Toms River woman dies, hit by SUV on Hooper Avenue

TOMS RIVER - Crossing Hooper Avenue late Sunday afternoon, less than a mile from her house, cost a township woman her life, and a companion who survived is hospitalized, according to police.

Manuela Morales-Torres, 60, of Walnut Street, died after being hit by a sport-utility vehicle driven by another township woman at about 5:49 PM on the four-lane street, near Terrace Avenue, police said.

The collision site is just south of Route 37, steps away from Donovan Catholic High School. Investigators have not established whether Morales-Torres and her 62-year-old male companion were in a crosswalk on the road, which is also Ocean County Highway 549.

Rosemary Goebel, 76, of nearby Northstream Drive, was behind the wheel of a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox, eastbound on Terrace, and turned left through a green signal to travel north on Hooper, police said.

Toms River Traffic Safety Officers Robert Westfall and Brian Doyle are conducting follow-up investigations with members of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Sheriff's Department.

Freehold Township cop, others hurt during Howell fracas

Several people, including security guards assigned to Saturday's Loud Fest in Howell Township, are nursing injuries sustained during a melee that erupted when an allegedly-intoxicated attendee refused to leave.

One of the injured is a Freehold Township police officer, who was working the event off-duty, according to Howell police.

The event took place at Game Changer World on Route 9. Police said that a man described as a bald Caucasian with a black shirt caused a disturbance by moshing in front of the performing platform.

Refusing to leave when asked, he was scooted toward an exit by four security guards, then punched one in the face, triggering a brawl in which a number of other attendees began punching and kicking guards, police said. One broke away and placed a 911 call. The alleged attackers then separated and ran, police said,

Police said that the guards lost teeth, suffered eye and lip injuries, abrasions, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and rib pain. At least one loss of consciousness, eye injury, and two head contusions were also reported among the guards. Police did not elaborate on injuries that attendees might have sustained.

Investigators are reviewing surveillance video and plan to conduct more interviews.

Fake gun in Brick Township spurs school lockdowns

A Brick Township man faces two weapons charges and a disorderly conduct count, for allegedly hefting a fake handgun in his waistband Friday, instigating a lockdown at two nearby schools.

Daniel Mizner, Jr., 22, was stopped on Jackson Avenue while bicycling away from a 7-11 on Lake Shore Way, where he had just bought some smokes, police said.

According to investigators, Mizner said nothing during the transaction. The alert to police from the convenience store prompted sheltering in place at Emma Havens and Drum Point Schools. Mizner was stopped within about two minutes, police said.

Mizner was released on a summons, under the guidelines of New Jersey's bail reform laws, to await a court appearance, police said.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.

Toms River energy worker sentenced for theft

Sharing customer lists, belonging to three energy companies that employed him, with a fourth, in exchange for a commission, as well as for his own firm, earns a Toms River man five years in prison.

Patrick A. Trushell, 39, was sentenced Friday in Ocean County Superior Court, according to County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato's office.

Trushell maintained exclusive employment agreements with the companies during 2013-2014, authorities said. estimating the theft to amount to more than $250,000.

Investigators determined that Trushell raided the customer base while earning full-time pay from all three companies, pulling in extra money from the fourth and applying the information to his Chrono Energy, LLC enterprise.

He was sentenced for a second-degree charge of theft by deception and a third-degree count of failure to file a state tax return.

Truck vs. pole in Beachwood under investigation

A crashing sound and a flash of light, that appeared, from a distance, to be a transformer explosion in Beachwood, turns out to be a dump truck slamming a utility pole. Police are piecing together the chain of events that led to it on Double Trouble Road, before dawn Friday.

Officer Dennis Allen heard the bang and saw the glint of light while on patrol at about 4:30 AM, authorities said. He found the damaged pole, and the truck nestled in nearby woods near the Parkway.

The driver, a Toms River 45-year-old whose identity was not issued, was treated by Bayville First Aiders and MONOC Paramedics, then treated at Community Medical Center in Toms River and released, police said.

Allen leads the investigation, with assistance by the Ocean County Sheriff's Department and Prosecutor's Office.

Lakehurst man charged with sexual assault, terroristic threats

The alleged sexual and physical attack of a woman in Lakehurst on Halloween lands a borough man in the Ocean County Jail to await a hearing on sexual assault, aggravated assault, and terroristic threat charges.

Mark Coleman, 25, was arrested November 2, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato's office.

On October 31, a 23-year-old woman placed a 911 call, alleging that Coleman attacked her and threatened to kill her.  Lakehurst Police Sergeant Matthew Kline and Detective Stephanie Bayha of the Prosecutor's Special Victims Unit responded.

Coleman was apprehended at his Orchard Street house, authorities said.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.

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