Abdul Chambliss
WKNJ Newscast
April 30, 2012
Good afternoon, it’s Monday, April 30, 2012 at 12:00 o’clock
and you’re listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union, New Jersey, and I’m Abdul with the
news.
In Local News…
MOORSETOWN - A former southern New Jersey police officer and
his ex-girlfriend have been convicted on several child sex assault charges.
Officer Robert Melia Jr. was suspended from the Moorestown police force after
his April 2008 arrest, and found guilty Friday on 22 counts, including official
misconduct. The following year, Melia also was charged with animal cruelty
after investigators said a video found in his home showed him sexually
molesting cows. Those charges were dismissed in 2009 because bestiality is not
a crime in New Jersey. Heather Lewis of Pemberton, Melia's ex-girlfriend, also was
found guilty Friday, on 26 counts. Their convictions included multiple counts
of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, child endangerment and invasion of
privacy. Melia and Lewis both face more than 50 years in prison. Sentencing is
scheduled for Sept. 13.
PISCATAWAY - Joachim Kohn, a chemistry professor at Rutgers
University was honored with the David Gorenstein Memorial Award for Outstanding
scholarly achievement and exceptional service to the University. His scientific
and administrative skills were recognized by the federal government when he was
selected to create and run one of two national centers sponsored by the Armed
Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM).
RED BANK - Three men were arrested Saturday night and
charged with theft and impersonating an officer. All three men were being held
in lieu of $105,000 bail at Monmouth County Jail. The men were identified as
James Lapinski, 29, of Middletown; William Paine, 34, of Brick; and Richard
Ryan, 28, of Brick. Red Bank Police Capt. Darren McConnell said the men have
been charged with robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon, and impersonating a
police officer. They were accused of approaching a man walking near Monmouth
and Pearl streets in Red Bank, showing a badge and demanding the man hand over
his wallet.
NEW YORK - A family dies in a horrifying crash when their SUV
plunged more than 50 feet off a highway overpass and into a ravine, just a few
miles from their home. They were traveling to the Bronx Zoo. The crash killed
all seven aboard, including three children. Jacob Nunez, 85, and Ana Julia
Martinez, 81, both from the Dominican Republic, their daughters, Maria
Gonzalez, 45, and Maria Nunez, 39, and three grandchildren. Police say Gonzalez
was driving, and all the victims were wearing seat belts. The children were
identified as Jocelyn Gonzalez, 10, the daughter of the driver, Niely Rosario,
7, and Marly Rosario, 3, both daughters of Nunez. Police say that the 2004
Honda Pilot was headed south on the Bronx River Parkway when it bounced off the
median, crossed three southbound lanes and hit the curb, causing the vehicle to
become airborne, continuing over the guardrail and plunging 59 feet.
In International News…
BEIRUT - Two suicide bombers blew up cars rigged with
explosives near a military compound and a hotel in a city in northwestern Syria
on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 100, state media
said. The powerful blasts, which tore two craters into the ground and ripped
the facade off a multistory building, marked the latest setback for troubled
United Nations efforts to end Syria's 13-month-old crisis. More news, sports,
and weather coming up…
(play PSA #1 here.)
In Sports...
Defensive player Osi Umenyiora, for the New York Giants was
offered a pair of contract extensions in the past year by general manager Jerry
Reese. However, Umenyiora said he was offered only one multi-year deal and that
it was not a lucrative one. In New York, center player Tyson Chandler may not
play in Game 2 of the first-round Eastern Conference Playoff Series against the
Heat in Miami tonight. In order for Woodson to retain his job beyond this season
he has to decide whether or not to bring back Jeremy Lin, find a way to get
Carmelo Anthony back to his Player-of-the-Month form from April, figure out
what to do with Baron Davis, whose back hasn’t gotten any better; and then
there's the little detail of solving the Heat, who battered the Knicks by 33
points in Game 1. In Hockey, Philadelphia beat the Devils in overtime to take a
1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals after scoring two OT
goals.
Your WKNJ hourly weather update
Right now on the campus of Kean University, it is a sunny 53
degrees with highs going up 62. Low 51 with a 60% chance of rain. Tune in later
for meteorology reports on 90.3 FM.
In Entertainment…
Former mayor Clarence Clemons, of Newark, NJ, was once part
of group of local leaders who brought the Jersey Jays to the Garden State’s
biggest city. Their hope was that the presence of the football team could salve
the wounds of a city hobbled by the riots of July 1967. The Jersey Jays played
a single season in the Continental Football League after which the entire circuit
folded. According to Richardson, Clemons was a fearsome tackle on that 1969
team. Clemons was a standout lineman at Maryland State College (now the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore.), as well as a world-class musician
playing the saxophone for the E Street Band.
That’s it for your news. You’re listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM,
Union, New Jersey. I’m Abdul Chambliss and we’ll be right back after this.
(Play PSA #2 here.)
