Connect with us

Crime & Justice

New Jersey ex-cops admit vandalizing cars of man who filed complaint against them

Two former New Jersey police officers admitted they vandalized two cars last year after man filed a complaint against them.

Unheard Voices Magazine

Published

on

New Jersey ex-cops admit vandalizing cars of man who filed complaint against them
Photo Credit: Envato Elements

Two former Asbury Park, New Jersey police officers admitted they vandalized two cars belonging to a city gadfly last year after the man filed a complaint against them, authorities said.

Asbury Park police officers charged with vandalism

Officers Stephen M. Martinensen, 31, and Thomas A. Dowling, 27, both of Asbury Park, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal mischief at a virtual hearing before state Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.

Martinensen and Dowling were accused of vandalizing two cars, one in Asbury Park and one in Ocean Grove between 3 and 4 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2019. Authorities said the two wore masks, gloves and rode bikes to the locations of the two vehicles.

The complainant is a local journalist

At Tuesday’s hearing, they admitted slashing tires on both cars and smashing a window in one, causing more than $500 in damage, according to the news release. They also conceded they acted after the owner of the two vehicles filed an internal affairs complaint against them.

“Spiteful retaliation from law enforcement officers towards a citizen for any reason is an unacceptable option. This is in no way condoned at any level, for any reason. All members of the law enforcement community must maintain the public’s trust by conducting themselves at the highest level of integrity and decency,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a statement.

Sentencing

Prosecutors will recommend the pair avoid jail time and instead be sentenced to probation on the condition they pay restitution to the victim for the damaged cars, according to the news release.

As part of the plea agreements, the defendants were banned from holding any future public position in New Jersey.

Dowling had been a class-II special officer since May 2015 and was terminated after he was arrested in September. Martinsen, who started with the Asbury Park Police Department as a class-I special officer in 2013 and became a full-time officer in 2017, was suspended without pay in September.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 16th.


----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine LLC is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Unheard Voices is an award-winning news magazine that started in 2004 as a local Black newsletter in the Asbury Park, Neptune, and Long Branch, NJ areas to now broaden into a recognized Black online media outlet. They are the recipient of the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and CV Magazine's Innovator Award for Best Social Justice Communications Company.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Crime & Justice

Arrests made for fatal shooting at Delaware State University

Camay Mitchell De Silva was shot and killed on April 21 while visiting her best friend at Delaware State University.

Unheard Voices Magazine

Published

on

Camay Mitchell De Silva
Camay Mitchell De Silva (Photo Source: GoFundMe)

Authorities have announced arrests have been made for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Camay Mitchell De Silva last month at Delaware State University.

Arrests made in Delaware State shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva

De Silva was shot and killed by a stray bullet on April 21 while visiting her best friend who attended Delaware State University.

Police announced in a press release that 20-year-old Destry Jones and 18-year-old Damien Hinson, both from Dover, are being charged with the murder of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

The pair are also charged with the attempted murder of two other young men in connection with the April 21 shooting.

Jones was arrested in Brooklyn, New York and Hinson was arrested later that day in Dover, police said.

According to authorities, neither of the suspects in this case are enrolled at or affiliated with Delaware State University.

Police claimed Jones and Hinson were involved in a fight with two other men before shots were fired. Investigators do not believe De Silva was the intended target or involved in the altercation.

Beloved taken too soon

De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.


----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine LLC is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Continue Reading

Crime & Justice

Paramedic involved in Elijah McClain’s death sentenced to probation, work release and community service

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Unheard Voices Magazine

Published

on

Elijah McClain's family to receive $15 million from the city of Aurora
Elijah McClain and Jeremy Cooper (CBS News)

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Paramedic Jeremy Cooper sentenced

He had faced up to three years in prison but was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service.

Cooper and another paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December in the death of McClain, 23, who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine on August 24, 2019.

Both paramedics had pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison, the minimum.

Police stop turns fatal

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him. When Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived, they injected him with ketamine.

He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.

The McClain family sued the city of Aurora for Elijah’s wrongful death and received a $15 million settlement.


----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine LLC is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Continue Reading

Crime & Justice

Honor student killed by stray bullet while visiting Delaware State University

A shooting at Delaware State University has claimed the life of 18-year-old honor student Camay Mitchell De Silva.

Unheard Voices Magazine

Published

on

Camay Mitchell De Silva
Camay Mitchell De Silva

Camay Mitchell De Silva, of Wilmington, Delaware, was shot and killed Sunday, on the Delaware State University campus.

The 18-year-old was visiting her best friend, a Delaware State student, when the tragic shooting occurred.

She was an honor student

De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.

De Silva often hung out on campus with her best friend to get comfortable before attending DSU.

Delaware State shooting

The family said De Silva was visiting that friend at DSU on Saturday, April 20, and attended a party on campus that night. Around 1:40 a.m. on April 21, DSU Police received a report of shots fired on campus. The responding officers found De Silva in a residence hall suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. The officers administered aid and then took her to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Police say De Silva was not the intended target. Dover Police Department Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. told NBC10 there was a dispute that she was not involved in and she was hit by a stray bullet.

The suspects were seen fleeing the area and no arrests have been made, said authorities.

Dover Police released a statement from De Silva’s family requesting time to grieve and to plan for her celebration of life.

De Silva and Mitchell family statement

Photo Source: Dover Police Department Facebook)

They also said they pray for and support the DSU community, law enforcement and the local community as they are “forced to manage this tragedy.”

Delaware State shooting investigation

Dover Police are still pursuing leads in the fatal shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 302-736-7130 or reach out to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-TIP-3333.


----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine LLC is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Continue Reading

Facebook

Archives

Tags

unheard voices shop
unheard voices on google play
unheard voices on itunes

Trending