Crime News

An electrical fire at the Hempstead Gardens Apartments on Hempstead Drive forced three families out of their homes on Dec. 7, police said. The fire was reported at about 3:45 p.m., according to a press release from the township police department. When officers arrived, they discovered that two apartment units were engulfed in flames, according to the release. Police immediately …

A 20-year-old township man suspected of severely injuring his one-month-old daughter remains in the Somerset County Jail, Somerville, on $75,000 bail, authorities said. William Figueroa of the Franklin Park section was arrested the morning of Dec. 5 after township police responded to a 9-1-1 call of an injured baby. The child, who is Figueroa’s biological daughter, police said, “sustained a contusion …

Township police are asking for the public’s help in locating a 17-year-old resident who may have run away from home. Myriam Rodriguez was last seen on Nov. 5 when she left Franklin High School at the end of the school day, according to a release from township police. She is believed to be in the New Brunswick area. Rodriguez is …

A 47-year-old Franklin Park man was killed Nov. 12 when his car was struck by a garbage truck that had crossed the center line on South Middlebush Road. William H. Herman was driving his 2014 Hyundai Elantra south on South Middlebush, exiting the curve after the the Amwell Road intersection, when his car was struck head-on by a truck driven …

A lawsuit filed in Bergen County that involves township police and a former Municipal Court Judge has been moved to Somerset County, according to a published report. A report appearing in the Cliffview Pilot, an online news site covering Bergen County, says that state Superior Court Assignment Judge Peter Doyne recently ruled that a civil suit against officials in several …

A 33-year-old Somerset man remains locked up in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold, after he was allegedly found on Oct. 20 with 159 wax folds of suspected heroin and other drugs during a motor vehicle stop. Englishtown police arrested John A. Houston, Jr. and charged him with six counts of 3rd Degree Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, one count of …

An 11-year-old Martin Street resident sustained cuts to his face and an injury to one leg after he was hit Oct. 16 while waiting for his school bus. Police said the boy was waiting for his bus on Norma Avenue when he tried to cross the street. As he did so, he said, he was struck by a car. The …

A 19-year-old township resident who suffered stab wounds in an Oct. 13 altercation with a New Brunswick teenager has been charged in the youth’s murder. Dequan S. Rogers of Alcorne Street was charged Oct. 14 with 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun. Bail was set by the Superior Court Judge Yolanda Ciccone at $500,000, cash …

A 19-year-old township resident who suffered stab wounds in an Oct. 13 altercation with a New Brunswick teenager has been charged in the youth’s murder. Dequan S. Rogers of Alcorne Street was charged Oct. 14 with 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun. Bail was set by the Superior Court …

(Editor’s Note: Charges against Subramanian were dropped by Virginia authorities.) A Somerset man wanted in Virginia on charges that he and his girlfriend kidnapped and terrorized a man was arrested Oct. 3 by Somerset County Sheriff’s Officers. Pramod Subramanian, 29, was arrested on Emerson Road without incident, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office. According to a report published …