MIDDLETOWN: POLICE BLOTTER

Aug 10, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A brief standoff with a knife-wielding man on Monday ended without injury and resulted in the man’s arrest for aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Middletown police report.

The man, identified as James Wierzbicky, was holding a large knife in the backyard of a Navesink home when police arrived, said Lieutenant Detective Steve Dollinger. A number of attempts by police to get him to drop the knife were unsuccessful. After backup was called and a standoff with officers, he gave up the weapon and was arrested.

More police reports appear unedited below.

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August 10, 2011 - 1:48 pm |

DRUNK DRIVING RAMPANT IN MIDDLETOWN

Aug 8, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

The recurring — and alarming — theme for Middletown’s police officers this week was dealing with alleged drunks crashing into things.

There were five reported car accidents in which the drivers were arrested for driving while intoxicated, said Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger in his regular roundup of crime activity. One driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit a parked car, two crashed into utility poles, another man went through a road barrier and another ended up on the side of the road after crashing his vehicle, Dollinger said.

That’s not counting the two incidents of wrong-way drivers.

More reports from MTPD are unedited below.

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August 8, 2011 - 4:01 pm |

ROLLERBLADER ASSAULTED ON SKATE HOME

Aug 2, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A man rollerblading in the area of Brandywine Way in Middletown was assaulted by three men Sunday, police said.

According to Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger, the unidentified victim was rollerblading home from a friend’s house when a car with three men in it drove by and the men started yelling obscenities. The car then pulled over and the three got out and attacked the victim, knocking him to the ground and hitting him in the head and face, Dollinger said.

Police were able to track down the car and arrested the three suspects — two from Keansburg and another from Port Monmouth — and charged each with simple assault.

Details and additional reports from Middletown police appear unedited below.

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August 2, 2011 - 12:54 pm |

FAKE COP BUSTED IN ROAD RAGE

Jul 29, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

It was a tense situation for one Garden State Parkway driver earlier this week who was being chased by a man claiming to be a State Police officer.

Beginning on the Parkway and continuing to Monmouth Avenue, a victim was chased in a road rage incident by a Manasquan man who continually flashed his lights trying to get the car ahead of him to pull over. Police said the man, Michael Keller, pulled out an I.D. and threatened the unnamed victim. Keller has no affiliation with the State Police, Middletown Detective Sergeant Steve Dollinger said.

He was placed under arrest for a handful of offenses.

Dollinger’s unedited reports of other criminal activity appear below.

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July 29, 2011 - 12:04 pm |

COPS: CLERK POCKETED CASH

Jul 26, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

An employee at the Target on Route 35 was taken from the store in cuffs last week after police say she pocketed cash that was supposed to go into the register for sales.

The Keansburg woman allegedly rang transactions on the cash register, then voided them and took the cash, Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger said in a roundup of police activity.

Details and more reports from Middletown police appear unedited below.

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July 26, 2011 - 9:49 am |

NEEDLES AND PIPES RULE POLICE REPORTS

Jul 20, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Lots of drug arrests in this week’s police activity report in Middletown.

In one case, a man left a needle and bag of heroin in plain view at a parking lot, police alleged. In another, a woman’s probation officer found a weed pipe sitting on her table.

More details from MTPD are below. The reports, provided by Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger, appear unedited.

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July 20, 2011 - 12:29 pm |

COPS SHUT DOWN MIDDLETOWN BAR

Jul 14, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Middletown police shut down a bar/liquor store last weekend after an inspection showed none of the employees had state-issued cards to serve alcohol.

The inspection also yielded the arrest of two employees, one of which received additional drug charges when he was found to have cocaine in his possession, Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger said.

That crime report and others from the department appear unedited below.

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July 14, 2011 - 11:09 am |

DAD, SONS BUSTED IN M’TOWN DRUG STING

Jul 6, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A father and two sons were arrested after a lengthy undercover investigation by Middletown police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, police said.

The three-month investigation led to the arrests of Dean, Christopher and Peter Sadecki, all of 12 Walada Avenue, said Detective Sergeant Steve Dollinger. Authorities seized cash, a variety of drugs and a sport utility vehicle at the family’s Port Monmouth home.

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July 6, 2011 - 3:25 pm |

TEEN BUSTED FOR NAVESINK BURGLARY

Jun 22, 2011

A Middletown police cruiser. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

In this week’s roundup of police activity, Middletown police made a burglary bust at a home off Navesink River Road. An 18-year-old is accused of breaking into the home while the owners were on vacation, stealing jewelry and electronics worth about $16,000, and then using the homeowners’ car to deliver the stolen items to be pawned.

More police activity, provided by Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger, appears unedited below.

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June 22, 2011 - 2:02 pm |

COAST GUARD: MISSING BOAT CALL A HOAX

Jun 14, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended a 10-hour search that started early Tuesday morning for four missing boaters who reported their boat sinking off Sandy Hook Bay, and are now treating the call as a possible hoax, a federal felony.

The call cost Coast Guard assets — and by extension, taxpayers — about $88,000.

Along with state and local agencies that included Sea Bright, Fair Haven and Rumson, the Coast Guard searched about 600 square-miles in the area of Sandy Hook, but found no evidence of the reported-missing sailboat, Courtney Lynn, or its four passengers, a release from the Coast Guard said.

“We were not able to find a sign of persons in distress or any kind of debris,” said Petty Officer Second Class Jetta Disco, who is based in the Coast Guard’s New York City battery.

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June 14, 2011 - 5:15 pm |

M’TOWN COPS MAKE RX FRAUD ARREST

Jun 14, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Middletown police busted a Keansburg man late last month for allegedly submitting a false prescription for 120 Oxycodone pills at a pharmacy in the Navesink section of town.

The investigation also yielded forgery and receiving stolen property charges, police said.

More reports, unedited, appear below.

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June 14, 2011 - 11:50 am |

FULL OF VODKA, COVERED IN BLOOD

Jun 7, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Drugs and alcohol dominate the Middletown police blotter this week, which includes at least two drunken driving arrests in which the drivers are alleged to have had open bottles of liquor in their cars and several arrests for possession of illegal meds and marijuana.

The reports from Middletown Detective Sergeant Steve Dollinger appear unedited below.

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June 7, 2011 - 11:54 am |

PRISONER BUSTED IN 2008 BURGLARY

May 17, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

In this week’s recap of Middletown police activity, a high school girl was assaulted  at school, a teen was busted trying to buy whiskey and a prisoner was charged for a gas station burglary that occurred three years ago.

Details, provided by Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger, are below and appear unedited.

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May 17, 2011 - 7:07 am |

COPS: DRUNK DRIVER CRASHES IN WORK ZONE

May 10, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Middletown police made several arrests over the weekend, including one of a man accused of drunkenly smashing a vehicle into the back of a paint truck and another police said caused a noisy ruckus outside a home in the Belford section of town.

Details of the police reports are below.

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May 10, 2011 - 6:18 am |

GUN WAVER AMONG M’TOWN ARRESTEES

Apr 19, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

One man was arrested for waving a gun and threatening to use it, another was arrested for stealing from a food store and two were cuffed after a fight on Middletown Avenue.

They’re all part of this week’s crime roundup provided by Middletown police.

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April 19, 2011 - 6:09 am |

MATER DEI DEAN CHARGED IN SEXUAL ASSAULT

Apr 14, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Mater Dei High School‘s former dean of students was arrested by Middletown police Tuesday on sexual assault charges.

Police say William Miltner, who worked at the school for four years and was promoted to the dean’s post last year, sexually assaulted a student in 2009.

Twenty-eight-year-old Miltner, of Middletown, was charged with second-degree aggravated sexual assault and fourth-degree aggravated sexual contact.

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April 14, 2011 - 6:24 am |

M’TOWN POLICE MAKE 5 WEEKEND ARRESTS

Apr 11, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Middletown police made five arrests over the weekend, with incidents including two failed burglary attempts and somebody allegedly trying to lift candy, socks and lawn care products from a food store.

Two others were picked up on active arrest warrants, police said.

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April 11, 2011 - 2:10 pm |

MIDDLETOWN COP ARRESTS BELT-SWINGER

Mar 28, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Yet another busy week for Middletown police, the department reports, with seven arrests the last five days.

In today’s weekly roundup from Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger, there’s a man wielding a belt with a combination lock tied to the end, a report of a car v. barrier on the Garden State Parkway and a couple of arrests on warrants.

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March 28, 2011 - 1:30 pm |

BUSY WEEK FOR MIDDLETOWN POLICE

Mar 21, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Capping a busy week in Middletown, police reported an array of arrests for offenses including hard-drug sales, car break-ins and a slew of St. Patty’s Day disorderlies.

On Tuesday, police, along with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force, wrapped up a three-month investigation and arrested a Passaic Street man for numerous drug offenses, said Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger.

Authorities executed a search warrant of the residenceGlenn Muscarella and found more than 220 bags of heroin, cocaine, steroids, syringes and scales used to measure the weight of the drugs for distribution, Dollinger said in a release.

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March 21, 2011 - 6:44 am |

COPS SAY TENANT FACING EVICTION SET FIRE

Mar 18, 2011

A 31-year-old Middletown man was arrested for setting fire to a Harmony Road home Wednesday. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

After being told he was going to be evicted from his Harmony Road home, a Middletown man lashed out by taking power tools and a match to the place, police said.

Police arrested 31-year-old Christopher Bossick for setting fire to the home at 717 Harmony Road Wednesday afternoon, Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger said.

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March 18, 2011 - 3:33 pm |

M’TOWN: THEFT, SHOPLIFTING, BURGLARY

Mar 14, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Shoplifting, car break-ins and credit card theft are among the crimes that have kept Middletown police busy as of late.

The department made six arrests for the various crimes in the last 11 days.

Details after the jump.

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March 14, 2011 - 2:13 pm |

MAN IN GOGGLES ROBS LINCROFT STATION

Jan 18, 2011

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Middletown police are looking for a man who robbed the BP gas station on Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of town before dawn Saturday.

The suspect, described as tall and skinny, and was wearing dark, tinted swimming goggles, displayed a silver-and-black handgun to the station attendant and demanded money, Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger said.

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January 18, 2011 - 6:02 am |

SEA BRIGHT, M’TOWN ‘STUCK’ ALL OVER

Dec 27, 2010

Sea Bright residents try to shovel out the side streets of Ocean Avenue Monday afternoon. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Sea Bright and Middletown officials expect cleanup efforts from the overnight blizzard to take all day and well into Monday evening.

In both towns, cars are stranded all over.

“It’s like a war zone out there,” Sea Bright Police Chief John Sorrentino told redbankgreen.

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December 27, 2010 - 3:29 pm |

MIDDLETOWN BANK ROBBED

Dec 20, 2010

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A Sovereign Bank branch on Route 35 in Middletown was robbed late Friday, police said.

Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger said authorities are searching for a white man in his late 20s or early 30s, weighs about 150 pounds and is between five-foot-six and five-foot-eight inches tall.

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December 20, 2010 - 12:07 pm |