July 22, 2024
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on July 21, 2024, John Marrone, 68, of Seaside Park, was charged with Causing Death or Injury While Driving with a Suspended or Revoked Driver’s License, and Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in Death, both in connection with an incident that occurred in Toms River Township on July 21, 2024.
On July 21, 2024, at approximately 2:50 p.m., Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department were summoned to the area of Route 166 and Old Freehold Road for a report of a pedestrian having been struck by a motor vehicle. Responding Officers determined that Gonzalo Jimenez-Hernandez, 48, of Toms River, stepped into the roadway and was struck by a motor vehicle. The victim was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced deceased.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that a black Ford F-150 was traveling northbound on Route 166; Mr. Jimenez-Hernandez stepped into the roadway and was struck by the Ford F-150, which then fled the scene. The truck that struck the victim was later located unoccupied in a nearby apartment complex. Through investigation, Detectives determined that the Ford F-150 was registered to Marrone. A short time later, Officers located Marrone – on foot – in the vicinity of the truck, and he was taken into custody without incident. Marrone was thereafter transported to Community Medical Center, where a draw of his blood was obtained pursuant to a court-authorized warrant. The results of the blood draw remain pending. Marrone was subsequently transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation.
The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
R.P.C. 3.6(b)(6).
July 22, 2024
EDISON, NJ — Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department announced today that Joan Franklin Polanco, 37, of Edison, has been charged in connection with the fatal stabbing that occurred in Edison on July 21, 2024.
On July 21, 2024, at approximately 4:37 P.M., Edison Police Department received a 911 call reporting a stabbing on Horizon Drive. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Lizbeth Benitez-Rivera, 37, of Edison, with multiple stab wounds. Benitez-Rivera was pronounced deceased at the scene.
An initial investigation led by Detective Clint Hetzell of the Edison Police Department and Detective Javier Morillo of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Benitez-Rivera’s son was asleep in his room, when he woke up later in the afternoon, he found his mother deceased with multiple stab wounds. The investigation determined that Joan Franklin Polanco, 37, of Edison, was seen entering the bedroom with a knife and leaving the residence shortly after the incident occurred.
Hours later, on July 21, 2024, Polanco was located and detained by the New York City Police Department. Polanco was charged with first-degree Murder and third-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose. The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Hetzell of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7400 or Detective Morillo of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-8843.
July 22, 2024
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New York man was found guilty today on charges stemming from his travel to have sex with a 13-year old New Jersey resident and his production and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Zachary Williams, 37, of New York, was convicted of two counts of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, production of and possession of child pornography, and coercion and enticement of a minor, following a 13-day trial before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
In September 2020, Williams met the minor via Snapchat. He lied about his age, telling the victim that he was 17 years old, when he was in fact 33 years old. Williams asked the victim for nude photographs of the victim, after receiving them, began to “sextort” the minor by threatening to send the nude photographs to the minor’s friends and family. He ultimately convinced the minor to meet him at a hotel in Atlantic County, New Jersey, and agreed to allow the victim to delete the nude photographs from his phone. On Oct. 2, 2020, Williams traveled to a hotel in Atlantic County and, two days later, engaged in sexual intercourse with the minor in his hotel room. Afterward, despite his earlier promises, Williams continued to send messages to the minor threatening to expose the minor’s nude photographs.
Law enforcement officers arrested Williams in March 2021 in a sting operation through which they lured him to the same Atlantic County hotel by posing as the minor victim. Williams’ phone contained numerous images of child pornography, which have led to the identification of additional child victims in both the Eastern District of New York and the District of Connecticut, where additional charges remain pending against Williams.
Williams faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on each of the two counts of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years on the production of child pornography, a maximum of 20 years on the possession of child pornography, and a maximum of 10 years on the coercion and enticement of a minor. In addition, Williams faces a $250,000 fine, mandatory restitution to the victims, and lifetime supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; and officers from the Galloway Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Richard D. Barber, and also recognizes the efforts of the Atlantic City Police Department under the direction of Chief James Sarkos and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Prosecutor William Reynolds, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diana Vondra Carrig and Patrick C. Askin of the Criminal Division, Camden.
24-274
Defense counsel: Mark W. Catanzaro Esq., Mount Holly, New Jersey
Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com