Cop killer's trial set to begin: This week in Central Jersey history, Oct. 2-8

As sheriff's officers with shotguns watched Kennedy Square in New Brunswick on Friday, Oct. 5, 1973, Joanne D. Chesimard was hustled into the Middlesex County Jail to await the start of her trial on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 1973.

Sheriff Joseph DeMarino said his records indicated that Chesimard was the first woman ever confined at the then-56-year-old jail.

Here's a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.

Five years ago

Oct. 2, 2018: Eric S. Komar, 47, of Hillsborough, who worked as a music teacher and singer-songwriter performing for children at synagogues, Jewish community centers, camps and conventions nationwide, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for receiving child pornography.

Oct. 3: It was reported Samantha Harris, TV host and breast cancer survivor, would headline Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset's 11th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month Event on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, at the Bridgewater Manor in Bridgewater.

Oct. 4: Ramon Cadiz, 53, of Raritan Borough, faced at least 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering a mother, Sandrar Guiseppe, 51, and her daughter, Kim Streath, 15, at their borough home in Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, it was reported.

Oct. 5: Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, 37, of Long Branch and of "Jersey Shore" fame, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison for participating, along with his brother Marc, in a scheme to dodge taxes. He would also have to serve two years of supervised release after the prison sentence was completed.

Oct. 5: It was reported Danuel S. Brown, 30, of Piscataway, who formerly worked as an FBI special agent, pleaded guilty to illegally photographing a 22-year-old woman in the dressing room of an Edison store.

Oct. 5: The Hunterdon Central High School football team scored its first victory over Bridgewater-Raritan in five seasons, and grabbed its third straight victory.

Oct. 6: The California conglomerate UNICOM had signed an agreement with Merck to purchase the 1,100-acre Merck complex on Oldwick Road in Readington, it was reported.

10 years ago

Oct. 2, 2013: More than 1,800 guns, collected the previous week during the two-day Middlesex County gun buyback program, were on display at the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Training Center in Edison.

Oct. 3: Wegmans Food Markets donated a record 18,146 pounds of nonperishable foods to the Somerset County Food Bank Network. It was the largest donation the food bank had ever received from a single source.

Oct. 4: South Jersey's Century Savings Bank announced it would review its policies and remove security posters that pictured a woman wearing a traditional Muslim headdress as an example of policy violation.

Oct. 4: South Plainfield High School quarterback Kyle Moroney threw four touchdown passes as the Tigers erupted for 27 consecutive points over the second and third quarters in a 40-21 victory over Woodbridge.

Oct. 4-6: The New Brunswick Jazz Festival, featuring The Latin Soul Trio, Dakota MacLeod, The J.T. Project, Robert Glasper, and more, was held throughout New Brunswick.

1998

Oct. 3, 1998: Sixteen Bridgewater residents who relied on wells had resorted to drinking bottled water and using hoses connected to public lines after authorities found high levels of a gasoline additive in their water, it was reported. They were notified of the well closing on Thursday, Oct. 1, 1998.

Oct. 3: In high school football, Hunterdon Central beat Bridgewater-Raritan, 42-12, with junior tailback Melvin Hubbert rushing for 203 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns.

Oct. 4: A deer sprinting across the runway at Solberg Airport in Readington died after it was impaled by the nose gear of a landing Cessna plane. It was the second time in a week that pilots had hit deer at the airport.

Oct. 6: It was reported a federal judge had denied the latest appeal by convicted mass murderer John Emil List, ruling that List missed the filing deadline by about two weeks.

Oct. 8: Convicted murderer Peter Papasavvas pleaded for mercy with a jury that convicted him the previous week of the strangulation murder of Mildred Place, 64, of Woodbridge.

Oct. 8: The Temptations would perform on Sunday, Oct. 11, 1998, at Union County Arts Center in Rahway, it was reported.

1973

Oct. 3, 1973: Approval of initial federal disaster grants totaling nearly $1 million to assist 21 communities and counties were announced, with the largest grant ― $505,171 — approved for Somerset County.

Oct. 3: It was reported gas station operators across New Jersey were threatening to stage a shutdown unless the Cost of Living Council made drastic changes in its retail price control system in the next two days.

Oct. 5: In Watchung, American Express Co. signed a $1 million contract with Lockheed Electronics Co., Inc., for LEC Data Management Systems to be used at American Express' Travelers Checque Division, Lockheed announced.

Oct. 8: Actor Kirk Douglas directed ground operations at Solberg Airport in Readington to a film crew from NBC for a hot air balloon race.

Oct. 8: The South Plainfield High School football team beat John F. Kennedy High School of Iselin, 18-6.

1923

Oct. 2: Mary P. Shotwell of North Plainfield was given a verdict for $3,500 by a jury in her action tried in the Circuit Court to recover damages from the Public Service Gas Company for injuries she received on Tuesday, March 7, 1922, in Dunellen.

Oct. 4-6: "The Spoilers," Jesse D. Hampton's screen production of Rex Beach's novel, starring Milton Sills and Anna Q. Nilsson, was shown at Reade's Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.

Oct. 6: In South Amboy, the Goodwill baseball team beat the Joel Parker team in what was the deciding game for the Junior Mechanic championship of Middlesex County, 12 to 3.

Oct. 7: William Niles, 21, was in critical condition at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick, as the result of an argument in the dormitory of the Sayre and Fisher plant at Sayreville on Saturday, Oct. 6, 1923, it was reported. Niles had been stabbed with a four-inch stiletto.

Oct. 7: While visiting in South Plainfield, Anthony Gallazzi, 14, of New York, was instantly killed while trying to release a kite which had caught in some high-power electric light wires, when he came in contact with the wires carrying 13,000 volts.

Oct. 7: An employee of the Spicer Manufacturing Company plant in South Plainfield became crazed and began throwing large stones at passing automobiles.

Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ history for the week of Oct. 2-8