February 2, 2024
FREEHOLD – A female Howell resident has been criminally charged in connection with a fatal three-vehicle crash in mid-January that claimed the life of a 3-year-old girl and injured others, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Samantha E. Bonora, 31, was charged with one count of first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter and two counts of second-degree Aggravated Assault. Bonora was also charged with Driving Under the Influence, as well as multiple motor vehicle summonses.
On Saturday January 13, 2024, at approximately 4:41 p.m., members of the Howell Police Department were notified of a multiple-car collision that occurred on Highway 34 near the Colts Neck border. The subsequent investigation revealed that Bonora was operating a Dodge Ram pickup truck southbound on Highway 34 in Howell when she travelled into the northbound lane into oncoming traffic. Driving south in the northbound lane, Bonora’s vehicle collided head-on with an oncoming Jeep Grand Cherokee. The collision caused Bonora’s vehicle to ultimately come to a stop in the northbound lane, where it was then struck by a Ford Bronco via a rear-end collision.
One of the passengers in the Cherokee, a 3-year-old girl, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Jeep Cherokee and the other child passenger, a 2-year-old boy, sustained serious injuries and were hospitalized. Bonora, as well as the female passenger of the Jeep and the female driver of the Ford Bronco, sustained minor injuries.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Bonora was under the influence of multiple narcotic substances at the time of the collision.
Bonora was arrested without incident and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institute (MCCI), where she is currently being held pending her first appearance at the Monmouth County Superior Court.
Anyone with information about this matter is urged to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Agent Reginald Grant at 800-533-7443 or Howell Township Police Officer Daniel Scherbinski at 732-928-4575, Ext. 2663.
The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Caitlin J. Sidley of the Major Crimes Bureau. Information about Bonora’s legal representation was not immediately available.
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.
February 2, 2024
FREEHOLD – A Howell Township resident has been sentenced to four years and six months in state prison for intentionally killing his pet cat last year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Christopher Sanchez, 29, was sentenced yesterday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Scott C. Arnette.
An investigation into Sanchez’s activities was initiated on Friday, March 31, 2023, when members of the Howell Township Police Department dispatched to a residence for an unrelated matter found the body of the cat outside the home.
Members of the Howell Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Humane Law Enforcement Division conducted an investigation determining that the cat, named Lilith, had belonged to Sanchez, who used a sharp instrument to kill it two days earlier, recording photos and video footage of the act.
Sanchez was arrested on the same day as the initial police response. He has remained incarcerated at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) since, having pleaded guilty in December 2023 to third-degree Animal Cruelty by Unnecessarily or Cruelly Abusing a Living Animal, Resulting in its Death, and Simple Assault, a disorderly persons offense. The Simple Assault charge was filed because Sanchez physically attacked his roommate shortly after killing the cat.
Judge Arnette yesterday recited a list of additional requirements beyond the prison term, noting that Sanchez is also ordered to have no contact with the victim of the assault, never to return to the scene of the crime, surrender all of his privately owned firearms, and engage in 30 days of community service. He also received a permanent ban on owning or living in a residence with any pet or animal, and was ordered to pay $525 in restitution – to cover the cost of the necropsy that disproved his initial claim to authorities that the cat’s death was a mercy killing necessitated by her being mortally injured from being struck by a vehicle.
The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Keri-Leigh Schaefer and Sevan Biramian.
Howell Township Man Charged In Killing Pet Cat
Howell Township Man Admits to Killing Pet Cat
Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com
February 2, 2024
A Ewing man was sentenced to 45 years in state prison for the June 2020 death of his girlfriend, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced.
Aaron Adams, 41, was sentenced by Mercer County Superior Court Peter E. Warshaw on February 1. A jury found Adams guilty of murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in November 2023 following a three-week trial.
At approximately 6:30 p.m. on June 1, 2020, Ewing police were alerted to a deceased female in a home on Glen Stewart Drive. Upon arrival, they located the victim, identified as Ashley Davis, 32, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, in the basement. There were visible wounds to Ms. Davis’ body and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the execution of a search warrant at the home, two air rifles and a handheld BB gun were located in the same room as the victim’s body. Numerous used bags of suspected heroin with various stamps were also discovered during the search. The victim’s boyfriend, Aaron Adams, resided at the Glen Stewart home, and was charged with a weapons offense.
Following an autopsy, Ms. Davis’ death was ruled a homicide. Investigation revealed she suffered a gunshot wound by a metal air gun pellet that struck internal organs and caused massive internal bleeding.
Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor John P. Boyle Jr. prosecuted the case for the state.
The investigation was led by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, specifically lead Detective Karen Mendez, and the Ewing Police Department. The defendant was represented by Assistant Public Defender Jessica Lyons and Assistant Deputy Public Defender Deirdre Smith.
Aaron Adams, 41
Death in Ewing Township Under Investigation
Update: Victim Died Of Gunshot Wound From Air Pellet Gun, Ruled A Homicide
Ewing Man Found Guilty of June 2020 Murder
February 2, 2024
TRENTON — The Attorney General’s Office today identified the decedent in a fatal officer-involved shooting at a motel in South Brunswick, New Jersey, on January 24, 2024. The man killed during the encounter has been identified as Shamar Leggette, 41, of Brooklyn, New York.
According to the preliminary investigation, on January 24, 2024, at approximately 2:05 p.m., members of the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, assisting the New York office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, arrived at the motel on Route 1 South, in the township’s Monmouth Junction section, to execute an arrest warrant for a suspect being sought in connection with several felonies.
At approximately 2:47 p.m., the individual to be arrested, Mr. Leggette, exchanged gunfire with officers. Mr. Leggette was pronounced deceased at approximately 4:29 p.m. Authorities recovered two firearms near the decedent. No officers were hit during the shooting.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to Attorney General Directive 2019-4, which implements the statutory requirement that the Attorney General’s Office conduct the investigation of any death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody, and which establishes clear standards and procedures for conducting such investigations.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
AG’s Office Investigating Fatal Police-Involved Shooting in South Brunswick
February 2, 2024
EWING, NJ (MERCER)–A two-month investigation into cocaine distribution in Ewing Township culminated this week with one arrest and the seizure of $269,800 in narcotics, four handguns and an assault weapon, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri reported.
Terrance Young, 34, of Ewing, was arrested on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, as a result of the investigation conducted by the members of the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ewing, Hamilton and Trenton police. After executing a search warrant at Young’s Perry Drive residence and detaining him without incident, detectives executed a search warrant at a public storage facility on Quaker Bridge Road in Hamilton Township. Inside of Young’s unit, detectives located approximately 790 grams of powder cocaine, 110 grams of raw heroin, 50 bricks of heroin packaged for sale, 50 grams of fentanyl and narcotics paraphernalia, including a hydraulic press, digital scale and packaging materials.
During the investigation, a second storage unit being utilized by Young was identified. Detectives obtained additional warrants and conducted a search of a unit on Parkside Avenue in Ewing, where they discovered approximately 1,200 grams of heroin, 400 grams of powder cocaine, 50 grams of methamphetamine, 50 grams of fentanyl, 28 ecstasy pills, four handguns, an assault weapon, six high-capacity magazines, a hydraulic press and drug packaging materials.
Young was charged with 38 narcotics and weapons offenses of various degrees lodged in the Mercer County Correction Center. The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain him pending trial.
According to Prosecutor Onofri, the combined street value of the confiscated narcotics is approximately $269,800.
Despite having been charged, all persons are presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Terrance Young, 34, of Ewing, was arrested on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.