Crime & Safety

Hearing Postponed for Man Accused of Killing Cedar Grove Teen

Jonathan Lafontaine, of Totowa, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in the death of Brian Topoleski, of Cedar Grove.

A hearing for a Totowa man charged with killing a Cedar Grove teen in July was postponed to Feb. 3, according to a report in the Verona-Cedar Grove Times. 

Jonathan Lafontaine, who faces first-degree murder charges for the stabbing death of 18-year-old Brian Topoleski, was scheduled to appear for an arraignment in Passaic County Superior Court Monday.

Lafontaine allegedly stabbed Topoleski with a kitchen knife after they and their friends engaged in a confrontation outside a house in Little Falls in the early morning hours of July 15, prosecutors said. Topoleski was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Trauma Center in Paterson where he died that morning from his injuries. 

In his first court appearance in July, Lafontaine plead not guilty and claimed self-defense, Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Michael DeMarco said.

Topoleski graduated from Cedar Grove High School in June and was enrolled in Montclair State University. 


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