Crime News

Tayyab A. Ware of Augusta, Ga. and Todd Smith of Edison, left to right, were sentenced May 10 for the murder of a Franklin Park resident. (Photos: Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.) Two men were sentenced to state prison on May 10 for their role in the 2020 murder of a township man. Tayyab A. Ware, 31, of Augusta, Ga. was …

Left to right, Romero, Gnecco, Volz, and Allen. (Photos: Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office). Four township residents were sentenced to a combined 67 years in prison for their roles in the sexual assault of one of their 7-year-old children, authorities said on May 6. The four – Marina/Matthew Volz, 32; Ashley/Adam Romero, 28; Sean Allen, 54, and Dulcinea Gnecco, 21 pled …

A Cedar Grove Lane homeowner was injured and an undisclosed amount of cash stolen early in the morning of April 30 after a home invasion by three armed men, police said. Township police received a 9-1-1 call at about 12:34 a.m. April 30 from the homeowner, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. The homeowner told …

Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather speaks to the Township Council about township crime statistics at the April 12 meeting. The overall incidence of major crimes decreased by about 12 percent from 2020 to 2021, although there were small increases in some categories, according to statistics compiled by the Franklin Township Police Department. The total number of major crimes dropped from …

Eight township residents were among 24 people arrested on drug-related charges following a seven-month investigation County law enforcement officials dubbed “Fire and Ice.” Ten of those charged were arrested on February 16, 10 were arrested on March 2 and two remain at large, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Twenty search warrants executed on the …

Update: Two New Brunswick men have been charged with the murder of Lorenzo Hill Staten. Police said the killing was not random, and all three knew each other. The shooting death of a Franklin man is under investigation by New Brunswick police. City police responded to Seamen Street and Remsen Avenue on a call reporting a shooting at about about …

Police are investigating an October 2 shooting that left two people wounded. Neither of the unidentified victims – a township woman and an Edison man – suffered life-threatening injuries, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Police were dispatched to the Fuller Street-Franklin Boulevard area at about 10:33 p.m. on a call of shots being fired, …

Two New Brunswick men were arrested late last month on unrelated gun charges stemming from law enforcement “Quality of Life” efforts. The first arrest occurred at about 2:46 p.m. on May 17, when township police and members of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force Street Crimes Unit were conducting teh Quality of Life investigation around …

Update: Two township men have been arrested in connection with the murder. The men, one 20 and one 22, were arrested separately on May 19, according to a release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. The men are detained in the Somerset County Jail pending a bail hearing, according to the release. Original Story: A 23-year-old Township man was stabbed …

A 38-year-old Franklin Park man was struck by a car and killed on South Middlebush Road on May 19 after the car’s driver suffered a medical emergency, law enforcement officials said. The man, Harishbha Patel, was walking along the road’s shoulder near Old Vliet Road at about 5:40 p.m. when the 40-year-old driver of a 2010 Toyota Corolla suffered a …