Day: August 20, 2020

Burlington, Middletown, Monmouth County, Mount Holly

EF0 Tornado Confirmed By NWS In Monmouth County, Middletown Township Yesterday

August 20, 2020

The tornado touched down at Brookdale Community College

Yesterday’s MidJersey.News post here: Tornado Warning In Monmouth County

MIDDLETOWN, NJ (MONMOUTH)–The National Weather Service Burlington-Mount Holly has confirmed an EF0 tornado that touched down yesterday in Middletown Township, Monmouth County in the Lincroft section of town. The tornado touched down at Brookdale Community College at the baseball field, a set of bleachers were tossed. The tornado then crossed Phalanx Road and into a residential area damaging trees that fell on homes and causing damage. See full NWS statement below:

We have confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched down yesterday morning, August 19, just before 10AM in the Lincroft section of Middletown Township, NJ. See the Public Information Statement for more. https://nwschat.weather.gov/p.php?pid=202008201508-KPHI-NOUS41-PNSPHI #NJwx

Yesterday’s Tornado Warning 
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1108 AM EDT THU AUG 20 2020

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 08/19/20 TORNADO EVENT...

.LINCROFT TORNADO...

START LOCATION...LINCROFT IN MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ
END LOCATION...LINCROFT IN MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ
DATE...AUGUST 19, 2020
ESTIMATED TIME...9:57 TO 9:59 AM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF0
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...80 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...70 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...1.21 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...40.3220/-74.1283
ENDING LAT/LON...40.3179/-74.1061
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

...SUMMARY...
A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON A BASEBALL FIELD ON THE CAMPUS OF 
BROOKDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN THE LINCROFT SECTION OF MIDDLETOWN 
TOWNSHIP IN MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. IT TOSSED A SET OF METAL 
BLEACHERS ADJACENT TO THE FIELD, THEN CROSSED OVER PHALANX ROAD INTO 
A RESIDENTIAL AREA, WITH NUMEROUS TREES SUSTAINING DAMAGE ON AND 
AROUND HICKORY LANE. TREE DAMAGE MAINLY CONSISTED OF BROKEN LIMBS 
AND THE SNAPPING OF SOME TREES NEAR THEIR TOPS. AT LEAST ONE TREE 
WAS ALSO UPROOTED IN THIS AREA. THE TORNADO CONTINUED A LITTLE SOUTH 
OF DUE EAST AND PASSED NEAR THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE SWIMMING 
RIVER RESERVOIR, CAUSING ADDITIONAL TREE DAMAGE. THE TORNADO THEN 
ENTERED ANOTHER RESIDENTIAL AREA NEAR SWIMMING RIVER ROAD AND 
NORMANDY ROAD, PRODUCING A CONTINUED PATH OF DAMAGED TREES. THE 
TORNADO LIFTED AS IT ENTERED THE RIVERDALE WEST PARK, WHERE TREE 
DAMAGE WAS NO LONGER OBSERVED. THE TORNADO DID NOT APPEAR TO CAUSE 
ANY DIRECT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, THOUGH A COUPLE OF HOMES SUSTAINED 
DAMAGE FROM FALLING TREE DEBRIS. THE DEGREE OF DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT 
WITH AN EF0 TORNADO WITH ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WINDS OF 80 MPH AND A 
CONTINUOUS, RELATIVELY NARROW PATH OF AROUND 70 YARDS IN WIDTH. 
THANKFULLY, NO INJURIES OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF THIS TORNADO.  

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE MONMOUTH COUNTY 
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE, AND LOCAL 
OFFICIALS WITH MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN THIS 
SURVEY. THESE CONCLUSIONS ARE PRELIMINARY AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE 
SHOULD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION COME TO OUR ATTENTION.

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH
EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH
EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH
EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.
Asbury Park, Freehold, Lakewood, Monmouth County, Ocean County

Lakewood Man Has Been Arrested For Attempted Murder In Shooting Of 4 Year Old Girl

August 20, 2020

See previous MidJersey.News story here: Law Enforcement Asking For Public’s Assistance In Finding Shooter Of 4 Year Old Child In Monmouth County

FREEHOLD, NJ (MONMOUTH)—A Lakewood man has been arrested and charged for his role in the shooting of a four-year-old Asbury Park girl, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Sciaire N. Jackson, 27, of Lakewood, has been arrested and charged with first degree Attempted Murder, second degree Aggravated Assault, second degree Possession of a Weapon For an Unlawful Purpose, second degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and second degree Certain Person Prohibited from Possessing a Weapon.

At approximately 1:35 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, a 4-year-old child was shot while sitting outside the family’s home with other family members on Boston Way, a residential village in Asbury Park.  The child was shot in the upper thigh area, breaking the femur bone. Physicians treating the child have deemed the injury as serious, but non-life threatening.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Asbury Park Police Department revealed that Jackson rode up on a bicycle and began firing a handgun at several people located outside of an apartment.  The child was just playing outside and was not the intended target.  A second person returned fire at Jackson; however that person has not has not yet been identified.

The Prosecutor’s Office would also like to extend a special thank you to the Lakewood Police Department for their help in this investigation.

The case is being investigated by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Asbury Park Police Department. Anyone with information about this case is urged to call Detective William Anton of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-800-533-7443 or Asbury Park Police Detective Dillon Gourley at 1-732-774-1300.

Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about a crime can submit a tip to Monmouth County Crime Stoppers by calling their confidential telephone tip-line at 1-800-671-4400; or by downloading and using the free P3 Tips mobile app (available for iOS and Android – https://www.p3tips.com/community/index.htm).

If convicted of Attempted Murder, Jackson faces up to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA) requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. He would also be under parole supervision for five years following his release from state prison.If convicted of Aggravated Assault, the maximum potential sentence is a State Prison term of up to 10 years.  Any sentence imposed for the crime of Aggravated Assault would also be subject to “N.E.R.A.”
           

If convicted of either Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose or Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, the maximum potential sentence is a State Prison term of 10 years, and pursuant to the “Graves Act” there is a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of one half of the custodial sentence imposed, or 42 months, whichever is greater.If convicted of Certain Persons Not to Possess Weapons, he faces up to 10 years in state prison with a five-year mandatory period of parole ineligibility.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

Brick, Matawan, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Toms River

Monmouth County, Matawan Man Charged With Child Porn And Invasion Of Privacy After Recording Six Females Including 16 Year Old In Brick

Michael Mattina, 54, of Matawan, secretly recorded six female victims, including one sixteen-year-old victim, utilizing a hidden camera located in the bathroom of a residence in Brick Township. Further investigation revealed that Mattina posted the videos of the victims on two adult websites.

August 20, 2020

TOMS RIVER, NJ (OCEAN)–Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Brick Township Police Chief James Riccio announced that an investigation conducted by the Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit has revealed that Michael Mattina, 54, of Matawan, secretly recorded six female victims, including one sixteen-year-old victim, utilizing a hidden camera located in the bathroom of a residence in Brick Township. Further investigation revealed that Mattina posted the videos of the victims on two adult websites. Accordingly, Mattina was charged with five counts of Invasion of Privacy for recording the videos in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9b(1); six counts of Invasion of Privacy for posting the videos in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9c; and Distribution of Obscene Materials in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2b. Additionally, with regard to the crimes committed against his sixteen-year-old victim, Mattina was charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(1); Manufacturing Child Pornography in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(4); and Distribution of Child Pornography in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(a)(i). Mattina was processed at Brick Township Police Headquarters and released on a summons pending a future court appearance.

Prosecutor Billhimer and Chief Riccio commend the Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit for their cooperative assistance in this investigation leading to these charges against Mattina.

The press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

  • Michael Mattina, 54, of Matawan, NJ
Michael Mattina, 54, of Matawan, secretly recorded six female victims, including one sixteen-year-old victim, utilizing a hidden camera located in the bathroom of a residence in Brick Township. Further investigation revealed that Mattina posted the videos of the victims on two adult websites.
Ocean County, Point Pleasant

NJ State Troopers Rescue Six Occupants from Capsized Vessel in Point Pleasant Canal

TAugust 20, 2020

POINT PLEASANT, NJ (OCEAN)–Last Friday, August 14, troopers from the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau Point Pleasant Station rescued six occupants after their vessel capsized in the Point Pleasant Canal.

At approximately 5:57 p.m., Staff Sergeant Paul Rodemann and Trooper I Ryan Koehler were dispatched to the report of a capsized 23-foot boat with six occupants in the Point Pleasant Canal in Point Pleasant Boro, Ocean County. When troopers arrived, they observed five victims struggling to stay afloat in the water. They discovered the sixth victim was still under the water.

As SSGT Rodemann and Tpr. Koehler prepared to enter the water to locate the victim, the victim emerged from under the capsized boat. The troopers then assisted the victims to shore, where they were accounted for and transported back to Point Pleasant Station for a medical evaluation by EMS. There were no reported injuries.

The troopers’ quick and timely response led to the rescue, but this incident could have quickly become a tragedy due to the fact that none of the boat’s occupants were wearing personal flotation devices (life vests).

We would like remind everyone to make sure to have personal flotation devices for each person on board.

For additional safety tips and boating information, please visit:
https://www.njsp.org/marine-services/

Mercer County, Trenton

NJ State Troopers Donate 18,000 Pounds of Food

August 20, 2020

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Earlier today, several troopers donated 18,000 pounds of food to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.

In June, members of the Office of Professional Standards spearheaded a food drive where they donated 928 pounds of food to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.

Although the food drive ended, several troopers along with members of the Troopers United Foundation Inc. continued to gather donations. The troopers worked with businesses and organizations across the State to gather 14 pallets of food and personal care items.

Last year, Mercer Street Friends supplied families with 4.5 million pounds of food with the assistance of 2,900 volunteers.

Despite the challenges this year, Mercer Street Friends has continued to provide meals to families in need and this donation will continue help to feed families in the area.

To learn more about Mercer Street Friends please visit
https://mercerstreetfriends.org/