WOND News

Margate is holding a ceremony this weekend to unveil the Amherst Avenue promenade. The ceremony happens Saturday at 11am. According to the Press of Atlantic City, the two part project, which was launched in November 2016 and cost more than $2 million, consisted of bulkhead raising, restoration and revitalizing the Waterfront Special District.

More mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus at three Atlantic County collection sites.

Samples collected by the Atlantic County Office of Mosquito Control from the 200 block of Elwood Road in Mullica, the 1200 block of Zion Road in Northfield and the 4000 block of Wintergreen Avenue in Egg Harbor Township were all confirmed positive for the virus on September 14.

There are no reported human cases of West Nile virus in Atlantic County at this time.

County public health and mosquito control officials are conducting mosquito surveillance, implementing additional control measures and providing educational materials to area residents and businesses.

An investigation by detectives of the Violent Crimes Unit has led to the arrest of a man wanted for his involvement in the shooting of two females.
Tyron Outlaw was arrested by members of the United States Marshal’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Atlantic City Police Department’s Special Investigations Section. Outlaw was wanted following an investigation into a shooting that occurred in August.
On August 18 at 10:55 pm, patrol officers responded to the 700 block of north Michigan Avenue for a ShotSpotter alert. Responding officers located evidence of gunfire, but no victim. A short time later, two female victims, 16 and 52, of Atlantic City, arrived at the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Division suffering from gunshot wounds. The injuries were non-life threatening.

On September 15, 2021 an Atlantic County Grand Jury indicted Emery Chapman, 42, of Pleasantville, Ebony Chapman, 41, of Absecon, Tennille Lee, 44, of Atlantic City, and Theresa Lockhart, 20, of Millville in connection with a heroin distribution scheme throughout Atlantic County from November 2019 until June 2020. An investigation initiated by the Liberty Mid-Atlantic HIDTA Task Force in November of 2019 revealed that Emery Chapman directed and conspired with Theresa Lockhart, Tennille Lee, and Ebony Chapman to distribute heroin within Atlantic County. In January and February of 2020, Theresa Lockhart sold a total of over five ounces of heroin to an undercover police officer. On June 1, 2020, police executed a search warrant at Tennille Lee’s apartment. Police recovered 393 bricks of heroin with a total weight of approximately nine and one-half ounces. Emery Chapman would communicate over his cellphone with Ebony Chapman, Lee, and Lockhart to not only facilitate these narcotics transactions but to also direct payment and schedule pickup of the heroin from his supplier in Philadelphia.

The Atlantic City Surveillance Center recently helped bring an armed robbery suspect into custody. On September 10th, officers were stopped by a man who said that he was just robbed at Tennessee and Central Avenues. The victim, 63, of Atlantic City, had a handgun pointed at him by a suspect who demanded money. When the victim refused to turn over his money, the suspect hit him in the head with the gun and took his money. The suspect fled the area.
A description was provided to officers and members of the department’s Surveillance Center. More than an hour later, the suspect, a 16-year old male, returned to the area. Surveillance personnel immediately notified officers in the area. Officers John Bell and Dylan Imbrenda located the suspect and arrested him. He was found in possession of a loaded handgun.

An Atlantic County Grand Jury has indicted two men on murder and weapons charges in the 2013 fatal shooting of 21 year-old William Clegg. 29 year old Abdul Bailey and 27 year-old Austin Clark of Bridgeton have been indicted on murder and weapons counts . On Saturday May 4, 2013, at approximately 2:29 p.m., Atlantic City Police Department received a 911 call in reference to a shooting outside 501 North Indiana Ave., Atlantic City. Upon arrival, officers located William Clegg, of Atlantic City, with multiple gunshot wounds lying on the sidewalk in front of 501 North Indiana Ave., Atlantic City, NJ. Clegg was transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center City Campus where he was pronounced deceased. An investigation determined that Bailey and Clark lured Clegg outside the convenience store at 501 North Indiana Avenue. One individual waited for Clegg on the sidewalk; the other waited for him in the alleyway. As Clegg walked by, he was shot by the man waiting in the alley. Bailey was apprehended in Williamsport, PA, and Clark was also charged with the Murder of Clegg and was already in custody.

In Middle Township, police have positively identified a body found in dense woods in the Whitesboro section of the township as that of Leila Bellamy, an 18-year-old missing since July 14. The Press of Atlantic City reports there is still no cause of death determined, pending autopsy results. Bellamy was last seen in Whitesboro. In July, police released a description of what she was wearing and a plea for any information. Authorities have not ruled the death suspicious.

To help protect residents from the flu and COVID-19, the Atlantic County Division of Public Health is providing free flu and COVID-19 vaccinations for residents 18 years and older at multiple public clinics beginning Monday, September 27. Appointments are not needed, but face masks will be required for entrance. Visit www.aclink.org/flu for the complete schedule.

COVID-19 vaccinations will include the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the two-dose Moderna vaccine. Participants may receive both the flu and COVID-19 vaccination at the same time in different arms.

The Atlantic County Office of Mosquito Control has scheduled ground sprays for portions of Brigantine and Hammonton as part of the county’s ongoing efforts to control adult mosquitoes and reduce the spread of mosquito-borne illness.

The Brigantine ground spray application will take place on Tuesday evening, September 14, between 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM, weather permitting.

The area to be treated is bounded by a line that follows 12th Street N., E. Shore Drive, Traverse Place, E. Shore Drive, Golf Course Drive, N. Shore Drive, W. Shore Drive, Lafayette Boulevard, W. Shore Drive, Risley Road, Bayshore Avenue, 6th Street S., W. Beach Avenue and E. Beach Avenue.

The Hammonton ground spray applications will take place on Wednesday morning, September 15, between 4:30 AM and 6:30 AM, weather permitting.

A 46-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a crash Saturday afternoon on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township. Joseph Seif III was riding east when he drifted off the road near the intersection with Elmwood Avenue, struck a curb and overturned several times. The motorcycle landed in the grass median. Seif, of Galloway, was brought to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead following the 2:35 p.m. crash. Anyone with information or witnessed the crash is asked to call Egg Harbor police at 609-926-2661.