Once again, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office let criminals slide. The Fact of The Matter is not surprised since the UCPO also let a criminal police chief off the hook in 2018.
Corrupt Westfield Police Chief David Wayman and his underling Leonard Lugo, were both spared criminal charges after video surveillance cameras caught Wayman stealing from the police department’s evidence/property room. Cameras caught the disgraced police chief stealing property seized in a search warrant on a home used to store proceeds from a credit card theft ring.
The following is a recap from a resident detailing what took place earlier this month when car theft suspects attempted to gain entry to a vehicle parked in front of their home. The attempted theft was captured on the resident’s Ring camera.
Copied and pasted from the resident’s Facebook post:
“I wanted to post so that the community could be aware of what happened to us and our neighborhood yesterday. Hopefully together we can make a change. Our car was almost stolen from outside our home (600 block of Kimball Ave) at 2pm yesterday, Wednesday 11/9. There were children on the street playing since schools got out at 12:30. Our UPS man witnessed everything, wrote down the license plate number when he heard my husband yelling and was with my husband when he made the 911 call. My husband was still on with dispatch when they identified the vehicle on Harrison Ave. The suspects (5) were picked up almost immediately. The Westfield Police Department and Detective DeSilva were incredible. They were at our home 3 times and brought my husband to the police station to give a video taped statement. While there the Dispatcher came out and High fived my husband saying “that was record breaking, we caught them!”
The Union County Prosecutors office declined charge, even with Ring Video footage. It cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that there was intent to steal the car. 5 stolen license plates found in the trunk of the car and they had nothing to prosecute???
We cannot believe it. The WPD Chief Christopher Battiloro came to our home this afternoon and expressed his frustration with the Union County Prosecutor’s unwillingness to accept the charges presented. This could’ve been an opportunity. Instead it was barely a slap on the wrist. Please feel free to reach out to the Prosecutor, Meghan Tomlinson, 908-527-4500 and express your concerns for our community. Again, we were impressed by the response from the WPD but are aghast that the charges were dropped by the Prosecutor (other than a few MV citations).”
It is a sad day for law enforcement when the Prosecutor violates his/her oath. I was an assistant prosecutor in Essex and a D.A.G. In the Div. Of Criminal Justice. It must have been a long time ago because I remember swearing to uphold ALL the laws of the State. I was not allowed to choose which laws I liked or didn’t like. The incarceration or release of the defendant was up to the jury and then, the judge.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the present attitude of the prosecutor requires upholding the laws approved by the liberal chic who bleed for the defendant and ignore the blood he spilled.
While the public allows this, they will continue to receive the same treatment these Westfield car owners received.
It would be interesting to ask the prosecutor in this case what her attitude would be if the thieves had been white with White Supremacy tattoos on their arms. It would be interesting to ask her what service she could expect from a White Racist Prosecutor asked to indict the above white defendants caught stealing her “Green” auto. Would she allow him to refuse because they were “good old boys” enjoying themselves? Would he be allowed to pick and choose according to his wishes?
Of course this prosecutor has the support of the Attorney General of NJ. He considers law enforcement as a social program rather than protection of the public.
My sympathies extend not only to the victims of this crime but to the hard working cops who try to enforce the laws only to be thwarted by their representatives in Court. This Administration continually voices loud support for its police. This perversion of prosecutorial discretion should be PUBLICLY denounced by the Mayor and Council. There is every reason to expect a prosecutor to present the video of the theft along with the testimony of the victims to a Grand Jury. Even if the GJ rejected a charge of theft, there is NO doubt that the defendants should be charged with possession of stolen property. Does anyone think our liberal town government will say a word to support the police in this instance?
A suggestion to the police: how many town laws/ordinances etc were violated in this matter. Ten or twelve complaints per actor returnable to the Municipal Court may not be the same as an indictment but half a loaf is better than none. I would assume that the police of Westfield are received by the local prosecutor better than by the County prosecutor. Municipal convictions can carry jail time, not to mention embarrassing the County Prosecutor.
I will look with interest as to the future of this story.