center was found strangled by two other inmates in a dispute over $20.
On May 19, a Tuesday, a man was arrested for attempted sexual assault on a minor in Ridgefield Park (the hometown of the author) on an internet sting, where he was told to come to a certain location to have sex with a ten-year-old girl. Police arrested him as soon as he got out of his car. Also, a post office in East Orange was robbed at gunpoint.
Wednesday, May 20, had police investigating two shotgun blasts in Irvington, and a gang of gun-toting robbers breaking into a Montclair house, tying up the three occupants, and stealing their wallets as well as possessions in the house.
On Thursday, May 21, a police sting arrested a Parsippany man with 40 loaded pistols, assault rifles, and other weaponry in his house. A few miles east in Paterson that morning, a policeman shot and missed an axe-wielding man who had tried to attack him.
On May 22, two men with Uzi assault rifles robbed a construction boss of $11,000 in cash in downtown Jersey City. Also, two teenagers were carjacked in Paterson, robbed, and left abandoned in northwest. The carjackers were found outside a liquor store an hour later, and were arrested for the carjacking, as well as the twelve baggies of crack cocaine, as well as cannabis and heroin, in their car.
On Saturday, May 23, a young woman claimed to have been raped by two men at the house of Jets’ safety Kerry Rhodes in Morristown. Also, in the early morning of downtown Jersey City, a drive-by shooting critically injured two men. One escaped with a bullet in the leg, but the other was struck six times, in the upper back, stomach, arm, leg, and hand, leaving him in intensive care in the hospital.
On Sunday, May 24, an open air drug market was busted in Jersey City, leading to six men being arrested on drug and illegal weapons charges. Also, a Laundromat owner was stabbed by a homeless man over a small sum of money in Paterson.
In the early morning hours of May 25, a 23-year-old man was fatally shot in the head on a street corner in Jersey City. Later in that day, a Crip in East Orange drew a .38 caliber pistol on his ex-girlfriend and threatened to shoot her in the head; she called the police and he was arrested. He was already facing charges for operating an organized gang of drug distribution all over Essex and Morris Counties.
Since midnight on May 1, there have been:
86 burglaries
33 non-fatal assaults
27 robberies
14 non-fatal shootings
12 stolen vehicles
6 disorderly conducts
6 distribution charges
4 fatal assaults
4 fatal shootings
3 arsons
3 larceny charges
3 sexual assaults
3 weapons offenses
2 lewd acts
1 blackmail
1 breaking and entering
1 carjacking
1 combined distribution and weapons charge
1 manslaughter
1 prostitution charge
In the northernmost six counties of New Jersey. Jersey City clearly appears to be the most dangerous place, with three murders standing out on the list, as well as eleven assaults, two non-fatal shootings, and four armed robberies. Crime has even extended into Bergen and Morris Counties, where robberies, drug distribution, burglaries, and sexual assaults have all shown up on the radar. Sussex County is the only county that’s comparatively quiet. Passaic, Essex, and Hudson are all teeming with crime.
The murders so far have been:
May 5 – Shooting in Newark, man killed with gunshots to chest and head in Vailsburg
May 6 – Stabbing in Paterson, man stabbed multiple times in Wrigley Park
May 6 – Stabbing in Jersey City, man stabbed in his neck and shoulder in Journal Square
May 11 – Shooting in Newark, man killed with gunshot to head in Weequahic
May 17 – Shooting in Newark, man killed with gunshot to chest in Weequahic
May 17 – Strangling in Jersey City, man killed by choking in The Heights
May 18 – Strangling in Newark, man killed by choking in Newark Bay
May 25 – Shooting in Jersey City, man killed with gunshot to the head in Bergen-Lafayette
For some final county data on violent crime before the crime map goes up:
Bergen County has five nonfatal assaults, three robberies.
Essex County has three fatal shootings, five non-fatal shootings, one fatal assault, one non-fatal assault, eleven robberies.
Hudson County has one fatal shooting, two non-fatal shootings, two fatal assaults, sixteen non-fatal assaults, and seven robberies.
Morris County has one non-fatal shooting, five non-fatal assaults, and two robberies.
Passaic County has six non-fatal shootings, one fatal assault, four non-fatal assaults, and three robberies.
Sussex County has two non-fatal assaults and one robbery.
Not a day goes by that I don’t reflect on the human cost behind the numbers. While it’s easy to say that Paterson is doing well compared to Jersey City and Newark in terms of violent crime, the crime that does occur affects real human lives. Each of these shootings, robberies, and burglaries means the world to someone, and it’s something that isn’t spoken to in these cold, hard statistics.
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