Days after Newark near miss, jet hits drone — NJ Top News
Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Tuesday:
🔗 Over 63 people charged in $8 million NJ luxury car theft ring
🚔 New Jersey prosecutors charged 63 people in an $8 million luxury auto theft ring.
🚗 Investigators said more than 90 stolen vehicles were shipped to African countries.
⚠️ Authorities say the theft network drove up costs and threatened public safety across New Jersey.
IRVINGTON — More than 60 people, including three juveniles, have been charged with racketeering in a luxury car theft ring bust.
The sophisticated operation made $8 million in only one year, according to Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. Investigators found they trafficked more than 90 stolen vehicles such as BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris, and Range Rovers from New Jersey ports to Ghana and Nigeria. Prosecutors filed charges against 63 individuals.
Two men from Newark headed the sophisticated, vertically integrated organization, according to state prosecutors. Brian Peppers, 35, and Fatim Wingate, 26, acted as the main fences; each man faces more than a dozen charges, including financial crimes, motor vehicle theft offenses, fencing, and leading an auto theft trafficking network.
Prosecutors said that Peppers and Wingate also led and participated in theft crews that carried out burglaries of homes and businesses, vehicle thefts, and an armed robbery.
Investigators found several stolen vehicles in shipping containers waiting for export at the ports of New Jersey and New York.
🔗 Adult court records reveal details in Cranford 'double-murder'
☑️A judge approved moving the Cranford double-murder case to adult court
☑️Families of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas say the ruling brings some relief
☑️ Court records and affidavits are revealing new details
CRANFORD — New details about the deaths of two Cranford best friends are becoming public after a judge ruled that the teenager accused of killing them will stand trial as an adult.
The decision not only exposes court records that had remained sealed during juvenile proceedings, but also publicly identifies Vincent Battiloro for the first time.
The case has drawn statewide attention because of Battiloro's reported stalking of one of the victims, his profanity-laced livestreams after the killings and his family's law enforcement connections, all of which fueled questions about how authorities handled the case before the fatal crash.
Vincent Battiloro, of Garwood, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 29 deaths of 17-year-olds Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on Burnside Avenue. The charges were waived up to adult criminal court on Friday.
The affidavit in the case is already revealing brutal details. After Battiloro hit the girls from behind at a high rate of speed with a Jeep Cherokee, Maria was found by police lying in the street, and Isabella was wedged under a parked vehicle. Video surveillance from neighbors shows their e-bike was stuck on the front bumper as the body of what appeared to be a pedestrian slid down the road.
🔗 Washington Township teen charged in two car fires
🔥Police say a 19-year-old set two vehicles on fire in a South Jersey neighborhood
🔥Security cameras captured the suspect breaking a window and igniting a car
🔥 Police say the teen may also be tied to up to 10 similar incidents
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Gloucester) — A teen is charged with setting fire to two vehicles parked in driveways in a Gloucester County neighborhood Saturday night.
Police told NBC Philadelphia that Logrande also faces charges in as many as 10 similar incidents in the Washington Place / Bunker Hill condominium development.
On Tara Drive, a resident watched on their security cameras as a person smashed out the rear window of the vehicle, poured a flammable liquid inside and ignited the fire, according to township police. Moments later, a second fire was reported nearby.
Police found and identified the suspect as Aiden Logrande, 19, of the Turnersville section. He was charged with two counts of arson, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and multiple counts of criminal mischief. He is being held at the Salem County Correctional Facility.
Investigators also found the hatchet believed to have been used during both attacks.
🔗 Days after close call at Newark, jet hits drone at JFK airport
A passenger jet reported striking a drone while approaching JFK International Airport on Monday, and just hours later, a helicopter pilot alerted a close call with a remote-control airplane near the same airport.
Last Friday, a United Airlines jet arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport from Key West came withing 100 feet of a drone. That neat miss is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration .
The FAA is also investigating the JFK incident that happened as a JetBlue plane passed through 3,000 feet Monday morning while it was crossing the coastline. The plane landed safely in New York without any additional help, and no damage was found when the plane was inspected afterwards.
“We collided with a drone back there in the turn,” the pilot told an air traffic controller, according to ATC.com. “It hit us right above the cockpit.”
The airline said all the passengers deplaned normally, and then the plane was removed from service so it could be inspected. JetBlue said the airline “found no damage or evidence of a collision.” The Airbus A321 plane was flying overnight into New York from Las Vegas.
🔗 Patriotism fading? NJ has to ask residents to fly Old Glory
🎇 Monmouth County is urging residents and businesses to display American flags this summer.
📉 New national polls show pride in the United States has fallen to record lows.
❓The campaign raises a larger question: Why does government need to remind people to fly the flag?
FREEHOLD — Flying the American flag was once an automatic part of summer in New Jersey, especially around Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
But in Monmouth County, government officials are asking residents to do something many older Americans would have considered second nature: Put Old Glory out front.
The county this week launched its "Fly Your Flag" initiative, encouraging homeowners, businesses and community groups to display the American flag throughout the summer as part of the nation's 250th birthday celebration.
Wait, we need to be told to do that?
The campaign comes as new national polling suggests patriotism has weakened dramatically, particularly among younger Americans and Democrats.
A new Gallup poll found only 53% of American adults say they are "extremely" or "very" proud to be an American — the lowest level Gallup has recorded since it began asking the question in 2001.
An Associated Press-NORC survey found Americans also have become significantly less proud of several institutions since 2017.
The decline is driven largely by Democrats under President Donald Trump's second term in office, although independents have also become less positive on many measures. Republicans remain far more likely to express pride in the country and its institutions.
PHOTOS: Trump's military parade rolls through Washington, D.C.
Gallery Credit: The Associated Press
Significant or historical events in New Jersey for July (in chronological order)
Gallery Credit: Dan Alexander
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