HOWELL TOWNSHIP, NJ – A house fire at 13 Woodstown Drive prompted a rapid response from the Howell Township Police Department at approximately 3:35 PM today.
Upon arrival, officers reported the residence was fully engulfed in flames. Thankfully, all occupants evacuated safely without injuries.
Firefighting units from Adelphia Fire, Squankum Fire, Southard Fire, Jackson Station 55, and Freehold Township Independent Fire worked together to extinguish the fire. Support was also provided by Howell Township Police EMS and Howell Township First Aid.
Currently, the Howell Township Fire Bureau and the Monmouth County Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the fire. No injuries were reported among the responding emergency personnel.
- Mikie Sherrill’s Mysterious Navy Past Under Fire as Academy Cheating Scandal Explodes
TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Republican Party is calling on Rep. Mikie Sherrill to release her full academic and disciplinary records from the U.S. Naval Academy, citing her admission that she was barred from participating in her class’s graduation due to involvement in a cheating scandal.
Sherrill was disciplined by the academy in one of the nation’s biggest cheating scandals, but says it was only because she didn’t narc on her shipmates.
Now, the NJGOP and Jack Ciattarelli are asking the Democrat candidate for governor to prove that she didn’t cheat.
So far, she’s not willing to do it.
This comes after a report by the New Jersey Globe that showed Sherrill was involved in one of the biggest cheating scandals in U.S. Naval Academy history.
Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for governor of New Jersey, acknowledged that she was barred from participating in her 1994 graduation ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy as punishment tied to a massive cheating scandal that swept through her class.
A commencement program from May 25, 1994, obtained by the New Jersey Globe, does not list Sherrill’s name among graduates. More than 130 midshipmen were implicated in what remains one of the largest cheating and honor code scandals in the Academy’s history.
In a statement, Sherrill said her punishment stemmed not from direct involvement in the cheating but from failing to report classmates
She refuses to provide proof to back up her story that she was only looking out for her cheating classmates.
“I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” she said.
Things aren’t so cut and dry for Sherrill, whose past is just as mysterious as her father’s.
Sherrill reportedly lied about being involved in the scandal eight years ago when pressed. Her father, David, worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, leaving many to speculate that strings were pulled for his daughter at the time of the scandal to avoid punishment.
Mikie Sherrill and her father, David, an alleged former CIA employee. Mikie Sherrill/Facebook. Additionally, Sherrill’s two daughters also attend the U.S. Naval Academy. Even that was marred by controversy. Earlier this year, Sherrill’s office issued a press release congratulating the three Montclair students for their acceptance.
“I am so proud of all the young men and women from NJ-11 who are reporting to the military academies or academy preparatory programs this summer. From my time at the Naval Academy, I remember how challenging the academy’s programs are — both academically and physically. Learning to work as a team and overcoming those challenges prepared me to lead service members as a military officer. I am grateful for these young men and women who are willing to serve our nation in uniform and I wish them the best of luck as they start their careers as future military leaders,” said Congresswoman Sherrill.
What she did not disclose in that release was that her two daughters, Lincoln and Margaret Hedberg (Sherrill’s husband’s last name), were among the only 22 New Jersey students accepted into the U.S. service academies in 2025, leaving many wondering if nepotism played a part.
Mikie Sherrill photo-op with students joining U.S. military service acadamies, including her two daughters in 2025. Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. Sherrill did graduate and went on to serve nearly a decade in the Navy. However, her campaign has rejected requests to allow public inspection of her sealed disciplinary records from the Academy. Only she can authorize their release.
In a statement Thursday, the NJGOP said Sherrill “was implicated and punished for involvement in the largest cheating and honor code scandal in the Academy’s storied history.”
Party officials argued that her bid for governor requires full transparency about the episode.
“Rep. Sherrill is now running for governor and owes the people of our state full transparency,” the NJGOP said. “She is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt.”
The demand comes amid reminders of another controversy in Sherrill’s political career: in 2021, she paid a fine for violating the federal STOCK Act after failing to properly disclose her husband’s stock trades. The law was designed to prevent insider trading among members of Congress.
Her husband, Jason Hedberg, is a stock trader at UBS Securities. Some of the trades that drew scrutiny involved UBS stock that Hedberg received as part of his compensation. At the time, Sherrill initially held individual stocks after entering Congress, later shifting to broader investment funds.
Her opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, also accused Sherrill and her husband of trading stocks tied to her tenure in congressional committees, where she earned $7 million on those transactions.
With Sherrill now a declared candidate for governor, Republicans are questioning whether the combination of the Naval Academy scandal and her past STOCK Act violation raises larger concerns about integrity.
Key Points
- NJ GOP is demanding Rep. Mikie Sherrill release full Naval Academy records tied to a cheating scandal.
- Sherrill previously paid a fine in 2021 for violating the STOCK Act over late disclosure of her husband’s stock trades.
- Her husband, Jason Hedberg, is a trader at UBS Securities, and some transactions involved UBS stock.
- Loud booms in Monmouth County traced to police training exercises
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ – Residents who heard a series of loud explosions Thursday night in Monmouth County were not witnessing an emergency but a scheduled police training exercise, officials confirmed.
The Ocean Township Police Department said the noises came from the Ocean County Fire Academy, where law enforcement officers are carrying out live training drills. The exercises involve controlled explosions and will continue through next week, running daily between 9 a.m. and approximately 5:30 to 6 p.m.
“There is no cause for alarm and no danger to the community,” the department said in a statement, stressing that the training is part of regular preparation to keep officers ready for high-risk scenarios.
Authorities thanked residents for their patience, noting the exercises bring together officers from across the county and state to sharpen response skills.
Key Points
- Loud explosions in Monmouth County were linked to training at the Ocean County Fire Academy.
- Drills are scheduled daily through next week from morning until early evening.
- Police assured the community there is no danger and no emergency.
What rattled windows was nothing more than preparation shaking the ground.
- Fake checks and forged signatures land Long Branch CFO 7-year prison sentence
Ex-CFO stole nearly $2M from Long Branch senior housing now sentenced to 7 years
FREEHOLD, NJ – A former chief financial officer who siphoned off nearly $2 million from a Long Branch apartment building meant to house seniors and disabled residents has been sentenced to seven years in state prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Tuesday.
John O’Donnell, 58, of Scotch Plains, was sentenced last Friday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley. He previously pleaded guilty to first-degree Financial Facilitation of Criminal Activity and admitted to orchestrating a years-long theft from Washington Manor, a 100-unit low-income housing complex on the 300 block of Ocean Boulevard.
An internal audit sparked the investigation in June 2023 after building ownership flagged a suspicious $14,000 payment from company accounts to a life insurance company to cover O’Donnell’s personal premium. What followed was a sweeping financial probe by the MCPO Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau.
Investigators uncovered that between February 2009 and May 2023, O’Donnell wrote roughly 400 unauthorized checks totaling $1.9 million from Washington Manor’s accounts to a construction firm he secretly owned. Many checks included forged signatures of other employees. The stolen funds were used to pay personal expenses such as mortgage payments.
Additionally, from December 2020 through May 2023, O’Donnell charged more than $30,000 in personal expenses — including home renovations, pool service, and HVAC repair — to a Washington Manor credit card.
He has been ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution and will be required to serve at least half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen, Director of the MCPO Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau. O’Donnell was represented by defense attorney Melissa Barbier of Freehold Borough.
——
Key Points
- Former CFO John O’Donnell stole $1.9M from a Long Branch senior housing complex
- He used forged checks and a company credit card for personal expenses over 14 years
- O’Donnell was sentenced to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.7M in restitution
- Life plus 30 for Long Branch man who caused deadly police chase
Long Branch man gets life plus 30 years for deadly home invasion and police chase crash
FREEHOLD, NJ – A violent home invasion spiraled into a fatal police chase that ended with a car engulfed in flames and a woman dead. Now, more than two years later, the man at the center of the chaos will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Altonia D. Williams, 47, of Long Branch, was sentenced to life plus 30 years in state prison after a jury found him guilty on 18 separate charges tied to the August 2023 incident that left 38-year-old Tracee Blount dead. The sentence was handed down last week in Monmouth County Superior Court by Judge Joseph W. Oxley.
It began just before 4 a.m. on August 14, when police were called to a home on Narragansett Avenue in Long Branch. Williams had reportedly entered the residence armed with a gun, demanding money from its occupants.
As officers arrived, Williams fled the area in a white BMW. Within minutes, he crashed into a second responding patrol car before fleeing the wrecked vehicle on foot. Inside the passenger seat, officers found Blount critically injured and trapped in the burning car. Despite efforts to pull her from the wreckage, she died shortly after at a nearby hospital.
Williams was found hiding in bushes nearby with a loaded handgun. Toxicology tests later confirmed he was under the influence of marijuana during the fatal collision.
A joint investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Long Branch Police Department, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and SCART, led to an indictment in December. A four-week trial this year ended with convictions on a long list of charges, including first-degree Armed Robbery, Felony Murder, Aggravated Manslaughter While Eluding, and Vehicular Homicide.
Williams’ criminal record and the violent nature of the case led to the stiff sentence. Prosecutors described his actions as demonstrating “utter disregard for the value of human life.”
——
Key Points
- Altonia D. Williams was sentenced to life plus 30 years for a 2023 home invasion and fatal crash
- The incident began with an armed robbery and ended with a police chase that killed 38-year-old Tracee Blount
- Williams was convicted on 18 charges including felony murder and vehicular homicide
- Matawan man arrested in Aberdeen Township investigation involving minor
Aberdeen Township, NJ – Terrence Donohue, 53, of Matawan, was arrested following an investigation into alleged criminal conduct involving a minor, officials announced.
Detectives said Donohue was identified after investigators determined he allegedly connected with a minor through a dating application and arranged to meet in Aberdeen Township. Authorities said evidence suggested the meeting was intended for illegal activity.
The Aberdeen Township Police Department urged the public to be aware of the risks associated with dating applications, especially when used by juveniles.
Donohue was arrested without incident and processed at Aberdeen Township Police Headquarters before being transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, pending a court appearance.
He faces charges including sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, and lewdness.
––
Key Points
- Terrence Donohue, 53, of Matawan, was arrested in Aberdeen Township.
- Investigators allege he connected with a minor through a dating application.
- He faces charges of sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, and lewdness.
The case now moves from investigation to the courts.