Crime

An alleged sexually charged quip made from the bench to a defendant has landed the township’s presiding Municipal Court judge in hot water with the state. The state Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct on Dec. 12 filed a formal complaint against Judge Hector Rodriguez, charging him with violating three canons of the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct.

A 23-year-old township man was killed Dec. 7 in a snowmobile accident in upstate New York. Jonathan Black was ejected from his snowmobile on a trail in Webb, N.Y. after it failed to negotiate a turn, according to a published report.

Six people were injured Nov. 26 in a two-car crash at Easton Avenue and Landing Lane that closed Easton for more than two hours. Township police received a 9-1-1 call reporting the accident at about 7:03 a.m., according to a press release from the FTPD. Arriving officers found the occupants of both cars trapped in their vehicles.

Update: Butler was found guilty on Nov. 16 of endangering the welfare of a child in the third degree and criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office   Butler faces five years in state prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 11, 2019. As part of the sentence, Butler will be …

Update: Liem and Sanger were released on bond on Nov. 15. The two are still fighting deportation. Original Story: A federal district court judge on Feb. 2 temporarily stayed the deportation of two Indonesian men – one of whom is a Franklin Park resident – who were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A Somerset man was among 38 people arrested for non-support in Somerset County last month. Mark Montgomery, 55, was arrested on Oct. 23 for owing $23,603.02 in back child support payments, according to a press release from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

A 35-year-old Plainfield man was killed Nov. 10 when his motorcycle crashed on Blackwells Mills Road, police said. Township police received a 9-1-1 call about the crash at approximately 11:37 p.m., according to a press release from Franklin Township Police.

A 60-year-old township man has been charged with killing his 82-year-old mother in their home, authorities said. Dalton Chiscolm Jr. of Haverhill Place was charged with 1st Degree Homicide in connection with the death of his mother, Roberta Ann Taylor, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

A 52-year-old Hillsborough man has been charged with bank robberies in Franklin and other towns. Mark Elbaum was arrested at about 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 29 in Hillsborough, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

A 36-year-old Somerset man has been charged with vehicular homicide in the Sept. 28 death of a Rutgers student in New Brunswick. David Stewart has been charged by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office with with 3rd Degree Strict Liability Vehicular Homicide for being under the influence of marijuana when his car hit and killed a 19-year-old Colts Neck man on …