Community Corner

SWAT Standoff, Killer Caught on Tape Top NJ News

A weekly look at news from around the state.

A Bernardsville man who was arrested last year for allegedly trying to sell an Uzi to an undercover detective was identified by authorities as the individual responsible for a tense standoff with SWAT units this week. The incident began when sheriff's officers attempted to serve Samuel J. Medway, 44, a $93,000 failure-to-pay-child-support notice. After a three-hour standoff in which he barricaded himself inside his home, Medway surrendered peacefully.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is hoping the public can help identify the men responsible for shooting and killing liquor store clerk James Wilson in an April robbery. The West Orange store's surveillance video was released on Thursday. An investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.

Two more men came forward to join a class action lawsuit that alleges decades of sexual abuse took place at Delbarton Prep in Morris Township. Former Parsippany resident Steve Badt and an unnamed individual joined six others who claim four different monks from St. Mary's Abbey sexually abused Delbarton students dating back from the late 1970s. 

Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

West Morris Regional School District bus driver Kim Bosco used quick reflexes to avoid a driver who police say fell asleep and drifted into the path of the bus. No students on the packed bus were injured, and the driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital.

A man wearing a ski mask who was armed with a handgun and machete robbed a Burlington County goodwill store Wednesday night, according to police. The suspect, whose face was covered, could not be located. The three employees at the Maple Shade Goodwill were uninjured.

Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A 16-year-old Fort Lee High School student fell off a cliff near the George Washington Bridge late Friday and died from his injuries, police confirmed Saturday. John Graniello, a junior, has been identified as the deceased and police do not consider his death suspicious.

A pitbull named Lilly grabbed the attention of a good samaritan in Berkeley Township after her owner had collapsed and became unconscious due to a "medical event." The dog's loyalty and smarts may have saved owner Dona Timoney, 51, of Beachwood, who was airlifted to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.

New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chisea told prom-bound girls their gowns are secure, days after the state seized the assets of a Wayne dress shop. The state's complaint accuses Patria Dowling, owner of Red Carpet Pageant of violating commercial fraud laws. Dowling is accused of having filed a false police report that claimed the dresses were stolen.

An ex-Paterson cop was charged Friday for allegedly firing shots in the air and pointing a gun at another individual after being involved in a fight earlier that evening outside Sona Thirteen Bar in Morristown. Dustin Bradley, 27, of Rockaway, was charged with two weapons-related offenses as well as receiving stolen property, authorities said.

The Mullman family wasn't about to wait around for a good donor match when 21-year-old Jen was diagnosed with auto-immune hepatitis. Upon hearing she was a good match, mom Susanne donated 40 percent of her own liver and the family are now looking forward to decades of good health, together.

Christie Switches Gears on Tax Cuts

Governor Chris Christie announced Thursday he's willing to drop his income tax cutting plan and compromise with Senate President Steve Sweeney, whose plan focuses on reducing property tax cuts. State revenue is estimated to be between $700 million to $1.4 billion behind the governor’s growth projections. [The Record]


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