Six days after an incident between Westfield Councilwoman JoAnn Neylan and resident Kevin “Spud” Monroe, then mayor Andy Skibitsky decided to pursue harassment charges against Mr. Monroe.
Here is Skibitsky’s sworn statement to police detectives.
Keep in mind that Skibitsky was not present during the alleged threat that was eventually dismissed and thrown out of court.
Note: A victim of harassment typically has a report taken and is told to go to the violations bureau to seek help from the court clerk in filing charges. Skibitsky was afforded much more than that.
WPD detectives had sought terroristic threat charges and were rebuffed by the Union County Prosecutors Office.
I have redacted personal information including date of birth, social security number, place of birth, and address.
I've generally been a big fan of TFOTM and I've generally not been a fan of (former) Mayor Skibitsky. However, there are some really crazy people in the world and I cannot fault Skibitsky for wanting to bring it to police attention that a potentially crazy person has threatened to kill him. Why/how could anyone find fault with Skibitsky seeking to bring this to police attention? It seems, in my opinion, that Skibitsky acted very reasonably in this situation. Am I missing something in my understanding of the facts?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think anyone has an issue with Skibitsky bringing this to the attention of the police. However, his sworn statement and the timing of the charge of harassment that he levied against Mr. Monroe are suspect. Why did he wait until the day after the election to file the charges? If he was in such fear, why didn’t he file the charges right away? The prosecutor handling the case was forced to dismiss the case due to his inability to be able to prove the case. The investigation report along with witness statements will be posted in the near future. The timing of the alleged harassment coupled with the date the charges were filed by Skibitsky points to retaliation and Skibitsky’s own political posturing.
DeleteAlso, keep in mind that there are “three sides to every story.”
DeleteSkibitsky claims through hearsay, that Mr. Monroe threatened to cut his head off.
Mr. Monroe claims he stated to Councilwoman JoAnn Neylan, “He’s done” in reference to Skibitsky’s tenure as mayor, while making a hand motion across his own throat at the same time.
Perhaps, Councilwoman JoAnn Neylan overreacted in her reporting the incident to Skibitsky and Skibitsky was obviously not as alarmed as he suggests since he waited until after the election, almost a month after the incident, to file the harassment charge.
TFOTM- I appreciate your reply. Thanks.
ReplyDelete