Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Rockaway man charged with running marijuana production facility after he called police to report finding his wife dead in their home.
A Rockaway Township man was charged with maintaining a drug production facility Tuesday when he called police to his Sanders Road home after finding his wife dead inside, authorities said. The cause of death of Donna Kent, 56, was under investigation Wednesday, but Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said an autopsy showed no indication of foul play. When police arrived at the house -- spurred by a 911 call from the woman's husband -- they smelled marijuana and applied for a search warrant, Knapp said in a release. Police found 30 pot plants in the house, Knapp said, some of which were hidden behind false walls. Also, $10,000 cash, a handgun and two shotguns were found in the home, Knapp said. "It included a lighting system, an …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Carrie Ruffner found 3.4 miles from home Saturday after last being seen Wednesday in Basking Ridge.
A Long Hill woman who had been missing since Wednesday was found safe Saturday afternoon. Carrie Ruffner, 34, was found by Long Hill police Sgt. Aaron Buerstetta at 3:49 p.m. near the intersection of Carlton Road and Whitebridge Road in Millington, only 3.4 miles from her home. Ruffner was transported to Morristown Medical Center for evaluation, acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said in a release. Authorities did not say where Ruffner had been for the past three days or if she suffered from a medical condition. Ruffner disappeared after leaving her parents' house in Basking Ridge around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and had been expected back at her own home on Meyersville Road in Long Hill. A large search coordinated by the Morris …
Lawrence Ball, a former county worker, must submit to mental health treatment.
A former Morris County employee will be on probation for five years after he used a slingshot to fire at passing cars. Lawrence Ball, 55, of Randolph was sentenced Friday to five years probation by Judge Robert J. Gilson. Ball, a 19-year Morris employee, had pleaded guilty March 12 to third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon (a BB gun) and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (a slingshot). Ball was arrested on Sept. 13, 2010, after authorities reported he had been firing the weapons at passing cars, acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said in a release. The Randolph man will have to submit to mental health treatment as a condition of his probation. Ball also must forfeit public employment, any weapons …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Morris County authorities report that Carrie Ruffner, last seen Wednesday at parents' home in Basking Ridge, is still missing.
The search continued on Friday for Long Hill resident Carrie Ruffner, 34, who was last seen at her parents home in Basking Ridge on Wednesday evening. Ruffner had not been located as of shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, said Morris County First Assistant Prosecutor Tom Zelante. He said he had nothing further to report at that time, but added that further updates would be released as needed. Zelante said the investigation is being handled entirely within Morris County, since that's where Ruffner's home is located. Ruffner, 34, was last seen leaving her parents' house around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said Ruffner was driving to her own home on Meyersville Road in Long Hill Township and was expected to …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Carrie Ruffner was last seen in Basking Ridge on Wednesday.
A massive search was underway Thursday for a woman who never made it home from her parents' Basking Ridge home a night earlier. Carrie Ruffner, 34, was last seen leaving her parents' house around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said Ruffner was driving to her own home on Myersville Road in Long Hill Township and was expected to return, but never did. About 50 people participated in a search for Ruffner Thursday near the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge as helicopters searched from above, according to NJ.com. As the search continues for Ruffner, her two children are safe and with relatives. Ruffner is 5 feet 7 inches tall, about 130 pounds, with blond hair and hazel eyes. Knapp said she has an athletic…
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Prosecutor's office to recognize professionals who assist crime victims Monday.
Morris County will be recognizing National Crime Victim's Rights Week next week beginning with a special ceremony on Monday. The ceremony, according to an announcement by Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp, will be held at noon in front of the County Administration and Records Building on Court Street in Morristown. County professionals who assist crime victims and advocate on their behalf will be honored. "Thirty years ago, crime victims did not have rights, access to crime victim compensation, or services to help rebuild their lives. They were often excluded from courtrooms, treated as an afterthought by the criminal justice system, and denied an opportunity to speak at sentencing," Knapp's office said in a press release. "…
Monday, March 18, 2013
Almost $50K paid out for weapons, including assault weapons, handguns, rifles.
The Morris County Gun Buyback Amnesty Program held last weekend resulted in the surrender of 600 weapons and paid out a total of more than $49,000, according to Acting Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp. At a news conference Monday at the county's Public Safety Training Academy in Parsippany, Knapp and other law enforcement officials hailed the buyback, which was held Saturday at two county locations: St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison and St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown. At the event, county residents were encouraged to surrender their unwanted weapons confidentially in exchange for cash payouts ranging from $250 for an illegal assault weapon to $25 for an inoperable weapon to zero for a BB gun. Those who chose to relinquish their …
Friday, March 8, 2013
Sean McNear pointed loaded BB gun at five-year-old's face, authorities claim.
Butler Councilman Sean McNear was indicted on child endangerment charges Thursday after authorities said he pointed a loaded BB gun at and threatened to shoot his five-year-old son. McNear was officially indicted on charges of one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child; one count of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; and one count of fourth-degree aggravated assault, according to a release prepared by Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and Butler Police Chief Ed Card. McNear, 45, was arrested in November 2011 after an affidavit claimed the boy told authorities McNear had pointed the gun in his face in his bedroom two years prior and in 2011, choked and punched him in the face with a …
Friday, March 1, 2013
John R. Speirs to be appointed April 1.
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Friday, March 1
John R. Speirs has been named the new Morris County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Investigations and will be appointed to the position on April 1. Morris County Acting Prosecutor Frederic Knapp announced Speirs' appointment on Friday. Speirs will be assuming the role of Chief William Schievella, who will be retiring. Speirs is a Randolph resident and former member of the Township of Boonton Police Department, formerly attending the Morris County Police Academy. He served the township for 33 years, eventually rising to the rank of chief in 2004. Spiers was selected to serve as a commissioner to the Morris County Joint Insurance Fund, which serves 42 municipalities, in 1998. He also served as the liaison between the Morris County JIF and …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Amalia Mirasola could face 30 years-to-life in prison after being found guilty of shooting her husband six times to death.
A state Superior Court jury found Amalia Mirasola guilty of murdering her husband, Carl Mirasola, insider their Butler home in 2010. Mirasola, who was also found guilty of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose when the jury delivered a verdit Thursday, could face 30 years-to-life in prison on the first charge plus up to an additional 10 years in prison on the weapons charge, according to a press release prepared by Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp's office. Amalia Mirasola, 47, was charged with shooting her husband six times inside their Roosevelt Avenue home on May 22, 2010. When she took the witness stand last week, Mirasola said she shot her husband in self-defense and that he had threatened to take her children…
Chris
11:50 am on Sunday, May 19, 2013
First off, Jennifer, it sounds like you just have a grudge against your ex, which is understandable. But, it sounds like he has more problems than just smoking a little weed. But, back on topic, you can't get addicted to weed. You just can't. There is no chemical addiction like with Heroin or Cocaine and you don't get withdrawal symptoms from not smoking. If someone says they are addicted to weed… more ›