Ghost boat mystery at Jersey Shore—NJ Top News
Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show.
🔗 Sussex GOP chairman arrested on road rage gun charges
☑️Sussex GOP Chair Joseph Labarbera faces charges after a reported road rage incident
☑️The driver told police his 18-month-old daughter was in the direct line of fire
☑️Democrats want Labarbera out, while GOP leaders are calling for a leave of absence
STILLWATER — A road rage confrontation involving a gun and an 18-month-old child led to the arrest of Sussex County Republican Chairman Joseph Labarbera on Saturday, according to court documents.
Labarbera pleaded not guilty in municipal court and was released Sunday, the New Jersey Globe reported. He was charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering a child by a non-caretaker, aggravated assault with a firearm, and unjustified display of a gun by a gun permit carrier.
According to a criminal complaint, the driver of a Kia Telluride told State Police that Labarbera, who was driving a Mercedes SUV, was tailgating him. The Kia driver claimed he pulled over to allow the Mercedes to pass, but Labarbera also pulled over, and the men argued.
Labarbera told troopers he was following the Kia at two or three car lengths behind and stopped to check on the driver when the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with its hazards on, according to the complaint. Labarbera said the driver called him an "asshole" and threatened to shoot him, which led him to unholster his weapon, according to the documents. Troopers did not find a gun in the Kia.
🔗 Boat found unmanned in Atlantic Highlands harbor
🚨An unmanned boat was found Monday morning in Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor
🚨 Police are searching for its 64-year-old Pennsylvania owner
🚨 State Police have taken over the search
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS — A commercial-looking boat was found floating in Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor and a search continued Tuesday for its 64-year-old Pennsylvania owner.
The vessel, which appeared to be a commercial clamming boat, was found Monday morning in the water near the Seastreak pier around 10:45 a.m., according to Atlantic Highlands Police Chief Scott H. Reinert.
A search was started for the owner, a 64-year-old Pennsylvania man. The man's identity was not disclosed. The State Police Marine Unit took over the search late Monday afternoon.
🔗 Van Drew holds hearing on New Jersey voter glitch
New Jersey’s voter-registration controversy reached Capitol Hill Tuesday. Congressman Jeff Van Drew chaired a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing into how roughly 6,600 people who identified themselves as noncitizens were mistakenly registered between June 2023 and June 2024, with fewer than 400 later casting ballots.
Van Drew says the state has resisted providing answers and questioned why the public wasn’t told sooner. Democrats on the panel repeatedly shifted discussion to President Trump, the 2020 election and other issues.
🔗 Optimum customers may get rebates
Some former Optimum customers are finally getting money back after an eight-year fight over how the cable company billed people who cut the cord.
The dispute dates back to Optimum’s policy of charging customers through the end of a monthly billing cycle even when they canceled service earlier. The practice prompted consumer complaints and a long-running regulatory battle over whether final bills should be prorated.
Optimum has now agreed to issue rebates to qualifying former customers, according to the Asbury Park Press.
State officials have attributed the registrations to a software problem.
🔗 ICYMI: Toms River couple caught in wild fight on flight from Italy
✅A Toms River couple helped restrain a passenger during a chaotic flight from Italy
✅A United flight was diverted to Maine after the woman allegedly attacked crew
✅Her father is a retired New Jersey State Police trooper
TOMS RIVER — A New Jersey couple found themselves in the middle of a wild midair fight while returning home from Italy, helping restrain a woman who allegedly became violent aboard their United Airlines flight.
United Flight 18, with 274 passengers and 13 crew members, was en route from Milan Malpensa Airport in Italy when it was diverted to Bangor, Maine due to an unruly passenger.
The passenger was later identified as Kristina Kedysheva. Witnesses said she assaulted several flight attendants who tried to subdue her.
Alyssa Suder and her husband, Alexander, of Toms River, were returning with their family from a vacation to Italy. They were sitting in the rear of the Boeing 777 while her family, including her father, retired State Police trooper and former Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Al Della Fave, were sitting in the middle of the plane.
"That woman just kept getting up and walking to the rear galley and talking to the flight attendants. And as the flight went on, she just became more agitated. She kept going back there, filming them with her iPhone, yelling at them," Alyssa told New Jersey 101.5. "I actually spoke to one of the flight attendants before everything happened, and she was just saying, 'you know, we need to watch her because she was just becoming more and more hostile.'"
Accused NJ sex predator teachers, school staff arrested in the past two years
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
Beautiful sunflower fields at Dorbrook Recreation Area in Colts Neck, NJ
Gallery Credit: Mike Brant
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