Jiwan Coleman, the Spring Valley teen accused of robbing and murdering another teenager pleaded not guilty in Rockland County Court on Thursday. The 16 year-old Coleman is charged with two second-degree murder counts and first-degree robbery. Police say Coleman hit Ruben Torres on the head with a rock last month as the victim was returning home from a part-time job. Torres’s family disconnected him from a ventilator July 2nd and he died at Westchester Medical Center.
· A key figure in New Jersey’s “Bridgegate” scandal pleaded guilty on Thursday to an unrelated federal corruption charge in a scheme involving United Airlines. An internal United investigation had looked into whether former Port Authority chairman and Governor Chris Christie confidante David Samson tried to get the airline to add non-stop flights from Newark to South Carolina where he had a vacation home. Samson resigned in 2014 during the bridge scandal as Port Authority chairman. The plea deal reportedly does not force Samson to cooperate in the government’s ongoing Bridgegate investigation. Bridge lane closings sparked a three-day traffic jam in September 2013. Sentencing is scheduled for October. Prosecutors are asking for two years in prison.
· Three Middletown residents face marijuana possession and other charges following a stop on Route 17 by Upper Saddle River police Wednesday afternoon. Police say the three had an ounce of pot, $5,500 in cash and a .38 caliber revolver in their car. Justin Rivera and Hector Paz, both 20 years-old, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on bail. A 17-year-old who was with them was sent to the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center in Teterboro on weapons and drug charges.
· The Nyack Chamber’s “Classic Car Night” has been rescheduled for next Thursday, July 21 from 5 p.m. until dusk. The free event, which features vintage and specialty cars lining Main Street, was cancelled last night due to the rain. Visit NyackChamber.org for more information.
· A New Jersey woman was charged Wednesday for failing to pay over 250 EZ-Pass tolls – a whopping $16,000! Various media reports say Denise Simien of Verona, NJ, was nabbed Wednesday morning as she allegedly tried to go through the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan.
And in CanAm baseball news – The Rockland Boulders faced the New Jersey Jackals in the third of their three-game, split-series Thursday night at Palisades Credit Union Park. The Boulders rallied in the 9th down 8-3 to force extra innings, winning it in the 10th, 9-8. The Boulders travel north of the border to face Ottawa tonight at 7:05pm.