Nov. 12 (ZFJ) — The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether a federal ban on firearms possession by people under domestic violence restraining orders violates the Second Amendment in the case United States v. Rahimi (22-915) on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
The statute in question, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), prohibits people who are under a restraining order from possessing guns. The court order must include a finding that the person is a credible threat to an “intimate partner or child” or explicitly prohibit any physical force against them.
EDISON, N.J., Oct. 15 (ZFJ) — A state grand jury declined to criminally charge two Edison police officers who shot Merrill Rambarose, 49, of Edison on April 12, 2022.
Witness interviews, photographs, video footage of the shooting, and autopsy results were presented to the grand jury, which concluded deliberations on Sept. 25 and voted “no bill”—meaning Officers Daniel Bradley and Joseph Elqumos will not have criminal charges filed against them.
EDISON, N.J., Aug. 30 (ZFJ) — Edison middle school teacher Julius Coaccioli, 55, was arrested and charged with third-degree possession of child pornography on Wednesday, Aug. 30, announced Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Woodbridge Police Department Director Robert Hubner.
Coaccioli taught science at Woodrow Wilson Middle School at the time of his arrest. According to public payroll records, he has worked for the Edison Board of Education since September 1992.
Aug. 7 (ZFJ) — Robert Bowers, 50, was sentenced to death by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville on Thursday, Aug. 3, for killing 11 congregants, wounding two others, and injuring five police officers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“I have nothing specific that I care to say to Mr. Bowers,” Colville said, according to The Associated Press. “I am however convinced there is nothing I could say to him that might be meaningful.
Aug. 3 (ZFJ) — Rafaela Vasquez, 49, pled guilty to endangerment on Friday, July 28, for failing to stop a fully self-driving car from hitting and killing a 49-year-old woman.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David W. Garbarino sentenced her to three years of supervised probation. Her charge will be designated a misdemeanor once she completes her sentence.
On March 18, 2018, Vasquez was the backup driver for a test vehicle belonging to Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG).
July 16 (ZFJ) – A Middlesex County man admitted to threatening to attack a synagogue and Jewish people via the internet.
19-year-old Omar Alkattoul pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce on Wednesday, July 12, regarding a crime committed around November 1, 2021.
Alkattoul used social media to share a link of his manifesto titled “When Swords Collide.” The document detailed his plans to attack a synagogue.
