Former Mayor Mugged and a K-9 Officer to the Rescue

Following is a list of the most popular stories on Newark Patch this month:

A number of Newark public high schools were ranked among the best in New Jersey and the country by a news magazine, US News & World Report. In forming its ranking, the magazine looked at test scores, graduation rates and other conventional metrics but also took account of student-body characteristics, like family income level.

The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, were predicted to be visible in New Jersey due to exceptionally strong solar activity and other factors. The lights, however, failed to show.

A host of events were held this month in honor of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at branch Brook Park. Events included runs and guided tours of the park’s famed collection of the flowering trees.

A man who, along with two others, was facing trial for murder was accidentally released from prison. He returned to custody voluntarily the next day.

Several homicides occurred in the city this month. A man was killed in what police believe was a targeted shooting as he was leaving his uncle’s funeral.

Also this month, a  city man was shot and killed on Lyons Avenue. Two men were shot, one fatally, on Bloomfield Avenue. A man with a history of mental illness was charged with the fatal stabbing of his mother. A woman from Belleville was accused of shooting and killing a Newark man. An East Orange man was killed on North Munn Avenue.

Two teenaged boys were charged with murder stemming from a robbery attempt in March. 

Citing mismanagement and other problems, the state of New Jersey decertified a city charter school less than a year after it opened.

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was robbed of a gold chain on a city street. A suspect was in custody the following day.

Sentencing in the tax evasion trial of singer Lauryn Hill was postponed until next month. The “Fugees” star may face up to three years in jail.

Hundreds of city high school students walked out of class to protest proposed cuts to the school district budget.

A former Newark police officer was sentenced to nearly four years in jail on charges of bank fraud.

A bloodhound from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office helped locate a 15-year-old girl who had gone missing after school. The girl, who suffers from epilepsy, was found unconscious but was unharmed.