Jermaine Eason faces 20 years in state prison and will be subject to an additional five years of supervised parole after he's released.

PATERSON -- A 27-year-old man faces 20 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to multiple counts of armed robbery and for tampering with a jury.

Jermaine Eason pleaded guilty to seven counts of robbery, illegally possessing a handgun, jury tampering and making terroristic threats.

Jermaine EasonPassaic County Prosecutor's Office 

Eason admitted that he entered multiple grocery stores throughout Paterson in November 2012 while brandishing a 9mm handgun and demanded money the Passaic County Prosecutor's office announced.

He also admitted to calling Darryl Clyburn, the father of his co-defendant, Rayvon Wilson, threatening to kill his son if Wilson testified in the robbery trial.

Eason also said he called a potential juror while in the Passaic County jail for a separate trial and tried to convince her to be favorable toward him in the trial.

Two other co-defendants in the robberies pleaded guilty and were sentenced in 2015. Clara Amaya was sentenced to 10 years and Wilson was sentenced to 14 years in New Jersey State Prison.

They will each serve 85 percent of their entire term and will be subjected to five years parole supervision after release.

Eason is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.

Click through the slideshow to see the list of high school wrestlers and teams ranked nationally

Over a two-month shoplifting spree, the pair netted about $7,000 worth of power tools, officials said.

WAYNE -- Two men were arrested Thursday for running a shoplifting ring that netted thousands worth of power tools over the last two months, officials said.

Douglas Sabolewski (Left) and David Buczek (Right)Passaic County Sheriff's Office 

Douglas Sabolewski, 31, of Garfield, and David Buczek were charged with numerous counts of shoplifting in the third degree, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said in a news release.

The thefts began on Dec. 13 at the Home Depot in Paterson where the duo took drill sets, fled through a fire door and entered into an awaiting vehicle, Berdnik said.

The thefts continued at various Home Depots throughout the county including, Passaic, Totowa and Clifton, Berdnik said. 

The duo was recorded on surveillance video shoplifting about $7,000 worth of power tools, Berdnik said. The Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division began a two week investigation into the crimes. Detectives were alerted to the pair entering a Home Depot in Passaic on Thursday morning, where they were arrested. 

Sabolewski was also found with several glassine envelopes of herion. Berdnik said the pair was using proceeds from the thefts to buy drugs.

"I want to commend the PCSO Detectives and Home Depot employees involved in this investigation," said Berdnik. "The suspects appeared to be committing these crimes to help support the purchasing of narcotics. Shoplifting elevates the price of products, which affects all consumers."

Both men were released pending a future court date.

Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Protesters want the Affordable Care Act "improved and embraced not repealed and replaced."

MORRISTOWN -- More than 40 people gathered at the Morristown office of U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) on Friday to express their concerns with the proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act and to urge the congressman to hold a town hall meeting on the matter. 

Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, who is partially blind and partially deaf, told a spokesperson from Frelinghuysen's office she's worried the repeal of ACA would stop her from being able to lead a regular life.

"I have been disabled since birth," Sjunneson-Henry said. "I have literally had a pre-existing condition since before I was born...If the ACA is repealed, I'm very afraid that with the pre-existing conditions I have I could lose my insurance."

Sjunneseon-Henry went to Frelinghuysen's office on Friday along with other members of NJ 11th For Change -- a group comprised largely of women from the 11th district who want the congressman to oppose the repeal of ACA and to support Planned Parenthood. 

The group, a mix of Democrats and Republicans, primarily sought details from Frelinghuysen's staff about what the plans were for ACA and about what legislation would replace it. 

Frelinghuysen has repeatedly advocated for the repeal of ACA. A statement on his congressional website outlines the steps taken by Republicans to "partially repeal, defund and dismantle the law."

"Republicans have voted over 60 times to fully and partially repeal, defund, or dismantle the law," according to the statement. "Of those votes, seven different bills have been signed into law that directly repeal or rescind funding from at least eight different Obamacare provisions.

"While this is not the end of the story, it is one more bite of the apple, making it that much harder to implement the bill, thus getting us closer to the ultimate goal of full repeal."

NJ 11th For Change members have said they plan to keep coming to Frelinghuysen's office on Fridays until he agrees to meet with them or to hold a town hall meeting on the issue. The group is also using the Twitter hashtag #FridayswithFrelinghuysen to spread their message. 

Sjunneson-Henry told NJ Advance Media after the protest she's concerned the incoming Trump administration wouldn't be concerned with assisting citizens with disabilities. 

"I have friends who will probably die if (ACA) is repealed," Sjunneson-Henry said. "This is actually life or death for us." 

NJ Advance Media hasn't yet received a comment from Frelinghuysen's staff on this issue.  

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Gilberto Lorenzo, 43, of Palisades Park, was charged with aggravated assault and multiple counts of child endangerment.

PATERSON - A school bus driver has been charged with aggravated assault and multiple counts of child endangerment after police allege he conspired with a group of teenagers to attack a 15-year-old.

Gilberto Lorenzo, 43, of Palisades Park, was arrested Wednesday after an investigation into a Dec. 5 attack in which the victim was beaten by a group of masked teenagers armed with crowbars and broomsticks.

Eight juveniles, all ages 16 or 17, conspired with Lorenzo to assault the victim, police said in a statement on Friday.

Police said Lorenzo conspired with the suspects - students he drove home from school each day - to commit the assault after an object was thrown at his bus by a group of other teens gathered along a bus route.

The teenager who was attacked "did not have any involvement in the (object-throwing) incident," police said.

Robber terrorized grocery store workers

The investigation revealed that once the victim had been assaulted, Lorenzo "proceeded to pick up the juvenile suspects on the next block."

The victim was treated at a local hospital and released.

During the investigation, charges were filed against the eight students who participated in the assault, police said. The suspects were remanded to the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark at the time of their arrests, police said.

Lorenzo was charged with eight counts of child endangerment, eight counts of using a minor to commit a criminal act, aggravated assault, conspiracy, and several counts of weapons possession, police said. He was held at the Passaic County Jail.

Police did not name the school or bus company involved and did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Anyone with any information about the attack is asked to call police Det. Cindy Carrera at 973-321-1126.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Get your nominations in for the winter edition of our statewide contest

Can you feel the gym shake? Are you looking at a sea of red, white and blue, or have the bleachers become a balmy beach scene in the middle of January? Is that organized cheer still rattling in your head?

Student section at work.

Whether it's themes, cheers, chants or banners, we know there are some student sections that help the team catch fire - home or away. We want to know which N.J. school has the best student section this winter, and we're relying on those student sections - and the rest of the school community - to show us - with pictures, with testimonials and in the end, with votes.

We're launching the winter version of our best student section contest (Oakcrest won the football version this fall). It's journey that will last until the end of February, and it starts with an critical first step - a nomination.

To be a part of all that follows, your school has to get a nomination by Monday, Jan. 30. That's not a ton of time, but nominating a school is super easy.  Someone just needs to take at least one picture of the student section and use the form below to submit it.  That's it. Done deal.

Our photographers will also be around the state looking for student sections, and we'll use some of our photos to make nominations too, but don't count on us - we can't be everywhere. Make it a sure thing, and nominate your school with a pic.

Contest format:
Nominations will be open through Monday, Jan. 30. We will then split the nominations into regions and launch a one-week qualifying poll for each region. Your voting in the regional qualifying polls will determine the schools that move on to an elimination bracket, with week-long head-to-head voting matchups to determine regional finalists. We will skip the regional finals and have one big statewide final for all the would-be regional finalists.  The whole thing is targeted to wrap up Monday, Feb. 27.

Nomination and photo submission notes:
• The form below will work with your cell phone - you can nominate your school from the game!
• NJ.com staff will also make nominations with our own photography.
• Only upload photos you have shot or that you personally received permission to use. We can't use photos from other media outlets. Please don't grab and submit photos from other websites.
• Multiple nominations for a school are welcome, but we may not use every photo.
• Submitted photos will be added to the gallery after some processing time; nominations will be compiled and listed on top of this post after the weekend's play.

So start talking and sharing - rally the troops to nominate, vote and make your student section officially the best in N.J.

The office in Vernon will be one of six "constituent service centers."

VERNON -- Mayor Harry Shortway, whose crossover endorsement of U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer made waves last fall, is offering another boost to New Jersey's newest member of Congress.

Shortway, a Republican, said on Saturday he is turning over an unoccupied office in the township's municipal building to Gottheimer.

The office in Vernon will be one of six "constituent service centers" in the district operated by Gottheimer, a Democrat who ousted former Republican Rep. Scott Garrett last fall.

"He's trying to save money. We have the room," Shortway said.

Shortway said the township is not seeking rent for the office and that Gottheimer indicated it will be used no more than once per week.

"We're ready to go whenever he's prepared," Shortway said.

As for approvals, Shortway said that, under Vernon's form of government, the mayor controls use of the building and that he does not need permission from the Township Council.

Councilman Patrick Rizzuto, a Republican who supported Garrett over Gottheimer, agreed with Shortway's interpretation.

"The mayor does run the building. He can assign office space to whoever he wants," Rizzuto said.

"As far as rent, again, it's his building, within reason," Rizzuto said, adding, "I'm certainly not going to like it if we have to use township personnel to support the congressman.

Shortway said no municipal employees will be involved.

Gottheimer announced on Wednesday six office locations he will be using in the Fifth District, which includes parts of Bergen, Sussex, Warren and Passaic counties. He took office Jan. 3.

Shortway's endorsement of Gottheimer was highlighted by the Democrat during the final month of the campaign. He offered his support after Gottheimer, a Wyckoff resident, journeyed to Vernon.

"My thing with Josh, in our first meeting, was people come here and forget about us. He proposed this," Shortway said, referring to having a district office in Vernon.

Garrett lives in Wantage and was the first Sussex County resident elected to Congress in 90 years when he took office in January 2003.

Shortway took office in January 2016 after defeating former Mayor Vic Marotta, a Republican recently hired as the business administrator in Hopatcong.

His father, also named Harry Shortway, is the Republican mayor of Midland Park.

Reflecting on his endorsement of Gottheimer, Shortway said, "I went out on a limb, being a Republican."

"I knew it was going to upset a lot of other Republicans. Josh and I were very similar on the issues," Shortway said.

Gottheimer's two main offices will be in Glen Rock and Newton, the same municipalities where Garrett's offices were located.

In addition to Vernon, his satellite offices will be in Ringwood, Washington Borough in Warren County, and Hackensack.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer will hold an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony outside his Glen Rock office.

GLEN ROCK -- U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer is launching a second district office Sunday, not far from the suite utilized by his defeated predecessor.

Gottheimer, a Democrat representing the Fifth District, will hold an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony outside his office at 65 Harristown Road, Suite 104.

The location is about a mile away from the Glen Rock office used by former Republican Rep. Scott Garrett.

Garrett, a seven-term incumbent from Wantage, was defeated Nov. 8 by Gottheimer in the costliest House race in state history.

Gottheimer, on Saturday morning, held an opening ceremony by his office in Newton -- 93 Spring Street, Suite 408. It is a couple of doors over from where Garrett had an office in Newton.

As was the case with Garrett, the Glen Rock and Newton locations will be Gottheimer's primary district offices.

Separately, Gottheimer is planning to open four "satellite offices" in Hackensack, Ringwood, Vernon and in Washington Borough, Warren County.

All four will utilize donated space in municipal buildings, Gottheimer said.

Gottheimer, asked about the satellite offices, said, "My goal is to bring government to people and make it easier for them to have access to what they need."

"I hope they serve as a benefit to their residents," he said.

The Fifth District includes parts of Bergen, Sussex, Warren and Passaic counties.

Gottheimer said his Glen Rock office will be open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Newton site will be open for the same hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with staffers utilizing the satellite offices on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

How the need to clean wallpaper led to an iconic plaything.

According to playdoh.hasbro.com, more than 950 million pounds --or, 2 billion cans -- of Play-Doh have been "squished and squashed since 1956."

And, this modeling clay, which children have played with for generations, was the brainchild of a nursery school teacher from Dover. The teacher, Kay Zufall, found her inspiration in a hardware store.

 

The story goes this way:

In the 1930s, two men from Cincinnati, Joe McVicker and Bill Rhodenbaugh, developed a compound to clean wallpaper called "Kutol."

Demand for the product diminished in the 1950s with the introduction of vinyl wallpaper, which could be cleaned with soap and water. So, the partners stopped manufacturing the compound.

Well, sort of.

Writing in "Inventing in New Jersey," Linda Barth notes that Zufall read about using wallpaper cleaner for art projects. She was confident the compound was safe for children to play with; she knew the doughy substance's composition -- flour, water, salt, boric acid and mineral oil - was non-toxic.

Play-Doh was originally marketed in this canister in the 1950s. Courtesy of therapyfunzone.net 

So, after finding a can of the cleaner in her local hardware store, she introduced it to her pupils. The children loved it. They rolled it, kneaded it and used cookie cutters to make shapes with it.

Zufall convinced the men to once again manufacture the product, only this time as a child's toy. The rest is history.

Play-Doh was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. Zufall, who died on Jan. 18, 2014, could easily be called the inventor of Play-Doh.

Kay ZufallCourtesy of legacy.com 

But this teacher can be credited with far more. She and her husband, urologist Robert Zufall, founded the Zufall Health Center, which provides affordable medical treatment to the working poor, uninsured and underserved residents of Dover.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

 

The victim was transported to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center and he is in critical, but stable condition, according to Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale.

PATERSON -- A 31-year-old man is in critical, but stable condition after he was shot in the abdomen early Sunday morning in Paterson, authorities said.

Police responded to shots fired at 12:25 a.m. to the area of 12th Avenue and Rosa Parks Blvd. in Paterson. They found the man, who police said was a Passaic resident, inside a home.

He was transported to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center and is in critical, but stable condition, according to Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale.

Police believe the shooting happened at a private party inside the home after an argument escalated and the victim was shot by another male.

Anyone with information was asked to call Detective Francisco Brito or Detective Salvatore Marotta of the Ceasefire Unit at 973-322-1342. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Paterson police website at patersonpd.com.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.

Strong coastal storm to get more intense as the day goes on, setting stage for messy Monday commute and possible power outages

If you thought Monday was going to be an ordinary start to the work week, think again.

A nasty nor'easter is expected to strengthen during the late morning and afternoon, unleashing batches of heavy rain that could flood streets across New Jersey. The storm is packing wind gusts as strong as 50 to 60 mph that could topple trees and power lines.

The late-January coastal storm also is expected to deliver some wicked wintry weather to parts of the region where temperatures will be hovering near the freezing mark.

As much as 4 to 6 inches of snow, sleet and ice could pile up in portions of Sussex County and several inches of icy precipitation could accumulate in western Passaic County, posing the risk of hazardous roads, forecasters said.

The worst of this storm will be tomorrow afternoon and evening with drenching downpours, 50mph+ wind gusts, and coastal flooding. #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/0LQ9f073CP

-- Jeff Smith (@JeffSmithABC7) January 22, 2017

In preparation for the powerful winds, Public Service Electric & Gas said it has extra repair crews on standby. And officials in some cities across the state are advising residents to  secure outdoor furniture and trash bins to prevent them from blowing around and causing damage.

With temperatures in most of North Jersey expected to remain in the mid- to upper 30s and South Jersey forecast to hit the mid-40s on Monday, most counties will get soaked with rain throughout the day.

The National Weather Service is projecting 1.5 to 3 inches of rain across most of the state, with the highest amounts in central and eastern areas.

The caveat is that the weather service notes in its Monday morning forecast discussion that it unclear where the rain, snow and ice mix will occur in the northern part of the state.

Although the rain is expected to be on the light side during the morning commute, it's expected to get heavier as the day goes on, posing potential problems for the evening commute. With gusty winds gaining strength during the day, commuters could be faced with wind-swept rain, forecasters said.

We're not quite out of the woods Tuesday, as the National Weather Service expects another shot of rain to blanket the area through Tuesday afternoon. Things finally dry out Tuesday night thanks to a high pressure system that will move into the region. Temperatures will be slightly above normal - from the upper 30s to the mid 40s. 

This map, updated by the National Weather Service on Sunday evening, shows the latest rainfall totals expected across New Jersey through Tuesday evening. Areas shaded in orange are projected to get 2 to 3 inches of rain. (National Weather Service) 

Warnings and advisories

Among the many weather warnings, watches and advisories in effect on Monday:

HIGH WIND WARNING: In effect for the entire New Jersey coast, along with Hudson County, Middlesex County, eastern Essex County, eastern Union County, New York City and Long Island. The wind warnings are effective at different times for different regions: 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday for Atlantic, Burlington and Cape May counties; 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday for Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties; 1 a.m. Monday to 1 a.m. Tuesday in Essex, Hudson and Union counties.

WIND ADVISORY: In effect for Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Somerset and Warren counties from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and in Camden, Gloucester and northwestern Burlington from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.

FLOOD WATCH: In effect for a wide area stretching from north-central New Jersey southeastward toward Ocean County. A flood watch is also in effect in northeastern sections of New Jersey, as well as on Long Island, N.Y. 

COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY: In effect from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday in coastal areas of New Jersey, from Middlesex County down to Cape May County. "Areas of minor flooding are expected with the high tide early on Monday morning," the advisory says. "Widespread minor flooding is anticipated with the high tide late on Monday afternoon into Monday evening, with localized moderate flooding possible at that time."

WINTER STORM WATCH: In effect for Sussex County from 1 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday. Forecasters say 4 to 6 inches of snow, sleet and ice could accumulate by Tuesday morning. 

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY: In effect for western Passaic County from 1 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday. Forecasters say 3 to 4 inches of snow, sleet and ice could accumulate.

Maps showing the projected snow and sleet accumulations in northwestern New Jersey from Monday afternoon to early Tuesday morning. (National Weather Service) 

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. 

NJ Advance Media staff writer Jeff Goldman contributed to this report

More New York City area weather

More Philadelphia area weather

Dogs and cats throughout New Jersey await adoption.

Here is this week's collection of some of the dogs and cats in need of adoption in northern and central New Jersey.

If a nonprofit rescue group or animal shelter in any of the following counties wishes to participate in this weekly gallery on nj.com, please contact Greg Hatala at ghatala@starledger.com or call 973-836-4922:

* Bergen County     * Burlington County     * Essex County

* Hudson County     * Hunterdon County     * Mercer County

* Middlesex County     * Monmouth County     * Morris County

* Ocean County     * Passaic County     * Somerset County

* Sussex County     * Union County     * Warren County

More pets in need of adoption can be seen here and here.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

30,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment have been removed.

POMPTON LAKES -- Workers have completed the first phase of a $50 million cleanup of contaminated Pompton Lake, NorthJersey.com reported.

Borough and school officials said the work to remove contaminated sediment from the lake had not disrupted neighbors or a nearby middle school as some residents had feared.

Stevenson Environmental Services, the contractor for the cleanup, used a spray unit to control dust and covered the beds of trucks hauling away the sediment. The company has removed 30,000 cubic yards of sediment thus far and plans to remove another 100,000 when work resumes in the spring.

The most toxic places in northeastern N.J.

DuPont, a chemical company, operated a 570-acre explosives manufacturing facility for much of the 20th century that polluted Pompton Lake with mercury and other chemicals. Chemours, a company spun off from DuPont, is responsible for the cleanup.

In addition to the contaminated sediment in Pompton Lake, lead and mercury contaminated soil at 140 homes near Acid Brook, which runs into the lake. Chemours plans to remove soil and sediment from an area covering 40 acres.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The establishment's owner, Jose Camilo, can be seen in surveillance video grabbing his own gun and shooting at them, scaring them off.

PATERSON -- A deli owner in Paterson shot at two armed men who were attempting to rob him earlier this month and it was all caught on video, according to CBS New York.

Two masked men entered Camilo Liquor on Sixth Avenue on January 6 and proclaimed that it was a "stick up," according to the report.

At around 6:30 p.m., the men rushed the deli's counter, but the establishment's owner, Jose Camilo, can be seen in surveillance video grabbing his own gun and shooting at them, scaring them off.

Camilo told the CBS affiliate that he felt the need to defend his family after the men pointed a gun at his brother. He said he has 29 security cameras installed at the deli.

There have been no arrests made, according to the report.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.

Who are the top ranked teams in the state?

Gannett-owned North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Record, the Herald News and dozens of weekly newspapers - announced another round of layoffs on Monday.

Gannett-owned North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Record, the Herald News and dozens of weekly newspapers - announced another round of layoffs on Monday.

"By week's end, 141 employees are to receive notices required by New Jersey and federal law when significant layoffs are planned by private employers," the company reported in story posted on its website, NorthJersey.com.

Last year, Gannett purchased North Jersey Media Group, acquiring The Record and about 50 community newspapers across North Jersey. 

After the purchase, the company announced about half of the 426 employees working in sales and news could be let go in November. About 130 jobs were eliminated, leaving an editorial staff of just under 200 at North Jersey Media Group.

The company said the latest round of layoffs would occur "across the operation."

The 121-year-old Record was purchased by the Borg family in 1930 and operated for decades in Hackensack until editorial operations moved to Woodland Park in 2008.

Upscale downtown struggles for answers

On Monday, the company announced North Jersey Media Group would restructure several departments, calling the move a "major strategic reorganization that was unveiled in September."

"The aim of that reorganization is to continue to meet the growing digital demands of readers and advertisers while responding to changes in the publishing industry," the company said in the online post.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Someone who played in Sussex County holds a second-prize ticket

The $1 million ticket for Friday's Mega Millions drawing was purchased at a deli in Sussex County.

The lucky winner bought it at Catch 23 Deli on Hamburg Avenue in Sussex Borough, state lottery officials said Monday afternoon.

The winning numbers were 7, 9, 24, 41 and 53 with a Mega Ball of 14.

Second-prize tickets matching five numbers but not the Mega Ball were also sold in Georgia and California for Friday's drawing.

Tuesday's jackpot will be worth at least $177 million with a cash option of $106 million.

No one has won a Mega Millions jackpot since an $83 million ticket was sold in Georgia for the Nov. 18 drawing. 

The odds of a Mega Millions ticket being worth at least $1 million are 18,492,204 to 1. Mega Millions is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Meanwhile, Wednesday Powerball jackpot is valued at $170 million with a cash value of $103 million.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The jackpot hadn't been won for almost a week before Sunday

A deli in Passaic County sold a Jersey Cash 5 ticket for Sunday's drawing worth $1,175,774.

Town Deli on McBride Avenue in Woodland Park will be awarded a $2,000 bonus for selling the lucky ticket.

The winning numbers were: 15, 17, 18, 34 and 41.

The jackpot soared past the $1 million mark after six consecutive daily drawings were held without a ticket matching all five numbers.

Sunday's prize is largest Jersey Cash 5 payout won in the state since five winners split a $1.46 million payout on Dec. 22. That was the largest Cash 5 jackpot in more than two years. 

The previous biggest 2016 jackpot came on May 12 when a $1,256,093 ticket was sold at Jefry Supermarket on Ocean Avenue in Jersey City. 

The odds of a $1 ticket matching all five numbers are 962,598 to 1. 

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Some of the heaviest rain and strongest winds from the coastal storm could occur during the evening commute and after sunset, forecasters say. Watch video

The nor'easter that's been battering the Jersey Shore with powerful winds and pounding surf since Monday morning isn't near finished or even at peak yet for most of the state.

That's the word from meteorologists who have been tracking the big coastal storm since it originated down in the southern United States, where it triggered deadly tornadoes and other extreme weather over the weekend.

"The rain is just starting to pick up in southern parts of the state, and it should be picking up into the early part of the evening" across the rest of the state, said Matthew Potter, a meteorologist at the WeatherWorks forecasting company based in Warren County.

Photos: Monster blizzard hit N.J. one year ago

Potter said heavy bands of rain will be moving up into central and northern New Jersey during the next few hours, so it could slow the commute for New Jersey drivers heading home from work.  

"It's going to be a wind-driven rain," he said.

Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service forecast office in Mount Holly, said people driving anywhere from the Trenton area down through the southern half of the state will likely face the heaviest rain during the Monday evening commute.

"They definitely want to allow extra time and extra caution while traveling," Gaines said.

Winds generated by the storm system have been the strongest in coastal areas of the state, gusting as high as 63 mph in Cape May and 56 mph in Manasquan, but gusts of 40 to 50 mph have occurred in some inland areas, Potter said.

Both WeatherWorks and the National Weather Service expect winds to remain strong during the evening rush hour and into Monday night -- and they could be powerful enough to snap tree branches and power lines or send debris flying through the air.

Thousands of homes and businesses across the Garden State have already lost power since Monday morning, with about 22,000 remaining in the dark as of early Monday afternoon.

With rain getting steadier and heavier this afternoon and evening, and fierce winds continuing to push ocean water onto streets, forecasters are concerned about moderate coastal flooding up and down the New Jersey coast, from Middlesex County to Cape May County.

"Numerous roadways will flood, and minor to moderate property damage is likely late (Monday) afternoon and evening and once again Tuesday morning," the weather service said in a coastal flood warning that's active from 2 p.m. Monday through 11 a.m. Tuesday. "Tidal flooding may be compounded by heavy rain. Also, the combination of very strong onshore winds and battering waves will lead to significant beach erosion."

Latest weather radar

Wintry weather

Potter said some sleet could mix in with the rain Monday night in Sussex County and overnight in Morris, Somerset and Hunterdon counties as temperatures drop near the freezing mark.

A coating to an inch of sleet could accumulate in those counties, he said.

As of 3:30 p.m., a winter weather advisory remains in effect in Sussex and Passaic counties, where the weather service is expecting some light snow, sleet and ice.

Winds across the region are expected to get lighter later Monday night and after midnight, but some light rain will linger into early Tuesday afternoon. Rain could mix with sleet in northern and western sections of New Jersey on Tuesday morning.

Townsend's inlet. Causeway connecting #AvalonNJ to #SeaIsleCity Road closed due to over wash. Area faces N.E and closes often during storms pic.twitter.com/QUtNiScl03

-- Zeke Orzech (@Zeke_O) January 23, 2017

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Luca Ferrigno, 47, of Elmwood Park was charged with robbery, police said.

WAYNE - A 47-year-old Elmwood Park man was arrested over the weekend after police say he beat a security guard at Macy's while stealing a coffee maker.

Luca Ferrigno (Wayne PD) 

Luca Ferrigno was charged with robbery by force after police say he picked up a Breville coffee maker about 1 p.m. Saturday and ran toward the store's exit.

A security guard confronted Ferrigno and the suspect beat him about the head and face, Wayne police Capt. Laurence W. Martin said in a statement on Monday.

A police detective patrolling outside the store spotted Ferrigno and began questioning him, Martin said.

"Mr. Ferrigno was known from prior arrests and a conviction for targeting local exercise gyms, stealing members' credit cards and other items from parked cars and lockers," Martin said.

"Mr. Ferrigno admitted to having just left Macy's and could not explain his profusely sweating or nervous behavior," Martin said.

The security guard identified Ferrigno as the man who assaulted him, Martin said.

Ferrigno was charged with robbery and released from Wayne police headquarters pending a court date.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.