State Wrap: Bus Fire, 'Sexting' Arrest, Launch of First Community Court

Several Shore Regional students were fined after a Friday morning in Oceanport. The bus driver, Wendy Bonett, safely escorted the students off the bus after she pulled it over to the side of Port Au Peck Avenue around 7 a.m.

Bonett experienced "dashboard issues" and the bus began to stall before she pulled it over, according to Shore Regional Business Administrator Dennis Kotch. Once on the side fo the road, Bonett smelled something burning and "immediately got the approximately 12 students off and far away from the bus," Kotch said.

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Officials celebrated the Thursday, a community justice initiative that allows municipal judges to sentence low-level offenders to a combination of punishment and social services, such as detox or counseling.

The measure operates in Newark Municipal Court and works with non-violent offenses—such as prostitution and drug possession—using a holistic approach. A typical NCS sentence consists of two days of community service and three days of counseling.

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Authorities who they say believed he was trading explicit messages with a 14-year-old girl from Morristown—but was actually in touch with a Morris County Prosecutor's Office detective.

Detective Edward Mireuter posed as a teen girl in the operation, which resulted in the Wednesday arrest of Salvatore Iacopelli, 39, according to an affidavit signed by Mireuter. Iacopelli was charged with second degree attempted sexual assault, third degree attempted endangering the welfare of children, and third degree attempted promoting of obscene material to a person under the age of 18.

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Three Toms River residents and an Ocean Gate man have been charged in a that landed them in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River. Detectives from the Special Operations Group of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, armed with a search warrant, raided the Toms River home of Jeffrey T. Scriven, 32, on Wednesday, Capt. Jack Sramaty said.

Police seized 250 bags of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine, marijuana and $745 in cash, along with drug distribution paraphernalia, including a digital scale and packaging materials for controlled dangerous substances, Sramaty said.

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A Montclair home suffered some structural damage after being during a dramatic 4 a.m. thunderstorm.

“To have a house struck by lightning in my experience is rare,” said Thomas Diveny, Deputy Chief of the Montclair Fire Department.

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Camden County's plan to create a county-wide police force was dealt a serious blow this week, when the group representing local police chiefs . The Camden County Police Chiefs' Association announced it would no longer take part in an a committee created to explore a county-wide force. 

“This action shows that they are more interested in protecting their own interests than the taxpayers’ interests,” said county Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr.  “Taxpayers are asking for better public safety that is more cost-effective.

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Kosher foods company Manischewitz celebrated its corporate headquarters' opening Tuesday on Avenue K in Newark by at nearly 25 feet long and 41.5 inches wide. It weighs 30 pounds and equals that of 336 regular matzos.

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Gov. Chris Christie this week to the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development’s (CHPRD) Advisory Committee. Created in 1975, CHPRD and its advisory committee empower the state's Hispanic community and serve as a state government resource on Hispanic affairs.