Lakewood fire ends in heartbreak as family dog vanishes in chaos
Lakewood, NJ — A family is desperately searching for their beloved dog, Bambi, after a devastating house fire forced them to flee their home in the early hours of April…
Lakewood, NJ — A family is desperately searching for their beloved dog, Bambi, after a devastating house fire forced them to flee their home in the early hours of April…
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A 45-year-old Lakewood man was found dead in a waterway behind a residential neighborhood in Toms River on Friday, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.…
LAKEWOOD, NJ — A late-night apartment fire displaced several families in Lakewood on Saturday, prompting emergency evacuations but fortunately resulting in no injuries, authorities said. The Lakewood Police Department received…
NEW JERSEY — Authorities are warning residents to avoid open burning on Friday, April 25, due to an elevated risk for the rapid spread of wildfires across New Jersey and…
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A 23-year-old Lakewood man pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular homicide and assault by auto stemming from a July 2022 high-speed, alcohol-fueled crash that killed one woman…
LAKEWOOD, NJ – Somebody stole $15 million from the Lakewood school district earlier this year, and nearly two months after the heist, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office remains absolutely silent.…
LAKEWOOD, NJ — A high-stakes heist has left a Lakewood electronics business in ruins after thieves broke in through the roof and made off with more than $4 million in…
LAKEWOOD, NJ — Lakewood Township has designated nine official locations for residents to conduct Chometz burning on Friday, April 11, between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., with local departments coordinating…
TOMS RIVER, NJ – Naomi Elkins, a 27-year-old mother from Lakewood, New Jersey, has been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the tragic deaths of her two young…
NEWARK, NJ — Four real estate investors have been sentenced in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud financial institutions by submitting falsified documents to secure inflated multimillion-dollar loans for commercial and…
Lakewood, NJ – Lakewood residents reported the sighting of a convicted mafia hitman in their city who confessed to at least six murders and dozens of violent assaults. We confirmed…
Alejandro Huerta-Arias Found Guilty of Vehicular Homicide
**TOMS RIVER, NJ** – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced the conviction of Alejandro Huerta-Arias, 24, of Toms River, for Vehicular Homicide on March 18, 2025. The conviction relates to a fatal crash in Lakewood Township on March 9, 2022, that resulted in the death of Mark Mandel, 32.
The jury reached a decision after nearly a two-week trial overseen by Judge Dina M. Vicari. Huerta-Arias faces up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison, with his sentencing set for May 16, 2025, aligning with the No Early Release Act.
On March 9, 2022, at approximately 8:15 a.m., officers responded to Madison Avenue and Courtney Road for a serious vehicle crash. The investigation revealed Huerta-Arias was driving a 2012 Infinity G35 northbound when it collided with Mandel’s 2008 Chevrolet Impala, pushing it into a traffic signal and killing Mandel at the scene.
Further investigation showed Huerta-Arias was driving at an average speed of 93 mph
LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man who was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after his 4-month-old son was found unresponsive in a parked vehicle and later pronounced…
LAKEWOOD, NJ – If you’re arrested for shoplifting in most towns in New Jersey, your name could show up in a weekly police blotter within days. But if you steal…
LAKEWOOD, NJ — A head-on collision on Route 70 early Thursday morning left five people injured, some critically, after a vehicle entered the wrong lane, authorities said. Key Points The…
LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after his 4-month-old son was found unresponsive in a parked vehicle and later pronounced…
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – A 78-year-old Lakewood man has pleaded guilty to charges of drug distribution and financial facilitation in connection with a narcotics investigation that led to his arrest in…
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – A pedestrian, estimated to be around 70 years old, was struck and trapped beneath a school bus at the intersection of Central Avenue and Glen Avenue on…
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – A 4-month-old baby died Tuesday afternoon after being left inside a vehicle near 5th Street and Princeton Avenue, according to authorities. Emergency responders from Hatzolah arrived shortly…
MONTVALE, N.J. — A school bus heading to New York State overturned on the Garden State Parkway on Monday night, injuring multiple passengers and causing an overnight closure of northbound…
Eight-Vehicle Crash in Lakewood Investigated
**Lakewood, NJ** – On March 7, 2025, at approximately 5:50 a.m., a multiple-vehicle crash occurred on Route 70 and Airport Road. Officers from the Lakewood Township Police Department responded to the scene and determined that eight vehicles were involved in the crash.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from other agencies, conducted a thorough investigation. It was revealed that a Cadillac CT5 Blackwing was traveling westbound in the eastbound lane at a high speed. The Cadillac collided head-on with a Mazda CX5, then struck additional vehicles before coming to rest, subsequently catching fire.
The driver of the Cadillac was extracted and airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, before being transported to Weill Cornell Medicine Burn Center in New York City, where he remains in critical condition. The driver of the Mazda was also airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center and is in critical condition. The drivers of the remaining vehicles were not injured.
The crash is under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
LAKEWOOD, N.J. — A serious accident occurred early Friday morning when a vehicle traveling the wrong way on State Highway 70 West crashed into multiple vehicles, leading to a fiery…
LAKEWOOD, NJ – Somebody pulled off a $15 million heist in Lakewood two weeks ago and police have not mentioned a single word about. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s silence is…
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Going into the biggest Republican stronghold in New Jersey, Jack Ciattarelli felt good on Tuesday night in Toms River with the endorsement of the Lakewood Republican…
LAKEWOOD, N.J. — A construction worker died Friday morning after falling from the third floor of a work site, prompting an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),…