Friday, February 20, 2009

MORRISTOWN: A 32-year-old former bank employee charged with stealing $10,900 from three bank branches in Morris County is awaiting extradition to New Jersey after she was arrested yesterday in Pennsylvania, said authorities.

Madeline Ramos, also known as Michelle Williams and formerly from Parsippany, was charged Jan. 30 with third-degree theft and issuing 13 bad checks. Between Dec. 24, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2007 she allegedly deposited those bad checks at Valley National Bank branches in Parsippany, Dover and Denville. The checks were drawn against accounts that were in the names of her two children and she withdrew the cash against those checks before they bounced.

Morris County Prosecutor's fraud unit started looking into the matter. Ultimately, Detective Joseph Costello of the fraud unit and Detective Supervisor Carmen Ferrante of the fugitive task force located her across the Delaware. She is being housed in the Monroe County Jail, awaiting extradition.

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

MORRIS PLAINS: A Provident Bank in Morris Plains was robbed today by a man armed with two handguns, marking the second Provident Bank branch to be robbed since Friday.

Whether the two bank robberies are linked is under investigation, said Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, who was on the scene along with Chief William Schievella of the Prosecutor's Office and Morris Plains Police Chief James Abbondanzo.

The Provident Bank branch on Route 10 was robbed shortly before 10:30 a.m. The suspect, who wielded both weapons during the robbery, is described as an African-American man in his early 30s, about 5-feet-6-inches to 5-feet-8 inches tall, with long, dark dreadlocks and a dark blue hat, light black jeans and a black jacket, Bianchi said.

After making off with an undisclosed amount of cash, he entered a silver-colored vehicle and drove off, Bianchi said.

The description of the robber in the Dover bank job shortly after 4 p.m. differs dramatically. That man is described as a white male with brown eyes, a medium build, about 20-25 years old, wearing a black, zippered hooded sweatshirt. The man fled on foot after robbing the bank and may have entered a vehicle, Bianchi said.

An investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crime Unit, the Dover Police, and now Morris Plains police, and Morris County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Section, Bianchi said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-6200, or the Morris Plains police at 973-538-2284, or the Morris County CrimeStoppers program at 973-267-2255, or 973-COP-CALL Bianchi said.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

MOUNT ARLINGTON: A 62-year-old local man was charged with attempting to kill his 59-year-old wife with an ice pick, according to Mt. Arlington Police and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

A 911 call by the victim at 2:16 a.m. Sunday brought two police officers to the Orben Drive home, where the officers heard her screaming for help before looking in a window and seeing her husband repeatedly strike the woman with an ice pick.

Terry Vanderbuilt was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and resisting arrest, said Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Esq.

The two officers, Sgt. William Lowry and patrolman Dennis McCoach were commended by Bianchi for "the prompt response and entry into this residence averting what could have been a very tragic outcome. These officers in all likelihood saved the victim's life," he said.

Police Chief Richard Peterson noted, "Sgt. Lowry and Patrolman McCoach are true professionals. They are a credit to the Mt. Arlington Police Department and the residents that we serve. I am extremely proud of the manner in which they handled this incident."

The victim, who suffered 17 injuries from the assault, was air lifted to Morristown Memorial Hospital where she underwent surgery and is currently in stable condition.

Vanderbuilt was lodged in the Morris County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail set by Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-6200, the Mt. Arlington Police Department at 973-398-2100 or the Morris County Sheriff's CrimeStoppers Program at 973-COP-CALL (973)-267-2255.

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.

Friday, February 06, 2009

MORRISTOWN: Porfirio Saravia Jimenez, a day laborer found guilty in October of murdering 10-year-old Walter Contreras Valenzuela in 2001, was sentenced today to life in prison for the crime.

Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, at a press conference with the boy's family next to him, said the sentencing marks the end of a sad saga that began May 20, 2001 - when the third-grader was murdered.

The murder "was one of the most brutal and horrific homicides that seasoned Assistant Prosecutors and Detectives have ever seen," but it triggered the community to come together and support the family and the law enforcement effort that caught the boy's killer.

Two days after the murder, his body was found off Cory Road by the bank of the Whippany River.

Ultimately, DNA linked Jimenez to the crime and he was arrested. The case, however, didn't move swiftly through court as legal wrangling over a mental retardation claim consumed court time.

In October, a jury found Jimenez guilty of murder, felony murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and a weapons charge.

"He (Jimenez) will spend the rest of his life in a cage," the prosecutor said.

Bianchi thanked Morristown Police Chief Peter Demnitz, the Morristown Police Department, the county sheriff's office, his major crimes investigators, victim witness unit for their work, and Supervising Assistant Prosecutors John McNamara and Maggie Calderwood for their "tenacity, heart and ethics" to see to it that justice was delivered.

Friday, February 06, 2009

MORRISTOWN: A 34-year-old reputed member of the Bloods criminal street gang was sentenced Friday to 8 years in prison for drug dealing in Morris County.

James Craighead, a captain also known as "Hood" in the Bloods' "Rolling 20s" set, must serve 4 years in prison before he is eligible for parole under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan.

Trouble for Craighead began in November 2007, after New Jersey State police, Dover police and Passaic County Sheriff's officers were involved in an undercover drug buy with Craighead. A search of his home later followed, and more than an ounce of marijuana packaged for distribution was seized.

Last month, he pled guilty to possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public park and 1,000 feet of a school zone.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Esq. said, "This sentence represents the successful results of law enforcement's efforts to eradicate gangs, guns and drugs from our community. The New Jersey State police investigation, in combination with an aggressive prosecution by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office of this criminal has made the streets of Morris County safer."

(This story was filed Feb. 6, 2009. Media agent Bill Swayze can be reached at 973-285-6200.)