Connecticut Shooting, Accidents and Arrests Top Monthly News

'It Wasn't Me' Hoboken Man Named as Shooter Writes

The man identified in media reports Friday as the shooter in the second deadliest school shooting in American history has told friends that he thinks his developmentally disabled brother may have committed the crime, Patch has learned.

A close friend of Ryan Lanza who requested to not be identified told Patch that he spoke to Lanza as he was making his way home from work to Hoboken. Lanza also took to his Facebook page to rail against CNN naming him as the suspect in the shooting in Newtown, Conn. 

Verona Truck Splits Utility Pole in Half

PSE&G crews were called to Bloomfield Avenue Monday afternoon after a U-Haul truck clipped a utility pole and split it in half.

“The mirror of the truck hit the pole and severed it,” said Verona Police Chief Douglas Huber.

The U-Haul hit the pole near 340 Bloomfield Ave. and Green Acres Drive around 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

Cedar Grove Police Make DWI Arrest After Crash

A Rutherford man was arrested on drunk driving and posession charges following a Wednesday, Nov. 28 car crash near a Cedar Grove intersection, police said.

Robert G. Waldron, 51, was arrested after crashing near the intersection of Pompton and Montclair avenues.

Police Pursue Leads in Cedar Grove Burglary Investigation

Cedar Grove Police have recovered fingerprints and a glove from car believed to be involved in a Nov. 20 burglary of an Eileen Drive residence, officials said Thursday.

“They (police) located the vehicle and were able to get (finger)prints,” said Cedar Grove Township Manager Thomas Tucci during the Dec. 3 council meeting.

Ryan Lanza was at his job in Manhattan on Friday when news outlets began to report that he had massacred 20 school children in a sleepy Connecticut town.

The reports said Lanza, a 24-year-old Quinnipiac University graduate, had murdered someone in his Hoboken apartment and then drove to Newtown, Conn., where he used a .223 caliber rifle and two other guns to kill 27 people before turning the gun on himself.

Cedar Grove Police: Passenger Was Illegal Alien

A 24-year old passenger in a car stopped by Cedar Grove police Saturday was an illegal alien and was turned over to immigration officials, Cedar Grove police said.

Grimaldo D. Andia of Kearny was arrested and turned over to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Cedar Grove Police Chief Richard Vanderstreet said.

Verona Police Searching for Stolen Car

Verona police are searching for a stolen black BMW X3 taken from an Oakridge Road residence just after 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

The license plate on the stolen car is YSF 68J.

Anyone with information should call Verona police at (973) 239-5000.

Verona and Cedar Grove See Increase in Thefts and Burglaries

Both Verona and Cedar Grove have seen an increase in non-violent crimes from 2010 to 2011, according to the New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Report released last week.

Motor vehicle thefts increased tenfold in Cedar Grove with only one committed in 2010. Ten motor vehicle thefts were reported in 2011 according to the report.

Church Expansion Proposal To Be Weighed By Cedar Grove

The Cedar Grove Zoning Board is scheduled to discuss an expansion project proposal for St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church on Tuesday.

St. Mark's, located at 5 Woodstone Dr., is looking to expand the church while adding additional parking. The proposal has brought several residents to the podium at Cedar Grove Township Council meetings.

State Sen. Kevin O’Toole (R-40th District) told Jersey Central Power & Light officials Wednesday morning their request for a $31.5-million rate hike following Hurricane Sandy was “insulting.”

O’Toole, speaking at a state Board of Public Utilities hearing in Trenton to discuss the rate hike, told Patch during a short recess he was given the opportunity to directly address JCP&L President Donald Lynch about the utilities response to the storm and “what went right and what went wrong.”