Camden County

Alleged killer and getaway driver held on $1 million bail A pregnant Camden County woman and her partner remained in jail Friday after a judge ordered each of them held on $1 million bail following their arraignments on murder charges. David Bullard, 27, and Shakara Colbert, 23, appeared separately before Superior Court Judge Samuel Natal. Authorities believe Colbert is due to deliver twins, fathered by Bullard, next month, according to a Camden County Prosecutor's Office spokesman.

A man wanted in connection with a slaying in Johnstown, Pa., was arrested in Camden County during a routine traffic stop, police said Wednesday. Marquis "G" Neal, 30, was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for a headlight violation by a Gloucester Township police officer at 1:38 a.m. Tuesday at Blackwood-Clementon and Erial Roads, police said. Neal had identification and provided a false name, but Patrolman Benjamin Lewitt was able to determine that the man was a fugitive, police said.

Two Philadelphians, one a juvenile, have been charged in connection with a seven-hour crime spree involving robberies and a carjacking in communities across Camden County, authorities said. The pair robbed and shot a woman, tried to carjack another, stole a Mercury Cougar at gunpoint, then tried to rob another woman, police said. The series of crimes began late Sunday in Cherry Hill and spread to Lawnside and Mount Ephraim by early Monday. Philadelphia police caught a break Tuesday when they stopped the stolen Cougar.

For years Camden City, under a state law, has provided sample ballots in Spanish because of its high concentration of residents who list Spanish as their primary language - more than 10 percent of its registered voters. But now the U.S. Department of Justice is mandating that every municipality in Camden County provide actual ballots, not just samples, and all election material in both English and Spanish. Under the federal Voting Rights Act, a mandate for bilingual ballots in a county is triggered when: At least 10,000, or 5 percent of the voting-age citizens of the county speak a language other than English at home and speak English less than "very well.

The state tournament was a showcase for Camden County schools, which won three of the six South Jersey boys' basketball crowns. The titlists were Highland in Group 4, Camden (Group 3), and Haddonfield (Group 2). The other South Jersey champions were Parochial A's Christian Brothers Academy of Monmouth County, Parochial B St. Augustine (Atlantic County), and Group 1 Florence (Burlington County). Thanks to Florence, Burlington County has the longest current streak of sectional champions.

Camden County officials are outraged over a court program that rewards juvenile offenders with gifts such as computers and iPods for completing their probation, according to the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill. Freeholders issued a news release this week demanding the state courts end the program, which is offered only in Camden County. The statement described the program as a "disgraceful expenditure of taxpayers' funds" that sends the wrong message. The freeholders said many other children are working hard in school to get good grades or to find jobs to help their families and cannot afford iPods, notebook computers, and similar items.

Efforts to create a Camden County regionalized police force will, for now, focus on specialized services such as a central detective bureau and SWAT team, officials said Thursday. A countywide force remains the goal, said Board of Freeholders spokeswoman Joyce Gabriel, but a combined detectives and K-9 unit may happen "before anything else. " The move, discussed at a closed-door meeting of county, municipal, and law enforcement officials Tuesday, was read by some as stepping back from plans to disband municipal police forces.

Police in Winslow Township, Camden County, are searching for a man with Alzheimer's disease who disappeared Thursday afternoon. Lyndsay Shannon was last seen at 3 p.m. Thursday wearing blue jeans, brown shoes, and a blue sweater. He was not wearing a jacket. In the past, the man has been found in Marlton and in Blackwood. He is black, 5 feet, 11 inches tall and 190 pounds with short gray hair and a beard. Police ask anyone with information to call Detective Brian Barret at 609-561-3300.

A Philadelphia-bound NJ Transit train fatally struck a male trespasser today, south of the Atco Station in Waterford, an agency spokesman said. The accident, which happened around noon, forced NJ Transit to suspend service on the westbound Atlantic City Line between Hammonton and Atco, according to John Durso Jr. Train service was restored later in the afternoon, according to www.njtransit.com .

Robert D. Melson has resigned as Camden County's public safety director after three months on the job, Freeholder Annette Castiglione-Degan announced yesterday. In his resignation letter, dated May 5, Melson said that he plans to return to his rank as captain in the Cherry Hill Police Department. Melson had spent 26 years in the Cherry Hill department before accepting the $65,000-a-year position as county public safety director on Feb. 23. Melson, whose last day as director will be May 19, could not be reached for comment.

Alleged killer and getaway driver held on $1 million bail A pregnant Camden County woman and her partner remained in jail Friday after a judge ordered each of them held on $1 million bail following their arraignments on murder charges. David Bullard, 27, and Shakara Colbert, 23, appeared separately before Superior Court Judge Samuel Natal. Authorities believe Colbert is due to deliver twins, fathered by Bullard, next month, according to a Camden County Prosecutor's Office spokesman.

Camden residents David Bullard, 27, and Shakara Colbert, 23, were arrested Thursday in connection with a fatal shooting in the city this month, authorities said. Bullard is accused of shooting Gary Boggs around 4 p.m. on May 3 on the 1600 block of Pulaski Street, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and Camden Police. Colbert allegedly drove Bullard from the scene in a minivan. About two hours after the incident, the van was stopped at Eighth and Jefferson Streets with Bullard in the driver's seat, according to authorities.

North Plainfield Police Chief William G. Parenti is among those exploring creation of a regional police force in Somerset County, but he doesn't know whether his own town will find the idea attractive. He has heard no expressions of interest from any others, either. Three weeks ago, a task force headed by County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano released a report supporting the consolidation of 19 suburban police departments into a single countywide force and the county into five precincts.

In these tough economic times, it's easy to understand why seven United Way agencies serving the Philadelphia region have decided to merge. The merger that takes effect July 1 will include the United Ways of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southeast Delaware County, and New Jersey's Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, and Greater Cumberland County. They announced plans Monday to form a single organization to raise millions of dollars, mobilize volunteers, and set an agenda to address the region's most pressing needs.

Half-a-dozen caskets rested next to freshly dug graves in a potter's field full of clover and buttercups in Camden County this morning, the bodies of the unclaimed homeless, the destitute, and otherwise forgotten. But about 50 yards away, up a steep wooded hill that overlooked the field on county property in the Lakeland section of Gloucester Township, someone else had already been buried beneath a large elm tree, a female child or infant, authorities believe, who hadn't been forgotten.

Camden County's Cooper River Park could become a much better version of itself now that the county is beginning a long-awaited $23 million, five-year face-lift that will bring people to the water's edge for recreation. This is a welcome project in a park that will pull together urban and suburban outdoor enthusiasts looking for a good softball game, run, picnic, walk, bike ride, or boat race, or who just want to throw a line in the water and hope a bass or catfish bites. Too few people enjoy the river's edge on the Jersey side, but Philadelphia landscape architects Cairone and Kaupp have designed a handsome combination of paths, boardwalks, and overlooks to bring more visitors there.

The sight of broken TVs, an old couch, and wooden debris scattered along Adams Avenue in East Camden on Monday morning was familiar for the Rev. William "Jud" Weiksnar. The pastor of St. Anthony of Padua parish has fought the city and Camden County for about seven years to end similar illegal dumping a few blocks away in Von Neida Park. But instead of his usual rage over the mounds of garbage, Weiksnar had an ear-to-ear smile Monday as he stood behind Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd, who was in the neighborhood to announce a new initiative designed to crack down on illegal dumping in the city.

Bart R. Mueller is stepping down as executive director of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates the Atlantic City Expressway and the Atlantic City International Airport. His resignation is effective July 1, the SJTA said in a statement. Mueller, of Oaklyn, Camden County, has been executive director of the SJTA since 2007, a period marked by an expansion at the Airport, including a modern parking facility. During Mueller's tenure, the number of passengers using the airport has increased by almost 50 percent to 1.4 million annually as of last year, the statement said.

Construction is set to begin on a $50 million project to expand sewage service in undeveloped sections of eastern Camden County, including portions of the Pinelands, laying the groundwork for 10,000 new homes. The county plan - paid for with a low-interest loan from a state environmental fund - comes as the region wrestles with tight municipal budgets caused by the real estate slowdown and shrinking property values. "That part of Camden County that has remained stagnant because of water and sewer issues," said Camden County Freeholder Jeff Nash.

A Gloucester Township patrol officer was arrested on drug charges after purchasing prescription pills from a confidential informant while on duty, Chief Harry Earle announced Wednesday. Tom Eden Jr., 31, was arrested around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday as he left a room at a Howard Johnson on North Black Horse Pike, where he bought five Percocet pills and two Oxycotin placebos during a police sting, Earle said. Eden also had three Oxycodine and two Alprazolam pills in his possession, Earle said.