The BRICK Times Vol. 26 - No. 2
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Athletes Brought Together By United Sports
May 16, 2026
Mother Jailed 8 Months In Baby’s Death Cleared As Father Gets 25 Years
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Government Page 7
Community News Page 9-11
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 12
Inside The Law Page 14
Photo courtesy Brick Memorial High School Kickball is one of the most popular sports in the United program. By Chris Lundy BRICK - The thrill of victory and the challenge of a difficult game are feelings that every athlete can understand. The United athletics program gets athletes with special needs out on the fields. They practice together, work with other student leaders, and compete against other schools. Brick Memorial Principal Edward Sarluca used to be the athletic director. He said it was a few years ago that they started the United league with an
inaugural kickball game versus Brick High School. Unfortunately, Covid temporarily put the program on halt. As the district returned to regular activities, so did the athletes return to the field. “It started with a couple of kids. Now we’re playing up to six games a season” against Toms River, Central Regional, and other nearby districts, he said. In addition to kickball, they play flag football and basketball, too. The program also serves as a way for the athletes (United Sports - See Page 4)
Cadet Program Celebrates 10 Years
Photo by Stephanie Faughnan Current cadets, mentors, former cadets and law enforcement officers gathered at the Ocean County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Center to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Public Safety Cadet Program
By Stephanie Faughnan LITTLE EGG HARBOR - Some of the law enforcement officers now patrolling Ocean County streets, responding to emergencies and training the next generation of recruits first learned how to conduct a traffic stop, secure a crime scene or lead a team as teenagers in the Ocean County Sheriff’s Public Safety Cadet Program. Ten years after the program began, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Center filled with mentors, law enforcement officers and young cadets celebrating what has become both a pipeline into public safety careers and a second family for many who joined. The anniversary gathering reunited former cadets now serving in policing, dispatching, corrections and other
Photo by Stephanie Faughnan Ruben Santiago becomes emotional during his sentencing hearing in Ocean County Superior Court, where he received a 25year prison sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the death of his infant daughter. By Stephanie Faughnan TOMS RIVER - For eight months, Caitlin Gibson sat in the Ocean County Jail accused of murdering her own baby daughter. She returned to the courtroom as a grieving mother listening as prosecutors described the devastating injuries that killed the three-month-old infant before a judge sentenced the child’s father, Ruben Santiago, to 25 years in state prison and formally dismissed the charges against her later. Quiet sniffles and muffled crying could be heard inside the courtroom as Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan recounted the abuse suffered by the infant before her death in May 2025. Prosecutors said the baby suffered multiple skull fractures, bleeding on the brain, seven fractured ribs in various stages of healing and a broken wrist, injuries so severe that medical experts compared the force inflicted on the child to that been in a serious motor vehicle crash. Before imposing the maximum sentence permitted under Santiago’s plea agreement, Ryan said that Santiago did not commit aggravated manslaughter against an adult or someone capable of fighting back, but instead against (Father - See Page 5)
(Cadet Program - See Page 6)
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