MICHAEL O. ALLEN

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WIND AND RAIN, BUT NO TORNADO

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By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 15, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page B03

A tornado watch called for North Jersey and parts of other northeast states on Tuesday sent school officials scrambling, but weather officials said no tornadoes were sighted in the state and called off the watch early.

Rutherford school officials put an early end to the school day by sending students home at noon.

Lyndhurst students who normally go home for lunch were kept in school and received a free pizza lunch.

“It’s our feeling that the kids are safer inside our buildings than walking to and from school in a weather crisis,” said Schools Superintendent Joseph Abate.

As it turned out, the tornado watch, which went into effect about 10 a.m., was called off by the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, a division of the National Weather Service based in Kansas City, Mo., at about 1:40 p.m. It originally was to be posted until 3 p.m.

A National Weather Service meteorologist said Tuesday’s storm dumped nearly three-tenths of an inch of rain on North Jersey.

In Wayne, heavy winds toppled a towering pine tree just past noon, and it fell on electric lines on Valhalla Way, briefly cutting off power to some residents and closing the roadway for about an hour, police said.

A Public Service Electric & Gas crew repaired the break and power was restored and traffic allowed to move freely by about 1:10 p.m.
Record Staff Writer David Gibson contributed to this article.

Caption: PHOTO – KLAUS-PETER STEITZ / THE RECORD – In Wayne, storm gusts caused a towering pine tree on Valhalla Way to fall on power lines, briefly cutting off electricity to some residents and closing the street for about an hour.

ID: 17365974 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

January 15, 1992
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PSYCHIATRIC DEFENSE UNCERTAIN FOR POST OFFICE MURDER SUSPECT

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By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, October 13, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A20

Joseph M. Harris is one of six inmates in the Bergen County Jail and its annex who have been convicted or accused of murder.

Bergen County Sheriff Jack Terhune said Harris is being kept on suicide watch in a single cell in the mental ward in the annex. Other than that, the living arrangements for Harris will be no different from anyone else’s in the jail, Terhune said.

Harris has had one visitor: a cousin who declined to discuss the visit, made on Friday, and asked that he not be identified. The sheriff confirmed that the cousin was the only visitor.

Harris journey through the courts has barely begun, and will be a long one.

“What we are doing is preparing the case for a grand jury, and, in addition, this case is one that we have to decide whether or not to ask for the death penalty. We have not made that decision yet,” said Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy.

“He has not asserted any kind of psychiatric defense. He may. That’s his right,” Fahy said.

In readying the case for presentation to a grand jury, investigators are seeking to determine how and where Harris amassed the arsenal he took to the Ridgewood post office. He carried a .22-caliber gun that can be purchased legally, but it was equipped with an illegal silencer. The Uzi and MAC submachine guns he also carried could have been purchased legally in New Jersey prior to May 31, when they were outlawed as part of a state ban on assault weapons.

Investigators also will be checking Harris telephone records, as well as those of the families and friends of his victims.

Fahy said he expected an indictment in six to eight weeks.

“There’s no doubt this is the worst murder I’ve seen since I’ve been a prosecutor,” Fahy said. “The scary thing is that it could have been a lot worse. ”

Keywords: WAYNE; RIDGEWOOD; MURDER; MAIL; EMPLOYMENT; MENTAL; HEALTH

ID: 17357983 | The Record (New Jersey)

October 13, 1991
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AFTER THE KILLING SPREE, SUICIDE WATCH FOR SUSPECT

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By Bill Sanderson and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Saturday, October 12, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A01

Joseph M. Harris, the fired postal worker accused of killing four people early Thursday, was under a suicide watch Friday in a single cell in the Bergen County Jail’s mental health ward, said Bergen County Sheriff Jack Terhune.

Harris, 35, of Paterson was being held on $1 million bail on charges of killing his former supervisor and her boyfriend in their Wayne home, and of later killing two employees at the Ridgewood post office. He surrendered to a SWAT team Thursday morning.

Harris was armed with two machine guns, several hand grenades, a samurai sword, and homemade pipe bombs when he was arrested.

Investigators were not sure Friday where Harris obtained his guns, or whether he had any gun permits. John J. Fahy, the Bergen County prosecutor, said two of Harris three weapons Uzi and MAC-10 semiautomatic rifles were assault weapons banned under a 1990 New Jersey law.

When the case is presented to a grand jury, the weapons offenses could be added to the list of charges against Harris, which include four counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping, and possession of hand grenades.

Fahy said he may seek the death penalty against Harris. He said he will ask prosecutors and investigators for advice on the matter, and that he would also consider psychiatric evidence from Harris defense lawyers.

A state medical examiner’s autopsy of Carol Ott, Harris former supervisor, shows she was stabbed four to six times in the upper body. The other victims Cornelius Kasten Jr., Johannes M. VanderPaauw, and Donald McNaught were gunshot victims.

Keywords: RIDGEWOOD; WAYNE; MURDER; MAIL; EMPLOYMENT; BERGEN COUNTY; PRISON

Caption: COLOR PHOTO – ED HILL / THE RECORD – Postal officer in Ridgewood Friday. Sign reads: “We thank you for your condolences at this difficult time. Please do not ask the window clerks any questions regarding the events of yesterday. Thank you.”

ID: 17357969 | Copyright © 1991, The Record (New Jersey)

October 12, 1991
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