Crime News

Three men, including one from the township, were arrested Jan 12 on drug-related charges in separate incidents, according to authorities. All the arrests were as the result of tips to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force. The arrests netted drugs with a combined street value of more than $5,000, according to police. The Franklin resident, Takezo Dundon, …

Township police detectives are investigating two shootings that occurred within two weeks of each other late last month. No one was reported injured in either of the shootings, which left bullets in two homes. At 4:31 p.m. on Dec. 17, the FTPD received a 9-1-1 call reporting shots fired in the area of Victor Street, police Sgt. Phil Rizzo said. Numerous …

A tip to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office led to the arrest of a 20-year-old township man on a gun charge, but not before the man crashed his car into two other vehicles while trying to elude police, authorities said. Police charged Donte Dowdell with 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and 2nd Degree Eluding Jan. 4, after Dowdell allegedly tried …

A dropped cell phone helped lead police to a North Brunswick man authorities allege shot another man in the course of trying to rob a Franklin Boulevard business on Dec. 6. The suspect, Rajon L. McMillian, 24, was arrested at 2 p.m. Dec. 30 after he appeared at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office in Somerville, according to a press release from the prosecutor. …

[put_wpgm id=1]   A 38-year-old Bridgewater man was listed in critical condition with “significant life-threatening injuries” after a double shooting Dec. 29 on Eugene Avenue, police said. Police are still trying to piece together what happened before the Bridgewater man and a 39-year-old Somerville man were shot. The Somerville man suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder and is expected …

Police are investigating the circumstances behind a Dec. 28 accident that killed a 59-year-old Franklin Park man. Police received a call at 7:52 p.m. reporting that a pedestrian had been hit behind the Stop and Shop located on Route 27 in Franklin Park, according to a press release about the incident. Officers found Anthony Bartolotta unconscious and unresponsive at the …

The township police department will receive $1,347 for the purchase of three body worn cameras under a grant program from the state Attorney General’s Office. Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced at a Dec. 21 press conference that $2.5 million has been earmarked for 176 police departments throughout the state. The money comes from criminal forfeiture funds, according to a press …

A Kingsbridge Road man suffered a broken leg and ankle and extensive bruising after he was pinned under his van for about 45 minutes on Dec. 18, according to a press release from the FTPD. Police received a 9-1-1 call at about 10:34 p.m. of a man lying on Kingsbridge and screaming, according to the release. Police arrived to find the …

A Franklin Boulevard home was badly damaged and its owner displaced Dec. 17 after a fire started on the home’s stove. The home’s 78-year-old owner and a 60-year-old aide – neither of whom were identified – escaped the blaze unharmed, police said in a release about the incident. A 9-1-1 call reporting the fire was placed to police headquarters about …

The former licensed operator of the New Brunswick water system – from which the township buys drinking water – plead guilty Dec. 17 to lying “hundreds of times” about the results of water tests. Edward O’Rourke, 60, of Brick, plead guilty to 2nd Degree Corruption of Public resources and 3rd Degree violations of the Safe Water Drinking Act, according to …