JACKSON-Jackson police say three individuals sustained injuries Tuesday morning in a crash involving three vehicles at the intersection of Cedar Swamp Road and Bennetts Mills Road here.

At approximately 10:48 am, a Jackson Township Department of Public Works Ford F-250 truck was traveling westbound on Bennetts Mills Road when, according to police, it failed to stop at a red traffic signal and entered the intersection, striking a Mack truck which was traveling southbound on Cedar Swamp Road.

After striking the Mack truck, the DPW vehicle spun around, striking a car driven by a 43 year old woman as the vehicle was stopped at the red light, heading eastbound on West Veterans Highway.

The occupants of the DPW vehicle were a 56 year old male driver and 39 year old female passenger.

Jackson Police say three of the four involved in the crash suffered injuries. The driver of DPW vehicle was issued a summons by the investigating officer for failure to stop or yield the right of way. No names were released by the Jackson Police Department.

Police have not released the name of the victim.   A steady rain was falling at the time of the accident.

Police are conducting an investigation.

After conducting an initial search and investigation, police located and encircled a home which had multiple gunshots visible from the outside according to police on scene.

The incident happened at approximately 1:45 pm, just one block from the Lucy N Holman Elementary School. Students at the nearby school were brought inside from their field day activities after a series of loud gunshots were heard.

In total, 8 apparently large caliber gunshots were heard as fourth grade students were engaged in a water balloon toss to conclude their field day activity.

Three shots were heard in succession followed by three more. Approximately one minute later two more shots rang out and students were then brought into to the school upon request of the Jackson Police Department.

Initially, parents and faculty suspected the sounds were nearby fireworks before a lock down was ordered.

Three of Jackson’s schools were subsequently placed on lock down. Lucy N. Holman Elementary, Jackson Liberty High School and McAuliffe Middle School will be on lock down. The lock down was lifted two hours later, at 3:45 pm.

Jackson School District Communications Officer Allison Erwin confirmed that the incident did not involve the school, students and all students were safe and accounted for, but the lock down was a safety measure due to the proximity of the incident to the schools affected.

Police blocked off a portion of Manhattan Street between Bennett’s Mills Road and South Cooksbridge Road during their investigation.

At approximately 3:30 pm., Jackson Police announced they had detained a person of interest in the shooting.

The Ocean Signal was on scene when the incident occurred, covering the field day event.

After interviewing witnesses and the student in question, the Jackson Police Department determined that there was no credible threat to the student population or faculty.    Since Friday, rumors have circulated around the township about the incident.

On Friday, Captain John Siedler issued a statement on the department’s facebook page, “The Jackson Police Department would like to address concerns about Facebook postings regarding security concerns at Township schools  A report was received and a subject was investigated by Jackson Police Officers and Detectives. The allegations were deemed not to be a credible threat and it was determined to be no cause for concern. Classes are to go on as regularly scheduled.”

Lt. Steven Laskiewicz said that the police investigation conducted determined the student never had any firearms in his possession and there was never any attempt to bring any to the school.

Lt. Laskiewicz attempted to address the rumors circulating through the town and schools, saying, “This conversation must have been overheard and then added to and passed around which caused a student who was not even involved in the conversation to report that a student was planning on bring a gun to school to following day.”

“This was investigated and determined that the student did not make the threat as reported,” he added.  ”Although deemed not to be credible, the student who reported it acted properly out of a concern for the threat.  After the investigation, the matter was turned over to the school to handle with as they saw fit.”

SEASIDE  PARK–Seaside Park Police were called for a disturbance call at a home located at 17 Farragut Avenue here on Saturday night.   According to Detective Chris Bonner, between forty and fifty people were seen standing outside the residence when police units arrived on scene.

Officers discovered the home was being rented to nine different people.

“Officers entered the residence.  They saw a large quantity of beer cans and alcoholic beverages along with marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia,” Detective Bonner said.

Bonner added that through an initial investigation, police discovered suspicious lock boxes.

“[We] executed a search warrant for those lock boxes and – powdery substance we believed to be MDMA or ecstasy –and a quantity of cash,” he said.

Seaside Park Police Officer Steven Shadiack said the seven teens from Clark, New Jersey were arrested and were charged with possession of marijuana, over 50 grams, distribution of marijuana, over 50 grams, possession of CDS, specifically MDMA/ecstasy, and underage possession and consumption of alcohol.

Arrested were: Daniel F. Mooney, 18; Gregory R. Smith, 18; Richard C. Stoekl, 18; Lance L. Pecina, 18; Anthony J. Tarantino, 18; Thomas H. Mercurio, 18 and Edward R. Eaton, 18.

One juvenile was also arrested.

The narcotics will be transferred to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department for testing, and the alcohol will be destroyed

The 38-year-old New Jersey native was driving northbound on Custer Road at approximately 11:40 am when he collided with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was making the turn onto Custer Road, according to the Frisco Police Department. He was pronounced dead after being taken to Baylor Medical Center.

“The McKinney Police Department is saddened to report the death of Officer John Libby. ” said Sgt. Chad Barker, a spokesperson for the McKinney Police Department where Mr. Libby has worked since moving to Texas from New Jersey in 2007, “He has honorably served the citizens of McKinney for nearly six faithful years. John’s commitment to his family, community and fellow officers will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Libby family during this difficult time.”

Libby was hired by the Jackson Police Department in 2007 and graduated from the 77th class of the Ocean County Police Academy in February of 2002 as one of twelve new police officers hired by the township that year.

Jackson Police Officer Fred Meabe, who attended the police academy with Libby said,  ”John Libby was, is a good man, great father and was a respected officer. John was always a fun guy to be around,”

“I have so many memories and stories of John that I will always remember. I remember when he told me that he was moving to Texas to take a police job and, selfishly, I didn’t want him to go.”

Libby also worked for the Pine Beach Police Department. There are no drugs or alcohol suspected. No charges have been filed in this case at this time. The collision is still under investigation.

“He always cared for others, but no more than he did his wife Jen and their kids. John treasured family, and most importantly his. He went to the ends to make sure that they were always secure and taken care of, regardless of what he had to do,” Officer Meabe said.  ”He wanted nothing more than to become a police officer, and he was so proud of the fact that he made it. He is going to be a huge loss to the town of McKinney, to his friends in both New Jersey and Texas and more importantly, to his family. My prayers go out to them forever and always.”

by Erik Weber

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP – It may have been several decades since they put down their social studies notebooks and picked up their badges, but for five of the seven current police chiefs serving in Ocean County, coming back to the halls of Central Regional High School here to reminisce about their early years in front of  the cameras of contemporary television students was a bit like coming home again.

The five – Toms River Chief Michael G. Mastronardy, Class of 1971; Tuckerton Chief Michael Caputo, Class of 1976; Ocean Gate Chief Reece J. Fisher, Class of 1985; Pine Beach Chief John M. Sgro, Class of 1987; and Berkeley Chief Karin T. DiMichele, nee Kane, Class of 1989 – arrived one by one to the parking lot of the school, once just a grass field when they all had attended, and entered a main entrance facing Forest Hills Parkway that was built years after they graduated. After photo opportunities and initial video interviews conducted by student Avery Jackson in another newer hallway honoring successful alumni, the five walked through an older part of the school – trading old stories as they passed the rows of lockers – and entered the current location of the student television studio, which once held Industrial Arts classes.

The two other Central Regional graduates currently serving as police chiefs – Seaside Heights Chief Thomas Boyd and Seaside Park Chief Francis Larkin – were unable to attend. Lt. Kevin C. Arnold, head of the Island Heights Police Department but not yet formally promoted to chief, is also an alumni.

Settling into a row of chairs before bright lights and a group of digital videocameras, the five opened up to student and host Angela Roberts for the station’s Community Spotlight program about their reaction to the changes around the school, how they learned they had all graduated from the same school, what they remembered most about their time here, and what they could offer as advice for contemporary students.

“So, pulling up into the parking lot and walking through those same hallways again, what felt different?” asked Ms. Roberts. “What has changed since how you remember it?”

Read More of this Story: http://issuu.com/oceansignal/docs/20130524_ocean_signal/7

A verbal altercation between two patrons resulted in a stabbing.  The suspect then fled the scene and police were still searching for the person as of noon, Sunday.

The victim suffered a stab wound to the abdomen and was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Seaside Heights Police Department at 732-793-1800.

SEASIDE HEIGHTS –The borough of Seaside Heights presented Prince Harry and Governor Chris Christie each with a set of pens made from wood from the destroyed boardwalk on Tuesday.   In this photos, Special Events Coordinator Michael Graichen shows  the pens to the Ocean Signal before presenting them to Prince Harry moments later.

FREEHOLD–A Manchester Township man is charged with the Robbery and Felony Murder of a Point Pleasant man found in the backyard of a Long Branch home, announced Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Alan Bienkowski, 54, of Pinecrest Manor, Manchester Township, is charged with first degree Felony Murder, first degree Robbery, second degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in connection with the April 10, 2013 death of Michael Wells, 56, of Point Pleasant.

Mr. Wells, an employee of Dutch Prime Foods on West Avenue in Long Branch, was the focus of a missing person investigation that same day. At approximately 5 a.m. a co-worker reported him missing when some of his personal effects were found at the work location but Mr. Wells was not there. Wells was later found dead from a gunshot wound after Long Branch police responded to an 8 a.m. call reporting a man lying on the ground in the backyard of a nearby Cleveland Avenue home.

An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes and Forensic and Technical Services Bureaus and the Long Branch Police Department revealed Mr. Wells arrived at Dutch Prime Foods for work around 4:30 a.m. on April 10, where he was confronted and robbed at gun-point by Bienkowski. During the course of the robbery Bienkowski shot and killed Mr. Wells.

If convicted of Murder, Bienkowski faces a sentence ranging from the minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years in state prison with a 30 year period of parole ineligibility to a potential maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. If convicted of Robbery, Bienkowski faces 10 to 20 years in state prison, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA) which requires him to serve 85 percent of any sentence imposed for the commission of that crime.

If convicted of the weapons offenses, Bienkowski faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison, pursuant to the Graves Act, with a maximum sentence of ten years on each charge.

Bienkowski is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, on $1,450,000 bail, cash only with no ten percent cash option, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen, J.S.C.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the whereabouts of Bienkowski around the date and time of the murder to contact the two lead detectives on the case, Det. Kevin Condon of the Prosecutor’s Office and Det. Brendan Cahill of the Long Branch Police Department. Det. Condon can be reached at 1-800-533-7443. Det. Cahill can be reached at 732-222-1000.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, the Manchester Police Department and the Jackson Township Police Department, all contributed to the investigation culminating in the arrest of Bienkowski.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Huth, director of the Major Crimes Bureau, and Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner of the Major Crimes Bureau. No attorney has yet entered an appearance on behalf of Bienkowski