GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ – The Gloucester Township Police Department announced their participation in the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign, aimed at enforcing seat belt usage. The campaign begins on May 20 and will continue until June 2. This enforcement effort will include high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, specifically targeting areas in town with a high incidence of crashes involving unrestrained occupants.
In addition to road enforcement, Gloucester Township Police Officers from the Traffic Safety Unit will be engaging with high school seniors. They will deliver presentations focused on the risks of driving without a seat belt and the dangers of impaired driving, coinciding with the prom season. This initiative is part of a broader national effort to highlight the life-saving benefits of wearing seat belts.
- New Jersey Democrats Taken to Court Over Deceptive South Jersey Ballot Design to Help Mikie Sherrill
Trenton, NJ – The Republican National Committee, New Jersey Republican Party, and local GOP leaders are backing a lawsuit to block what they call an unlawful and deceptive ballot design for the upcoming general election in Gloucester County.
Ballot format sparks legal fight
Filed under Sammons v. Hogan, the lawsuit challenges Clerk James Hogan’s decision to abandon the county’s decades-old column-style ballot, traditionally used to organize candidates by party. Instead, officials approved a block-style layout after the official ballot drawing on August 11.
Republicans argue the change is designed to confuse voters and dilute the strength of the GOP’s Column A campaign branding. They say the format shift undermines transparency and violates state election law.
Example of the disputed ballot. GOP leaders blast Democrats
“Ballots are supposed to be neutral tools of democracy,” said NJGOP Chairman Glenn Paulsen, accusing Democrats of deliberately manipulating the design to undercut Republican candidates. Paulsen claimed GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli is expected to win Gloucester County by a wide margin, with potential coattail effects on Assembly and County Commissioner races.
Example of a typical column ballot used in 20 other counties in New Jersey, Paulsen tied the issue to what he described as a broader pattern of misconduct by Democrats, saying: “From Washington to Gloucester, Democrats can’t win on merit, so they cheat.”
Stakes high ahead of November
The lawsuit notes that more than 32,000 vote-by-mail ballots have already been mailed using the disputed design. Republicans are seeking an injunction to halt printing, mailing, and programming of ballots until the format complies with state law.
“This is a deliberate deception tactic,” Paulsen said. “Gloucester voters know better. They deserve lawful ballots, fair elections, and a government that works for the people.”
Key Points
- Republicans filed suit against Gloucester County Clerk James Hogan over a ballot format change.
- GOP leaders say shifting from column-style to block-style ballots is unlawful and designed to confuse voters.
- The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop ballot printing and mailing until the design is changed.
With Election Day looming, the courtroom may decide how Gloucester voters see their ballots.
- Cold case solved 44 years later after DNA match from killer’s forgotten bag
DNA match solves 1981 Baltimore County murder 44 years later as suspect identified in cold case
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD – More than four decades after 59-year-old Samuel Allen was fatally shot in his Liberty Road home, Baltimore County detectives have identified a suspect in the long-unsolved homicide thanks to a breakthrough in DNA technology.
On August 2, 1981, police responded to the 6400 block of Liberty Road, where Allen had been shot and killed in front of his wife and daughter by an armed suspect demanding money. The masked gunman, wearing surgical gloves and carrying a cloth bag, entered the kitchen, opened fire on Allen, and robbed the family before fleeing the home with Allen’s daughter. He later released her and fled the scene after realizing he had left his bag behind.
The suspect was never found, and the case remained open for 44 years. At the time, police collected and preserved the suspect’s blue bag and shirt left at the scene, but DNA technology was not yet capable of identifying a suspect from those items.
In 2023, Baltimore County Cold Case detectives reopened the investigation and sent the preserved evidence to DNA Laboratories International for modern analysis. Scientists were able to extract a CODIS-eligible DNA profile from the blue bag. That profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in November 2024, and by December, the database returned a hit.
The DNA matched 75-year-old Alan Bass, who is currently serving five consecutive life sentences in Delaware on unrelated rape convictions. Further testing confirmed the match. On January 31, 2025, Baltimore County detectives received confirmation that Bass’ DNA matched the profile recovered from the 1981 crime scene.
An arrest warrant has been issued charging Bass with the murder of Samuel Allen. However, due to Bass’ significant health issues and incarceration status in Delaware, he will not be extradited to Maryland at this time. The Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office has stated it is fully prepared to prosecute the case if Bass’ status changes.
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Key Points
- DNA from a bag left at a 1981 murder scene led to a match 44 years later
- Alan Bass, 75, currently serving five life sentences in Delaware, has been charged in the killing
- Due to health conditions, Bass will not currently be extradited to face trial in Maryland
- Jersey City man gets 25 years for fatal apartment shooting
Jersey City man sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatal shooting of woman in 2023
JERSEY CITY, NJ – A 41-year-old Jersey City man has been sentenced to 25 years in state prison for the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old woman inside a Bergen Avenue apartment last year, Hudson County prosecutors announced.
Lucus Cooper received the sentence on Thursday, September 25, from Superior Court Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez after previously pleading guilty to one count of aggravated manslaughter in the death of Temara King. The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, meaning Cooper must serve at least 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.
The shooting occurred on the morning of January 24, 2023. Just after 7 a.m., Jersey City Police officers responded to reports of gunfire at 340 Bergen Avenue. Upon arrival on the third floor of the building, officers found King suffering from gunshot wounds. She was transported to Jersey City Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 8 a.m.
Cooper was arrested following the shooting and ultimately entered a guilty plea. The case was prosecuted by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Jim Felix.
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Key Points
- Lucus Cooper was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2023 shooting death of Temara King
- The shooting occurred inside a Bergen Avenue apartment on January 24, 2023
- Cooper’s sentence falls under the No Early Release Act, requiring 85% to be served before parole
- Woman taken after carjacking suspects flee in stolen Infiniti
Man beaten and carjacked in late-night Pasadena ambush as suspects flee with vehicle and passenger
PASADENA, MD – A man was violently attacked and dragged from his vehicle during a late-night carjacking in Pasadena, with suspects fleeing in the victim’s car and taking a female passenger with them, police reported Friday.
The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on September 25 in the 1700 block of Poplar Ridge Road. According to Eastern District officers, the victim was sitting inside his blue 2010 Infiniti with a female when two unknown suspects approached the vehicle.
One suspect, armed with a firearm, struck the victim in the back of the head and forcibly removed him from the car. The suspects then took the victim’s personal belongings, entered the Infiniti, and fled the scene with the female passenger still inside the vehicle.
Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the vehicle, suspects, or the female. Her condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
The Regional Crimes Unit is leading the investigation and is urging anyone with information to contact detectives at 410-222-4731 or call the Anne Arundel County Police Tip Line at 410-222-4700.
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Key Points
- A man was dragged from his vehicle and struck with a firearm during a Pasadena carjacking
- Suspects fled in the victim’s blue 2010 Infiniti with a female passenger inside
- The vehicle, suspects, and female have not yet been located
- Queens man convicted in brutal slayings of mom and brother
Queens man convicted of brutally murdering mother and brother in family home
EAST ELMHURST, NY – A Queens jury has convicted a 42-year-old man in the savage double homicide of his mother and brother, whose mutilated bodies were discovered last summer in and around the East Elmhurst home they shared.
Roscoe Danielson was found guilty on multiple charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, for the July 2023 killings of his 70-year-old mother, Cheryl Myrick, and 31-year-old brother, Kyle Danielson. He now faces up to 50 years to life in prison when sentenced on October 27.
According to trial evidence, Roscoe Danielson fatally stabbed his mother 38 times in the neck and torso before turning on his brother, who was shot once and stabbed approximately 50 times in the head, neck, and chest. Both murders occurred on July 4, 2023.
The following morning, Danielson was seen dragging a large black garbage bag along 104th Street and leaving it on the curb outside 32-41 104th Street. Hours later, officers responded to the location after neighbors reported a foul odor. Inside the bag, police found Kyle Danielson’s decomposing body wrapped in plastic and blankets.
Roscoe Danielson was arrested later that evening around 8 p.m. while pushing his young son in a stroller with a black bag hanging from the handle. Inside the bag, police recovered a 9mm handgun and a knife.
A search warrant executed at the family’s East Elmhurst home early the next morning revealed the body of Cheryl Myrick inside a second-floor bedroom. Both victims had been dead for over 24 hours.
The case was prosecuted by the Queens District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau following a two-week trial that began on September 10. The jury returned a guilty verdict after just three hours of deliberation.
Danielson was also convicted of four counts of tampering with physical evidence, criminal possession of weapons, concealment of a human corpse, and endangering the welfare of a child.
He remains in custody awaiting sentencing.
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Key Points
- Roscoe Danielson, 42, was convicted of murdering his mother and brother in their East Elmhurst home
- Victims suffered dozens of stab wounds; one was also shot and later dumped in a trash bag on the street
- Danielson faces up to 50 years to life when sentenced on October 27