New Jersey Criminal Lawyers Blog

Vandalism is one of the most common crimes at the Jersey Shore, especially in the summer months. Recently, police nabbed 5 people who had been terrorizing several Monmouth County towns for almost a year. Police Officials in the towns of Brielle, Atlantic Highlands, Howell, and Spring Lake recorded approximately 150 reports of rocks being thrown through car and living room windows over the year.

Police responded to a 12:15 a.m. report of rocks being thrown through the windows of a car and home on Pitney Avenue, in Spring Lake. As the two police officers arrived on scene, a group on people were surrounding a SUV. Plainly visible from the outside were piled of rocks scattered on the seats and floors of the truck. All 5 suspects, ages ranging from 17-24, were arrested and charged with various counts of criminal mischief or other summons. Residents throughout Monmouth County should be delighted by the news as many felt helpless to stop such seemingly random acts throughout the county.
A charge of criminal mischief may result if an individual is thought to have caused damage to property belonging to someone else, for instance, a local businesses or private residence. The charge is usually written when a person purposely or knowingly damages the tangible property of another person or recklessly/negligently causes property damage in the employment of a fire, explosives, or other dangerous means.
Many acts can constitute criminal mischief. Some of these acts include damaging or defacing property, such as cars, trucks, buildings, and private residences (this includes rental property); interrupting a public communication, transportation, or supply of oil, water, gas or power; and tampering with a grave, headstone, crypt, or mausoleum. Other acts include destroying or tampering with signs, signals, or lights located on public streets and airports.

The degrees of offenses affiliated with criminal mischief are very fact specific. The facts of an individual's case will dictate what degree of the offense one may be charged with.
A charge of the disorderly persons offense of criminal mischief in New Jersey will result if one has damaged or destroyed the personal property of another in the amount of $500.00 or less. The value of the damage is determined by the fair market value of the property allegedly destroyed. If convicted of the disorderly offense of criminal mischief, one will typically face the standard disorderly persons penalties and will be ordered to pay restitution for the damaged caused. If the damage is found to be greater than $500.00, however, the charge is no longer a disorderly persons offense, and elevates to a much more serious, indictable offense.

An individual may be charged with an indictable offense of the 2nd degree if the damage done recklessly causes death. If one is found guilty of this 2nd degree offense, the result may be a substantial prison sentence.
An individual may be charged with the indictable crime of criminal mischief in the 3rd degree if he/she has purposely or knowingly caused damage that exceeds $2,000.00. One may also be charged of the crime of the 3rd degree if, in certain situations, bodily injury is caused to another person. If one is found guilty of a 3rd degree offense, they may face a prison sentence.

A charge of criminal mischief in the 4th degree may result if an individual has caused damage that is valued between $500.00 and $2,000.00. If one is found guilty of a 4th degree offense, they may face a prison sentence as well.
A type of criminal mischief that is frequently seen in New Jersey is when one purposely, knowingly or recklessly tampers with the property of another, including the rental premises by a tenant in retaliation for evictions proceedings. This aspect of the offense is personal to homeowners and landlords in Ocean and Monmouth Counties who rent their homes to vacation-goers during the summer season. If the homeowner/landlord decides to evict the tenant and the tenant damages the property in retaliation, the homeowner/landlord may bring a claim of criminal mischief against the tenant and recover the cost of the damage.

Charges and convictions involving an act of graffiti frequently fall under the criminal mischief offense as well. The repercussions that may flow as a result of this conviction include paying the monetary value of the amount the damage caused, performing community service for no less than 20 days or not less than the amount of days required for the removal of the graffiti from the property

Continue reading "5 Charged With Vandalism & Criminal Mischief; Connected to over 150 Police Reports of Broken Windows " »

Contact a Seaside Heights Criminal Defense Attorney if you need help.
Police officers throughout Ocean and Monmouth County are now using a new device that can scan passersby vehicle license plate numbers in a second and instantly provide the status of your vehicle and information about its owner. With 6 cameras mounted on the roof of the "reader car", information is instantly sent to the dashboard computer screen. If a vehicle warrants stopping, such as a outstanding warrant for arrest, an alert beeps and the officer can initiate a motor vehicle stop. The legality of the instruments usage has already been approved in a recent case, State v. Donis, that held that a police officer may randomly check the status of a vehicle registration or driver's license and whether the vehicle or its plates are stolen. According to one source, there are approximately 1.5 million unregistered or unlicensed vehicles in the State of New Jersey.
The scanners have powerful uses for crimes other then motor vehicle violations enforcement. Each scanner saves the data of license plate numbers it has read. If for example, bank robbers are casing a place for several hours beforehand their plates may be picked up by a police camera. Police are able to fetch this data many days later if need be as evidence to help establish probable cause and other elements of the crime.

Continue reading "Police In Ocean and Monmouth County Can Scan Your License Plate in a Second With New Technology" »

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The everyday traffic stop by a police officer has recently taken a drastic new turn. Implementation of tiny personal cameras pinned onto every police officer in Sea Girt Jersey is sure to create vibrations that will be felt for decades to come throughout New Jersey courtrooms. Created by Axon System the mini cameras are mounted on a headband, eyeglasses, or clipped to the collar of police and are able to record up to six hours of an officer at work. When video is recorded, it is wirelessly uploaded to a website, evidence.com, where it is available for retrieval by an officer with the proper authority. This groundbreaking implementation of technology, already used in Western States, is hoped to lead to better overall law enforcement procedure. In today's highly litigious society where even a simple traffic stop may end up in municipal court, this new upgrade will have untold effects.

The new technology will cost the Sea Girt Police Department about $2,000 per system and $1,200 in annual cost for data storage per unit. Sea Girt, with only 11 police officers, is the first of New Jersey's 566 municipalities to implement the mini cameras but already officials in Morristown and Cape May County have indicated their intent to have them soon. This new technology is possibly a response to the current trend of motor vehicle drivers recording snippets of their traffic stop with a cell phone. Rather than having only 10 seconds of recording, the longer videos will provide greater insight into the specifics of what happened.

Continue reading ""Big Brother" Police in New Jersey Are Watching You!" »

Spring Lake is a beachfront borough in Monmouth County which has a population hovering right around 3,500 throughout the year. It is easily accessible through both Route 71 and Ocean Avenue and due to its beach oriented nature, normally sees a substantial increase in activity during summer months. Along with having the longest non-commercial boardwalk in the entire State of New Jersey, Spring Lake is also known for its more than 2 miles of beachfront land, its wide variety of gourmet restaurants, and its numerous bed and breakfasts which vacationers can enjoy after long days of browsing through Spring Lake's large number of specialty shops and boutiques. Being the small and quiet borough that it is, when faced with the sudden population influx that summer brings with it, Spring Lake law enforcement is dedicated to the task of maintaining order and calm.

As a means of controlling the swelling crowds and increased traffic congestion, Spring Lake law enforcement typically increases the number of disorderly persons offenses, motor vehicle moving violations, and DWI, DUI, and Refusal charges handed out during the summer. Disorderly persons offenses include disorderly conduct (N.J.S. 2C: 33-2), underage drinking (N.J.S. 2C: 33-15), use or possession of a fake ID (N.J.S. 2C: 21-2.1), assault (N.J.S. 2C: 12-1), possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia (N.J.S. 2C: 35-10 and N.J.S. 2C: 36-2), criminal mischief (N.J.S. 2C: 17-3), resisting arrest (N.J.S. 2C: 29-2), or trespassing (N.J.S. 2C: 18-3). Being convicted of one of these offenses can result in very serious consequences including monetary fines, jail time, community service, and the long lasting stigma of having been arrested and found guilty of such an offense. Last year alone, Spring Lake witnessed 21 disorderly persons offenses.

Moving violations in Spring Lake are also quite commonly increased during the summer months and some of the more popularly charged offenses are speeding, driving with a suspended license, and failure to observe traffic lanes. While these may seem like rather minor offenses, penalties can include the assessment of motor vehicle points to your driver's license, increased insurance premiums, significant monetary fines, loss of license, and jail time. Alcohol related drunk driving violations such as DWI, DUI, and Refusal can carry much more extreme penalties than moving violation charges. Along with paying substantial monetary fines over $500.00 and loss of your driver's license, a first time offender of one of these drunk driving related charges may face enrollment into an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center program, jail time, and the installation of an ignition interlock device into their car. Last year Spring Lake witnessed 139 moving violations and 10 DWIs.

Continue reading "Spring Lake Criminal Lawyer: Spring Lake Municipal Court" »