One of the two prisoners who escaped from the Union County Jail on December 15th was captured last night. Found in an apartment just six blocks from the prison, Jose Espinosa was returned to Union County police headquarters. Also arrested was Odalys Cortez, 19, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Investigators say they intend to file charges against Ms. Cortez.
Otis Blunt, the other innate to escape the prison remains at large. In recent days, he has spoken with Rev. Al Sharpton to help negotiate his surrender. Blunt was in prison in lieu of $75,000 bail for weapon and robbery charges.
These escapees taunted a prison guard, Rudolph Zurick, 40, in a note they left “thanking” him for his help with the escape. The guard though he helped authorities after the escape on his watch, committed suicide in his Sayreville, New Jersey home. He leaves behind a wife and a four year old daughter.
Well it is official as of 10am this morning Governor Jon Corzine was to sign the Bill that passed the Assembly ending the death penalty in New Jersey. New Jersey is the first state in 42 years to end the death penalty and instead require life imprisonment without the possibililty of parole.
It seems ironic that the Governor is signing the bill that will when just this past weekend two prisoners escaped from the Union County Jail. The desperate pair removed two cinder blocks from the jail wall and then jumped. Jose Espinosa, 20, pleaded guilty to the aggravated manslaughter and was awaiting sentencing. Otis Blunt, 32, was awaiting trial for robbery and weapones offenses. The pair proves that life in prison without the chance of parole has a few problems that need ironing out. If prisoners can escape … well you get the picture just fill in the blank.
Jerry Eure Sr. was an elder at his church which he attended “every Sunday” according to Rev. Jan Willem van der Werff, pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church. Eure was active in his neighborhood too, handing out Christmas cards to children and working with the New Jersey Council on Ageing. Eure received an award just this past May for making a “lasting and positive impact” on the lives of senior citizen in the County. Eure was active and in good health. Yet this “sweet old man” was murdered in his home.
Anyone with information about this homocide should the confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663. Let’s get Jerry Eure’s killer(s) off the street and behind bars.
Read story here
Just to get the news out to my fellow real estate professionals, HomeValues has to pay $51,ooo in court costs and attorney fees for misleading real estate professionals in the quality of its leads. Seems they made up names for leads even using obvious fake names like “Mickey Mouse”. HomeValues has four internet presences. They are:
Real estate professional subscribes to the service were to get access to potential leads. Instead they did not get valid buyers or sellers.
HouseValues did not admit wrongdoing when it settled the case against it. It will however, “refrain from certain business practices, waive any fees owed by consumers who complained to the Attorney General’s Office, and credit or refund those subscribers who got an invalid or bad lead, according to the settlement.”
It is good these folks were found out. More importantly that citizens followed through with the process and made and effort to stop this company. Leads are gotten through building and maintaining relationships not through shelling out hard earned cash to a lead generation company that will send you names like “Mickey Mouse”.
Read the entire story here.
Well the folks in the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township areas can breath a bit easier because Princeton Borough Police arrested three suspects for 10-break-ins. The suspects are members of the notorious MS-13 street gang and are undocumented illegal immigrants from Guatemala.
The police recovered property stolen during recent burgularies that link the suspects to four crimes in the borough, four on the campus of Princeton University and one in the township. The police have un-identified property and are asking area residents who have had a recent burglary or who have been the a theft victim to call Princeton Borough police detectives at 609-924-4141.
The map shows areas of the US where there is a documented presence of MS-13 activity.