Crime & Safety
South Orange Police Blotter: Carjacking Suspects Arrested
The following arrest information was supplied by the South Orange police department. It does not indicate a conviction.
- Jermaine Williams, 39, of Newark was formally charged on March 23 in connection with Williams was charged for the crime after forensic evidence recovered at the scene by detectives lead to his identification. He is currently in custody at the Union County jail.
- Three Newark residents, Bilal Cureton, 22, Freddie Wright, 20, and Murad Lampley, 21, were all arrested and formally charged for the . The trio carjacked a Pennsylvania resident who was waiting to pick up Chinese food. The victim said a black man, approximately 20 years old, with dreadlocks, exited a white Subaru and proceeded to physically pull him from his vehicle. The man would later be identified as Cureton. After doing so, Cureton allegedly got into the vehicle and drove east on Irvington Avenue, while also being followed by the white Subaru. The white Subaru was reported stolen in Belleville on March 26. Newark police chased the vehicles and were able to catch Wright and Lampley. Cureton got away, but was arrested the next day at his Newark home. All three subjects are currently being held in the Essex County Jail.
- James Artis, 47, of Newark was arrested on March 28, at approximately 3:15 p.m., for shoplifting from the Rite Aid. Artis tried to flee after police were called, but was caught in the Village Hall parking lot.
- The principal at Marshall Elementary School said sometime between 4 p.m. on March 28 and 9 a.m. on March 29, someone removed a Dell keyboard and mouse from the computer lab in the school.
- On March 29, at approximately 8 a.m., a Tillou Road resident was taking her children to school and was parked in her driveway when she realized she left something inside. She removed the car keys from her 2011 Buick and went back into the house. When she returned, her young children said that a black man had opened the driver's side door and stuck his head inside. She said once he saw the children, he fled. A neighbor said that he saw a green Land Rover pull up in front of the house and back up. He said a black man wearing dark clothing and a red hat, exited the vehicle and ran up to the driveway to open the victim's car door. The neighbor was able to follow the Land Rover for several blocks and saw a temporary tag in the rear window. The victim's cell phone was stolen during the incident.
- Jermaine Hatcher, 31, was arrested on April 1, at approximately 3 a.m., after an officer found him asleep behind the wheel of a car parked on the sidewalk on Vose Ave. The officer questioned Hatcher and determined he had been operating while under the influence and as a result, Hatcher was arrested.
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