by The Times

Friday December 05, 2008, 5:00 AM

A blast of cold air is about to put a winterlike squeeze on the area right through early next week.

Plus, there's a chance of snow Saturday night and flurries on Sunday.

Highs will make it to 38 Friday and Saturday, and only into the mid-30s on Sunday and Monday, The temperature is expected to plunge to 21 Friday night, 25 Saturday night and 19 Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.

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Elderly Trenton woman robbed by flimflam men

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Thursday December 04, 2008, 8:48 PM

EWING -- Flimflam men posing as members of a church victimized a 77-year-old Trenton woman Tuesday, police reported.

The scam began when she was approached in the area of East State Street and Olden Avenue in Trenton after finishing an errand at the Sovereign Bank.

Police said one of the men told the woman he was not from the area and was lost, and offered to give the woman $50 for a ride to the African Church near Greenwood and Olden Avenue.

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Cops bust drug ring, shut down 'factory' and confiscate trove of heroin, crack

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Thursday December 04, 2008, 8:31 PM

TRENTON -- Police on Wednesday took down what they say was a major drug ring with gang connections that operated a manufacturing facility and multiple distribution centers in the city.

Months of surveillance stemming from citizen tips led to eight arrests as well as raids on an apartment on Oakland Street and five houses on Wood Street. Guns, crack cocaine, hollow point bullets, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana were seized.

"It shows that hard work and dedication bring excellent results," Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. said of the operation in a statement. "Keep providing information and we as the police department will do our part."

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Armed robbery at Ewing liquor store

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Thursday December 04, 2008, 6:41 PM

EWING -- An armed man who targeted a township liquor store Wednesday night made off with cash from the register and also robbed employees, police reported.

An employee at Dawn's Bottle and Spirits, located on the 1000 block of Pennington Road, was beginning to lock up around 9:55 p.m. when a man carrying a handgun approached him. Police said the suspect told the employee to join a second employee at the counter.

The robber demanded money and was given an unknown amount from the cash register before going through the employees' wallets and removing cash from them. After the robber fled in an unknown direction, one of the employees called police.

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New murder trial set in February for Latin Kings leader

by Linda Stein/The Times

Thursday December 04, 2008, 5:48 PM

After a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the October murder trial for Latin Kings leader Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete and Negrete nixed a plea agreement offered by the prosecution, a Superior Court judge Thursday scheduled a new trial for February 9.

Negrete, 27, is accused of ordering his gang cohorts to kill two Trenton residents, Alex Ruiz, 25, a turncoat who survived a near strangulation, and Jeri Lynn Dotson, 23, a "queen" in the Latin Kings. Dotson, the mother of two young children, was gunned down in the basement of her Chestnut Avenue home on Aug. 31, 2004.

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Police blotter for Thursday, 12/04/2008

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Thursday December 04, 2008, 4:22 PM

Available for download below, in PDF format, are copies of news releases issued to the media by area police departments on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008. The releases provide details about various crimes that occurred recently within the respective municipalities.

It should be noted that not all area police departments issue written news releases. Some departments prefer to release details about newsworthy events directly to reporters over the telephone. Of those departments that do issue written releases, some do so only once or twice a week.

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Higher recreation fees OK'd in Lawrence

by Central Jersey News Updates

Thursday December 04, 2008, 11:05 AM

LAWRENCE -- Facing large taxpayer subsidies to help pay for recreational programs, the council gave final approval to higher fees for a number of summer programs, which had not been increased for two years.

Some of the fees that will rise include summer lacross, $60 up from $40; summer teen basketball, $45 up from $30, and swimming pool memberships, increasing from $75 to $90 for families and $40 to $50 for individuals, The Lawrence Ledger reported.

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Lawrence approves pay boost for firefighters

by Central Jersey News Updates

Thursday December 04, 2008, 10:46 AM

LAWRENCE -- The council approved a contract giving the township's four paid career firefighters wage increases of 3 percent and 3.25 percent over the four years of the pact, which runs from Jan. 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2009. The firefighters had been working without a contract since the previous one expired.

The four firefighters work as drivers during daytime hours on weekdays, the The Lawrence Ledger reported.

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