New Jersey
2 people dead after fire ravages New Jersey apartment complex
PASSAIC, N.J. – Two people were killed after a fire ravaged a New Jersey apartment complex Sunday morning, Passaic Mayor Hectora Lora told FOX 5.
“A little bit after 9 o’clock this morning, first responders received a report of a fire on Spruce Street in the city of Passaic. Unfortunately, two senior citizens, a couple, a man and a woman over 70 years old, each succumb to the fire and lost their lives,” Lora said.
The Passaic Fire Department arrived to find billowing flames from inside the apartment windows, towering through the roof.
Crews got the fire under control.
Red Cross disaster responders provided emergency assistance to 10 people in 8 families for temporary lodging, food, and other immediate needs. The additional families evacuated earlier have been able to return to their homes.
The prosecutor’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.
This story is developing. Stay with FOX 5 for updates.
New Jersey
Man arrested in New Jersey after missing woman’s body discovered in Georgia woods, GBI says
A suspect has been charged with the murder of a missing woman whose body was discovered weeks ago in a stretch of Georgia woods.
Authorities say 35-year-old Gainesville resident Loron Spaulding was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals in New Jersey earlier this week.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, officers had been searching for 30-year-old Diaja Benson since she was reported missing out of Dawson County on Feb. 20.
On the morning of March 13, agents with the GBI, the Cumming Police Department, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources found a body of a woman near Lanier 400 Parkway in Cumming. The body was later identified as Benson.
Authorities have not shared any information about how they connected Spaulding with Benson’s death or if the two knew each other.
Spaulding remains in custody in New Jersey, facing a murder charge. He will eventually be extradited to Georgia, at which time he will be booked into the Fulton County Jail.
The investigation into the case remains ongoing. If you have any information that could help, call the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland at (706) 348-4866 or the agency’s tip line at 1-800-597-8477.
New Jersey
Battle of the cinnamon rolls: Jersey City coffee shop caught in zoning dispute
A popular Jersey City coffee shop is facing down a zoning complaint that could force them to temporarily shut their doors.
“I think our reaction when we heard of this most recent zoning complaint was just real frustration because we’ve done everything right,” said co-owner of the Hive, Kristin Karotkin.
Kristin and Catherine Willhoit run the Hive together.
They told News 12 they are permitted to sell coffee and baked goods under their current zoning designation, retail.
However, a nearby neighbor has filed a complaint seeking to have the business reclassified as a commercial restaurant, a move that could require The Hive to halt operations while the zoning issue is sorted out.
“The fact that one person is kind of challenging the way that zoning is interpreted really just feels like a kick in the gut for a business that’s not only beloved here in the neighborhood but has done everything we are supposed to,” Karotkin said.
City officials previously denied the neighbor’s initial complaint, but the issue is now back before the city following an appeal.
According to the appeal, the central issue comes down to one item: cinnamon rolls.
The complaint alleges The Hive is operating a commercial kitchen to bake them on-site.
The owners dispute that claim, though, and showed News 12 the shop’s oven, the only one on the premises.
“There’s nothing being made from scratch in the back room here,” Karotkin said. “It’s all made off-site and then baked here in our shops.”
Beyond their own business, the owners worry the outcome of the case could have broader implications for small businesses across Jersey City as well.
“A lot of small businesses, if this keeps happening in Jersey City, they’re going to stop trying — they’re going to stop coming here,” Karotkin said.
A zoning board meeting is scheduled for April 9, where officials are expected to make a determination on The Hive’s future.
New Jersey
New Jersey pastor detained by ICE weeks before Easter
A pastor in New Jersey was taken into custody by immigration agents while working at his day job, according to church members.
Yeison Cortes Vasquez was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 20. He is a pastor at The Gathering Place Church in Elizabeth.
Officials from the National Latino Evangelical Coalition said on Wednesday that Vasquez has no criminal record. He has been ministering to other detainees while in custody at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, they said in a statement.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the pastor illegally entered the country in January 2016 from Colombia. Vasquez allegedly overstayed a tourist visa that expired in July 2016.
“Against our nation’s laws, he knowingly overstayed his visa by nearly a decade and failed to depart. He will remain in ICE custody pending his removal procedures,” the statement read.
“Any allegation that Cortes Vasquez was denied a bible while in detention are FALSE. ICE facilities do not deny detainees accesses to holy coverings or texts. Detainees are given the opportunity to practice their religions. ICE provides all religious items permitted as soon as detainees make the request,” the spokesperson also said.
Church leaders are now trying to get him out of detention before Easter on Sunday.
“For us, this is devastating because this is our holy week. This is the week we are celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord. The church is devastated,” said the Rev. Dan Mendez. “Instead of celebrating our spiritual holiday, we are crying and praying for the situation of our dear brother.”
The National Latino Evangelical Coalition said it plans on retaining an attorney for Vasquez.
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