TOMS RIVER -- Authorities have seized 80 marijuana vending machines throughout New Jersey.
Ben Gross, 40, of Toms River, was arrested on Wednesday, according to prosecutors from Monmouth and Ocean Counties. It's the culmination of a sweeping joint investigation that took over two years.
Prosecutors say that Gross is the owner of Barbwire, a business that has dozens of vending machines in stores throughout the state. These vending machines don't dispense your average snacks or sodas. Instead, they sell cannabis products, including pre-rolls, fruit gummy edibles, THC vapes, and even flower.
On Friday, detectives arrested Gross near his Toms River home. Investigators conducting surveillance waited until he drove away and then stopped his car to put him in handcuffs.
Authorities then searched his home, a warehouse in Manchester, and two residences in Lakewood and Jackson. Investigators said they found more than 100 pounds of marijuana flower, several hundred pounds of THC candy, THC vaping products, and five pounds of hashish.
New Jersey has its first measles case of 2026, and the infected person may have exposed others at two locations.
State health officials have confirmed that the Hudson County resident recently traveled out of the country. People should keep an eye out for symptoms until mid-May if they were in Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal B on April 14 between 5:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.
They also say the infected person was in Hackensack University Medical Center's Pediatric Emergency Department from 11:15 p.m. on April 17 through 3:15 a.m. the following day.
Measles is highly contagious and usually spreads through sneezes and coughs. The CDC lists symptoms that include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a red rash around the hairline.
A 48-year-old Gloucester County man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a teen girl at his home over two years ago.
After an eight-day trial, Jason L. Bailey, of Paulsboro, was found guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, and fourth-degree refusal to provide a DNA sample.
On Dec. 9, 2023, Bailey invited the teenager, who was known to him, to spend the night at his home.
The victim was younger than 16 but at least 13.
She told police that she was asleep in a bed and woke up early in the morning to find Bailey had pulled down her pants and underwear, and was trying to sodomize her as well as groping her private areas, according to the affidavit filed by investigators.
The young teen had a similar experience a second time, later in the day as she took a nap.
WILLINGBORO --
A member of the Township Council is under fire for her comments about Mexicans and yard work.
UPDATE:
Councilwoman refuses to apologize for stereotyping Mexicans
In a clip of the April 7 Willingtoro Township Council meeting being shared on social media by the conservative groups New Jersey Project and Wake Up NJ, Councilwoman Rebecca Perrone says there are "certain cultures" that know how to handle landscaping.
"There's certain cultures of people that just know what they're doing and Mexicans know what to do with grass. I'm not kidding with you. Hire a firm. Get a firm. They know what to do with grass," Perrone, who is a Democrat and Black, said.
"They cut a big tree down by my house. All Mexicans. The tree was bigger than the Empire State Building, as far as I’m concerned. And they’re not tall people. They know what to do with vegetation, grass, whether it’s in the middle of the road, on the side of the road, on a corner."