A different man was convicted of murdering his mother while a third man allegedly killed his girlfriend's 2-year-old son
A Union County man was convicted of beating his mother to death with a barbell. An Atlantic County man was charged in the murder of his then-girlfriend's 2-year-old child. An Essex County man killed a former girlfriend before he took the lives of a different ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, authorities said.
Those three are among a collection of people either charged with, indicted for, convicted of or sentenced in a wide array of crimes that made news across New Jersey in the past week.
Click through the gallery above to catch up on any law and order news you might have missed. Here's some of what's there:
A 47-year-old Plainfield man was found guilty of murder, theft and weapons possession offenses. He beat his 69-year-old mother with the weight and then used her bank card during a spending spree, mostly at bars and liquor stores.
An Atlantic City man who allegedly killed his now-wife's 2-year-old son last year in North Carolina was arrested in his hometown. The 21-year-old married the child's mother less than a week after her son died.
The East Orange man charged in three murders shot his 23-year-old former girlfriend and her 28-year-old boyfriend to death in a Newark home, officials said. Less than a day earlier, he strangled a 21-year-old woman he once dated, according to authorities.
A Dunellen man who tried to burn down a former girlfriend's home while her family was inside has been sentenced to five years in prison. The 24-year-old, previously acquitted of attempted murder charges, was found guilty of three counts of third-degree arson for a crime a judge described as "heinous" and "depraved."
In Sussex County, a Sparta man was convicted of killing three bears outside his home. The 78-year-old was found guilty of having a loaded firearm for the purpose of killing an animal within 450 feet of another occupied building. He said he was acting in self-defense.
The son of a former Giants football player admitted to various offenses following a hit-and-run that seriously injured a man. The 23-year-old Hillsborough resident faces up to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to third-degree assault by auto, fourth-degree possession of hollow-point bullets, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
In Trenton, a 37-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly attacking her boyfriend with a baseball bat and scissors. The city resident was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses.
Not every alleged crime was violent -- a 30-year-old security guard at Bergen Community College stole a $1,900 computer, police said.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.