To the rest of the world, they’re police officers, but to Maria Ducos, they’re more than that. “They’re not officers, they’re my angels,” Ducos said in speaking about township police officers Nicholas Gambino and Deyo Swartz. Swartz and Gambino, along with officers Brian Quigley, Walter Skrobowski and Steven Ellmeyer, were the first to arrive April 15 at Ducos’ house, which had …

One man was suffered smoke inhalation April 17 in an early-morning fire in a Reler Lane apartment. The unidentified 35-year-old man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment, police said. The fire was called in at about 12:59 a.m., according to a press release from township police. The caller, who was the injured man, reported …

Click the files above to hear radio transmissions from the Spruce Street fire. Files courtesy Franklin Township Police Department. Township police rescued a 78-year-old woman from a burning Spruce Street home April 15, suffering minor injuries in the process. The woman, who was not identified by police, also suffered from smoke inhalation – as did the officers – and a …

Three adults and one child were treated for smoke inhalation April 11 after a fire broke out in a Willow Avenue home. Police said multiple 9-1-1 calls were received at about 12:19 p.m. from people reporting the fire. Officers arrived at the scene to find smoke and fire coming from the home. The occupants – women aged 65, 31, 27 and 10 …

A township man who is a deportation officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been charged with harboring an illegal alien and making false statements to authorities. Arnaldo Echevarria, 37, was scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court the afternoon of April 9. Echevarria is charged with employing his then-girlfriend, an illegal alien, as manager of a hair …

A 29-year-old Rhode Island man remains in the Somerset County Jail two days after he was arrested in a township motel with a 14-year-old girl who had been reported missing. The man, Paul J. Monteiro, of Providence, was charged with First Degree human trafficking, First Degree kidnapping and Second Degree sexual assault, according to a press release on the arrest …

March 24 More than $4,000 in jewelry was reported stolen from a Mettlers Road resident. Police said someone broke into the house through a rear window and stole a man’s gold wedding band valued at $1,000, a man’s diamond and sapphire ring valued at $1,000, a woman’s gold wedding band valued at $1,000 and men’s watches valued at $1,200. § …

A 32-year-old township man wanted for the murder of a Perth Amboy resident was arrested March 20 in Georgia, authorities said. Jahmmel Cephas of Franklin Park was arrested in DeKalb County on charges of murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. Cephas has been wanted since …

A 19-year-old Somerset teen was shot in the leg March 16 after a group of three men opened fire on him and nine others near Naaman Williams Park on Matilda Avenue, police said. Police are not releasing the identity of the victim, who was shot in the back left thigh at about 7:20 p.m. Police sad the youth was walking …

Update: The victim has been identified as 60-year-old David J. Haynes of Princeton Junction, police said. Original story: The driver of an SUV was killed March 16 when their SUV crashed into a tree on Canal Road, police said. Police said the driver, who was not identified pending notification of next of kin, was heading north on Canal when the …