Crime

A 26-year-old township man was among two who admitted their roles in a “pay to stay” scheme unraveled by a federal sting. Harpreet Sachdeva, 26, of Somerset, and Sanjeev Sukhija, 35, of North Brunswick, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to separate informations charging them each with one count of conspiracy to commit …

The face of Hamilton Street underwent a subtle change Sept. 23 with the opening of the township police’s Pat Gianotto Memorial Community Policing Center. Located at the corner of Hamilton and Main streets, the office will initially be manned four hours a week – from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and 4-6 p.m. on Thursdays – by officers Steven Ellmeyer …

A 38-year-old township man has been charged with sex crimes and computer theft in two towns. Thomas Canales was arrested at his home on Sept. 1 during an investigation by Detective Bill Coleman of the New Brunswick Police Department, Detective Dominick DeCarlo of the Edison Police Department and Detective Mark Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, according to a …

A 22-year-old township resident was convicted of drug-related charges after a 2-day trial in Somerville. Jose Lozada-Rojas was found guilty of 2nd Degree Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance after trial in state Superior Court, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Police are investigating a suspected suicide near a strip shopping center on Easton Avenue. At 10:11 p.m., police received a call of an unresponsive man in a parked car in the parking lot of 1830 Easton Ave., according to a press release from township police.

Update 3: Isaiah “Ike” J. Bell was arrested the morning of Sept. 14 in a Staten Island, NY apartment, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Somerset County detectives, along with detectives from New York City’s 120th Precinct and detectives from the Staten Island Warrant Squad, arrested Bell without incident at about 9:45 a.m.

Update: Bertha Dyer has been found in Philadelphia and reunited with her family, police said. “I would like to thank of the agencies involved for their tireless efforts in this case,” township Chief of Police Lawrence Roberts said in a release. “I am thankful that Ms. Dyer was found safely and reunited with her family.”

Update: A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help the family. Donations can be made by clicking here. Superintendent of Schools John Ravally has issued the following statement:

A 45-year-old township man faces charges that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old in June. Felipe Dasilva was arrested Aug. 17 after an investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit and the Franklin Township Police Department, according to a press release from the prosecutor’s office.

A Perth Amboy woman was arrested Aug. 17 on a charge that she cheated a township business out of more than $89,000. Veronica Cardozo-Cabrera, 37, was charged with 2nd Degree Theft by Deception in the scheme, in which authorities said she fraudulently credited the credit cards of relatives and friends while working at Forever Collectibles on Cottontail Lane.