The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Wayne NJ , a New Jersey State trooper, Alexander Lark, is facing multiple charges, including animal cruelty and assault, after allegedly killing his dog, vandalizing public property, and attacking a fellow officer outside the Wayne Police Department.
Continue reading New Jersey State Trooper Charged with Killing Dog and Assaulting Officer
photo PJ Blogger at the Great Falls in Paterson
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Paterson NJ , the shooting early Thursday that left a New Jersey State Police trooper wounded in the leg occurred in the Paterson neighborhood Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. has called home for decades.
Continue reading NJ State Trooper Shot Near Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. Home in Paterson
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Totawa NJ, state grand jury has voted not to file any criminal charges at the conclusion of its deliberations regarding the death of Sergio Rodriguez, 51, of Paterson, N.J., who died on June 27, 2020, after he was arrested by a New Jersey state trooper during a motor vehicle stop outside the State Police Totowa Substation.
Continue reading No Chargers Against NJ State Trooper Involved in Fatal Encounter in Totowa
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Bayonne NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a New Jersey state trooper was indicted today for allegedly stalking a female motorist in his patrol vehicle while on duty.
file photo Boyd Loving
State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Charges He Tampered With Evidence and Records to Cover Up Improper Stops of Female Motorists
September 12,2017
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TRENTON NJ, A New Jersey state trooper pleaded guilty today to criminal charges that he tampered with evidence and falsified records to cover up the fact that he conducted improper stops of female drivers in order to view the private contents of their cell phones and proposition them to meet him socially.
Marquice Prather, 38, of Linden, N.J., pleaded guilty today to charges of third-degree invasion of privacy, fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records before Superior Court Judge Benjamin S. Bucca in Middlesex County. Under the plea agreement, Prather must forfeit his job as a state trooper and will be permanently barred from public office or employment. The state will recommend that Prather be sentenced to a term of probation. Prather has been suspended without pay by the State Police since his arrest on Dec. 9, 2016.
Deputy Attorneys General Brian Faulk, Jonathan Gilmore and Charles Wright took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Prather is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8.
The New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards investigated numerous incidents involving Prather that reflected a pattern of pulling over women, ranging in age from 18 to 42, and soliciting them to go on a date with him or give him their phone numbers. The investigation revealed the following conduct, for which he pleaded guilty to the three charges:
Prather requested and searched the cell phones of numerous female drivers without justification, after asking the women to unlock the phones. He looked through personal information and images on the phones and, in some cases, reproduced intimate photos and videos of the women.
Prather disposed of suspected marijuana that he seized from the vehicle of a female motorist.
Prather falsely reported the gender of drivers he pulled over to disguise the fact that he stopped a high number of females.
Several women initially came forward to file complaints against Prather about improper conduct. A number of other women subsequently gave statements outlining similar conduct after they were contacted by investigators who were auditing Prather’s patrol activities.
Trenton NJ, According to the states Attorney General’s office a New Jersey state trooper was charged today with allegedly tampering with or falsifying records to cover up the fact that he conducted improper stops of female drivers for the purpose of pressuring them to begin a personal relationship with him.
Trooper Eric Richardson, 31, of Camden, N.J., was charged today by complaint-summons with third-degree tampering with public records or information and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records. He will be suspended from his position as a state trooper as a result of the charges.
Richardson was investigated by the New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards, which uncovered separate incidents involving two young women whom Richardson allegedly pulled over and harassed about initiating a personal relationship. He allegedly stopped each of the women repeatedly. Richardson allegedly threatened to arrest one of the women if she did not share her phone number. He also allegedly attempted to ingratiate himself with the women by not impounding their unregistered vehicles, and, in one case, not arresting the woman on an active warrant. The alleged incidents occurred between August 2016 and January 2017. Richardson allegedly communicated with the women on social media and via text using numbers he obtained.
The ongoing investigation has revealed several alleged violations by Richardson, including:
telling dispatchers and recording in the official computer dispatch log that he stopped a man on Dec. 23, when in fact he stopped one of the women he allegedly was harassing; and
falsely reporting in the official dispatch log on Jan. 3 that he stopped to aid a motorist, when, in reality, he allegedly stopped the second woman to ask her if she still had the same phone number. He allegedly deactivated the dashboard camera in his car during some of the stops.
Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000, while fourth degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Because the charges are indictable offenses, they will be presented to a state grand jury for potential indictment.
file photo by Boyd Loving
By S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 13, 2016 at 5:17 PM, updated December 14, 2016 at 7:18 AM
TRENTON — A New Jersey state trooper has been suspended without pay after an internal investigation found he was pulling over women to ask them out on dates and falsifying police records to cover it up, authorities said.
Marquice Prather, 37, was arrested Friday on records tampering charges and released without bail, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice, which brought the charges.
Officials say the State Police Office of Professional Standards began investigating the trooper after several woman lodged complaints about his behavior on the road.