DIGEST
Threatening calls yield arrest: A 34-year-old Bridgeton woman was arrested Wednesday for allegedly making threatening phone calls to the Cumberland County Courthouse.
Aspen Pierce was charged with causing false public alarm and making terroristic threats that "caused significant disruption and concern among staff and the public," the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said Friday in a news release.
Pierce allegedly made multiple threatening calls to the courthouse, prompting heightened security measures, the Sheriff's Office said.
City Hall struck by lightning: Cape May City Hall was closed early Friday after it was struck by lightning during a storm that produced torrential rain that flooded many streets.
There is an ongoing assessment of the extent of the damage, the city said in a statement. City Hall is scheduled to reopen Monday.
No other city buildings were damaged, and no injuries were reported anywhere in the city, officials said.
Probation for gun charge: A Pleasantville man was sentenced to five years of probation Thursday for a gun charge stemming from a motor vehicle stop in 2022, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said.
Jordani Martinez-Casiano, 25, previously pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a handgun.
Police responded to Pizza Di Roma on North Main Street on Aug. 28, 2022, after a caller said a heavily damaged Honda Accord was chasing a minor. Officers stopped the vehicle, which Martinez-Casiano was a passenger in, and found a metal baseball bat, a fixedblade knife, a Sig Sauer P245, 36 grams of marijuana, small heat-sealed bags, two digital scales and sandwich bags.
Galloway library to close: The Galloway Township branch of the Atlantic County Library System will close July 15 for cleaning and preparation for upcoming HVAC replacement work. The library is expected to reopen July 29. The branch's book drop box will remain open for returns.
Bridgeton builds affordable housing: Bridgeton officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the city's latest affordable housing project.
Phoenix Family Village II will include 56 three-bedroom townhomes that are each about 1,400 square feet. There also will be five units set aside for those with special needs.
Rent for the Phoenix Family Village homes will range from $500 to $1,150.
Principal's court date: The city's high school principal accused of failing to report child abuse is due back in court next month, according to court officials.
Constance Days-Chapman is scheduled to appear in front of Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury on Aug. 29. She is charged with official misconduct, hindering apprehension of another, obstruction of justice and failure to report child abuse.
Days-Chapman was originally expected to appear in court Thursday, however, her attorney, Lee Vartan, said at a May 28 pre-indictment conference that he and his client would likely not appear for it unless the Prosecutor's Office sent more information.
Zoo gets $1.4M: The Cape May County Zoo has received a $1.4 million donation from a Middlesex County man who left his entire estate to the zoo after dying nearly two years ago, the county said Wednesday evening.
Charles Muller, of Edison, made a provision in his will for the care of the animals at the Cape May County Zoo. He died Sept. 20, 2022, at 93. The executor of his will, former Director of Parks Michael Laffey, followed Muller's wishes, and his assets will be used to provide food, shelter and medical care for the animals, the county said in a news release.
Muller and his late wife, Elizabeth, first visited the zoo in the early 2000s and developed a deep affection for it, county Tourism Director Diane Wieland said.
2 sentenced in jail assault: Two men who admitted assaulting two Atlantic County corrections officers nearly two years ago were each sentenced to three additional years in prison, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.
Bilal Rex, 20, of Atlantic City, and Samir Abdullah, 21, of Galloway Township, pleaded guilty May 16 to aggravated assault on a corrections employee.
Rex and Abdullah assaulted the officers Dec. 12, 2022, while incarcerated in the Harborfields Juvenile Detection Center in Egg Harbor City, the Prosecutor's Office said.
Man accused of harming infant: A North Wildwood man was arrested after he allegedly admitted smoking PCP, which resulted in him injuring his infant son, police said.
David Fletcher III, 38, was accompanied by an infant when several reports were made to police of a man in the 1200 block of Atlantic Avenue having a possible medical condition that caused him to act erratically.
The footage showed Fletcher appearing to be under the influence of narcotics and dropping and swinging the infant, causing the child to sustain several injuries, police said. During an interview, Fletcher admitted smoking phencyclidine (PCP) while walking with his son.
Stockton vice provost joins state board: Stockton University interim vice provost Claudine Keenan was sworn in Wednesday to the New Jersey State Board of Education.
Gov. Phil Murphy nominated Keenan to the 13-member board, and she was approved by the state Senate on June 28. Keenan's term will expire June 30, 2027.