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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.

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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!" »

A relatively new epidemic has hit Ocean County, Monmouth County, and all of New Jersey in a strong way. The sale and use of Heroin has been on the rise in suburban and rural neighborhoods in relatively affluent areas throughout Monmouth County and Ocean County. A recent Asbury Park Press article follows the story and timeline of the drug abuse of a young man addicted to drugs and the drug culture since the age of 13. The story is rather alarming and at times difficult to read. The young man was a bright student at Southern Regional High School in Stafford Township, New Jersey. Being interested and excelling in science subjects such as chemistry and biology, teachers recommended that he enroll in Rutgers University's Pharmacy School. What his High School teachers did not realize was that he already was getting a "street" education on drugs. The young man started experimenting with drugs around the age of 13 with the gateway drug of marijuana. From there, it was a spiral downward including LSD, Ecstasy, and then on to opiate derivatives and other strong prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percoset, and Vicodin.

The young man explains how he got accepted to Rutgers' Pharmacy program and how he continued his habit through school. While at Rutgers, he found other people immersed in the drug culture and noted that they all seemed to be from families who had money. The traditional image of drug abuse more or less is seen as dirty crack-houses, dark allies, and pushy drug dealers with guns in dangerous cities such as Newark and Camden. This image drastically changed during the prescription drug revolution of the early 2000's. Young people could acquire drugs in their own backyards. Neptune and Tinton Falls became a breeding ground for drug abuse and trafficking. In fact, Neptune Police confiscated 5,000, 5-ounce bags of heroin ready for sale during a routine traffic stop. This news sent shockwaves through Monmouth County and Ocean County.

So why heroin? The young man explains that it was much cheaper than designer prescription drugs. He could acquire a bag of heroin (he was up to 50 bags a day at one point) for as cheap as $4.00 a bag while prescription drugs could range anywhere from $25.00 to $50.00 per pill. The availability and cost of heroin was a welcome surprise to which the young man and many others took advantage of. According to those in the heroin drug culture, most started by stealing prescription drugs from their parents medicine cabinets and buying pills from New Jersey housewives looking to make money. When the costs had risen and the supply dwindled, they were left with no choice but to snort or shoot heroin.

The Asbury Park Press article also brings to light the legal ramifications of possessing, distributing, and trafficking of heroin and other drugs. With law enforcement officials aware of the troubled areas and making every effort to crack down, those involved in the culture will inevitably suffer the consequences of the law. There are a number of New Jersey Statutes that an offender could be charged with and later convicted of. The most common drug charges in New Jersey include N.J.S. 2C:35-10; Possession, Use or Being Under the Influence, or Failure to Make Lawful Disposition. If an individual possesses, uses, or is found under the influence of a drug or its analog, listed on a very comprehensive schedule broken into 5 parts, he or she can be convicted of a 3rd or 4th degree crime depending on which part of the schedule the controlled dangerous substance (CDS) appears. If the CDS appears on parts one through four of the schedule, the individual will be charged with a 3rd degree crime. Penalties for a 3rd degree offense include a fine of up to $35,000.00, imprisonment of between 3 and 5 years, community service, and court costs and other fees.

Of course, every incident is different and there are factors surrounding an arrest that could allow the prosecutor to charge and individual with a 1st or 2nd degree criminal offense as well. If an individual was caught with a CDS on part five of the schedule, he or she will be charged with a crime in the 4th degree. Penalties for a conviction can include a fine of up to $15,000.00, imprisonment of up to 18 months, community service, and court costs and other fees. If an individual is caught with under 50 grams of Marijuana or under 5 grams of Hashish, he or she will be charged as a disorderly person, not as a 3rd or 4th degree criminal. Penalties for a disorderly persons offense include a fine of up to $1,000.00, up to six months in jail, community service, and court costs and other fees.

Continue reading "Heroin Use and Possession on the Rise in Monmouth County and Ocean County: Call an Ocean County and Monmouth County Criminal Defense Attorney for Help! " »

Tinton Falls is a borough in Monmouth County with a population of about 15,000. It is bordered directly by Wall, Neptune, Ocean, Colts Neck, and Eatontown and is directly accessible by Route 18, Route 33, Route 35, Route 36, Route 66 and the Garden State Parkway. Along with housing Twin Brooks Golf Center, a public 9 hole golf course which also contains 18 holes of miniature golf and a driving range, Tinton Falls is well known for being the home of the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets, an outdoor shopping mall with 120 stores including everything from Burberry to a Brooks Brothers Factory Store.

Tinton Falls relies heavily on business from its many commercial areas, including the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets. Tinton Falls has an abundance of high speed roads crisscrossing its boundaries, bringing thousands of people in and out of its borders every day. This large influx of traffic has led to a heightened standard of vigilance by local law enforcement, as they strive to preserve the peace and quiet that Tinton Fall residents are accustomed to. As a result, disorderly persons offenses, motor vehicle moving violations, and DWI, DUI, and Refusal charges in Tinton Falls have been increased.

Disorderly persons offenses are quite common in Tinton Falls and include offenses such as 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: 2C: 35-10 and N.J.S. 2C: 36-2), criminal mischief (N.J.S. 2C: 17-3), shoplifting (N.J.S. 2C: 20-11) and resisting arrest (N.J.S. 2C: 29-2). These offenses can have serious repercussions including jail time, significant monetary fines, payment of restitution to the victim, and community service. Last year alone, Tinton Falls witnessed 159 disorderly persons offenses.

Moving violations are extremely common in Tinton Falls and include anything from speeding, failure to stop, and careless driving. The alcohol related drunk driving charges of DWI, DUI, and Refusal are also frequently written in Tinton Falls. Last year alone, Tinton Falls witnessed 3,425 moving violations and 137 DWIs. Being convicted of a DWI in Tinton Falls can have extremely severe and long lasting implications. For a first time offender convicted of a DWI, the penalties may include loss of license for up to a year, monetary fines approaching $500, jail time, the mandatory enrollment into an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center program, and the installation of an ignition interlock device into your vehicle.

Continue reading "Tinton Falls Criminal Defense Attorney: Tinton Falls Municipal Court" »