Pennsauken Men Charged with Holding Large Craps Game in Camden; Emergency Orders Continue to be Enforced

Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, today urged New Jersey residents to stay home and stay safe this holiday weekend, reminding them that law enforcement will be continuing to strictly enforce Governor Murphy’s emergency orders for social distancing.

“It will be hard this holiday weekend to miss loved ones and forego traditional family get-togethers, but it is absolutely critical that we all stay home and maintain social distance,” said Attorney General Grewal. “There are indications that these measures are indeed flattening the curve of this pandemic in the U.S., but if we let our guard down now by traveling for holiday gatherings, more lives will be put at risk. The vast majority of New Jerseyans are doing the right thing by following the emergency orders. As for the few violators, we will continue to hold them accountable with strong enforcement efforts this weekend. I urge you to support our courageous officers, who are on the frontlines of this battle, by not creating more work and risks for them during the holidays.”

“This holiday weekend is traditionally a time for many New Jersey residents to come together for religious services and family gatherings, but we are not currently living a traditional lifestyle,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “It is imperative that we continue to work together to practice social distancing and travel only when necessary. These preventative measures are proving to be effective, but we must stay the course to ensure the safety of everyone as we continue to move in the right direction towards flattening the curve.”

Attorney General Grewal and Colonel Callahan announced the following recent enforcement actions against violators of Governor Murphy’s Emergency Orders related to COVID-19:

• Newark Enforcement.  The Newark Police Department’s COVID-19 task force Newark Police task force issued 34 summonses for violations of the emergency orders and ordered two non-essential businesses closed in enforcement actions on April 8. The department issued 51 summonses for violations of the emergency orders in enforcement actions on April 9.
• Neil Shah, 27, of Edison, Bunnarith Sou, 38 of North Plainfield, Sedrick Dale Holland, 38, of Tunica, Miss., and James J. Ehrig, 25, of Rahway, were each charged with violating the emergency orders by opening Black Diamond Billiards on Route 22 West for business in Union Township yesterday evening, April 9. Shah is the owner and the other men are employees. Approximately 10 patrons were on the premises. They exited when police arrived.
• Frank Fredricks, 30, of Jackson, was charged by the Howell Police Department on April 6 with shoplifting (3rd degree), reckless endangerment (disorderly persons offense), and violation of the emergency orders. Police responded to the Lowe’s home improvement store in Howell, where Fredericks and two other individuals were being detained by Lowe’s employees for allegedly stealing more than $2,000 worth of power tools. During transport to police headquarters, Fredericks told the officers he had tested positive for the coronavirus. He had been to other Lowe’s stores with his co-defendants earlier in the day.
• Jihad A. Hayes, 32, of Newark, was charged yesterday, April 9, by the Roselle Police with receiving stolen property (3rd degree), disorderly conduct for violating the emergency orders, and possession of marijuana (disorderly persons offense). Police were called to a supermarket after Hayes, while wearing a mask, allegedly told shoppers he had the coronavirus. There is no indication Hayes spit or coughed at anyone or threatened to do so. Hayes left the store before officers arrived, but he was stopped in a U-Haul truck that had been stolen out of Newark.
• Elliot Taylor, 25, of Newark, Regina Anderson, 23, of Newark, and Nygeama J. Lamar, 24, of East Orange, were charged last night by the Union Township Police Department with five counts of burglary (3rd degree), five counts of theft (disorderly persons offense), and violating the emergency orders. Defendants allegedly entered five different parked, unoccupied motor vehicles on Kenneth Avenue in Union Township and stole various items.
• Mario Reyes-Ramirez, 34, of Milltown, was charged with violating the emergency orders on April 1 by the Milltown Police Department after he allegedly was involved in a hit and run accident and charged with DWI. He had driven to a friend’s house, where he had been drinking.
• Timothy Grant, 38, of Pemberton Township, was charged last night with violation of the emergency orders after he was stopped outside last night, April 9, by the Pemberton Township Police Department. He had received a prior warning about violating the emergency orders.
• Aquan Reed, 29, of Trenton, was charged yesterday, April 9, by the Trenton Police with trespassing and violation of the emergency orders, both disorderly persons offenses. Reed had been warned about loitering on a property posted no trespassing and being outside without a legitimate purpose under the emergency orders. He was charged after returning to the location.
• Kai Anderson, 27, of Trenton, was charged on Wednesday evening, April 8, by the Trenton Police with violating the emergency orders. Police approached three males on Walnut Avenue at about 6:30 p.m. and advised them they should not be outside because of the emergency. Two of the males dispersed, but Anderson refused to leave, saying it was not curfew time.
• Eric Amanfo, 35, of Hamilton, was charged by the Trenton Police on Tuesday, April 7, with violating the emergency orders. He was with a group of persons loitering in the 200 block of Spring Street with open containers of alcoholic beverages. The group dispersed when advised about the emergency orders, with the exception of Amanfo, who refused to leave.
• Sean M. McGuire, 42, of Camden, was charged on April 8, with second-degree terroristic threats during an emergency, third-degree endangering, and fourth-degree risking widespread injury. McGuire allegedly refused to follow medical advice to self-quarantine and said he did not “give a [expletive] who he infected.” He allegedly threatened security staff at Cooper University Hospital and refused to cooperate with officers of the Camden Police who encountered him at the Walter Rand Transportation Center.
• Willie Boles, 50, and Charles E. Scotton, 51, both of Pennsauken, were charged on Tuesday, April 7, by the Camden Police with violating the emergency orders and gambling in public. The two men allegedly held a large craps game on Marlton Avenue in Camden with approximately 19 people present. They were warned last month when they organized a similar gambling event.
• Albert E. French, 33, of Milford, was charged in Clinton Township on Tuesday, April 7, with violating the emergency orders and disorderly conduct for walking back and forth along Route 22 displaying obscene poster boards and making obscene gestures to motorists.
• Moshe Knopfler, 55, of Union City, was charged with violation of the emergency orders (disorderly persons offense) and failure to disperse (petty disorderly persons offense). Police had warned Knopfler on several prior occasions when he held gatherings on his property. He was charged on Tuesday, April 7, when police found approximately 13 people on his property.
• Elizabeth Fernandez, 56, of Woodland Park, and Juan Rosario, 60, of Paterson, were charged by the Paterson police on Tuesday evening, April 7, with two violations of the emergency orders for opening Quilvio Tavern at 933 Main Street, where police found customers gathered inside and drinking at the bar.
• Armin, Mahesh, 59, of Iselin, was charged with violating the emergency orders and alcoholic beverage control regulations at the liquor store he owns with his wife. Police responded to Medina Liquor Store at 709 East Jersey Street on a report that groups were gathering at the store and drinking alcohol. Officers found a number of patrons consuming alcoholic beverages in a back room of the store in violation of regulations and the emergency orders. Authorities shut down the business, where responding inspectors found multiple code violations.
• Ibrahim Muhammad, 25, and Ashley Appleton-Tims, 25, both of Brick, were charged yesterday, April 8, with violating the emergency orders for opening the Coliseum Barbershop & Hair Salon in Brick. Ibrahim is the owner of the business, and Appleton-Tims is a salon employee who was assisting a client when police arrived yesterday.
• Cheyenne M. Scott, 19, of Clayton, was charged on April 8 with harassment, a petty disorderly persons offense, for spitting on a man in Clayton and then claiming she had COVID-19.
• Richard Mariano, 66, of Randolph, was charged on April 8, with violating the emergency orders, theft by unlawful taking (disorderly persons offense), trespassing (petty disorderly persons offense), and disorderly conduct. Mariano allegedly entered the Randolph Township Recycling Center, stole a refrigerator from one of the recycling containers, then violently dismantled it by the side of the road while yelling at township employees.
• Steven C. Singleton, 29, Camden, was arrested on April 5 at the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden, where he loitered for approximately 20 minutes, interacting with various persons and not taking any transportation. When he was approached by police, he allegedly resisted arrest and was found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana and two ecstasy pills (methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine—MDMA). He was charged with possession of ecstasy (3rd degree), possession of marijuana (disorderly persons offense), and resisting arrest (disorderly persons offense).
• Madison L. Greenetz, 25, of Cherry Hill, was charged on April 2, with violating the emergency orders, providing alcohol to minor (disorderly persons offense), and trespassing in violation of a local ordinance (petty disorderly persons offense). She allegedly was drinking alcohol in a township park with a juvenile.
• William L. Joseph, 20 , of Lindenwold, was charged on April 8, with violating the emergency orders and defiant trespass, both disorderly persons offenses. Joseph was previously warned that outdoor basketball courts in the borough are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but police found him playing basketball in a park. Signs also indicated that the court was closed.

“Our police officers are working bravely and tirelessly every day to protect us during this health crisis. Regrettably, they are being called upon far too often to deal with people violating the emergency orders— or what is more egregious, people using the virus to spread fear or impede officers in their vital work,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Staying home and maintaining social distance isn’t just the best advice to stay healthy, it’s the law. Make no mistake, we will do everything in our power to keep our residents and officers safe, and that means we won’t hesitate to file charges against violators.”

“Law enforcement and medical professionals are on the frontlines of this battle to protect the citizens of New Jersey from the COVID-19 virus, and we cannot stress enough how important it is that each person follow the guidelines set forth in the Executive Order,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “Because lives are at stake, enforcement action will be taken without hesitation against those who are blatantly placing the lives of others at risk.”

Violations of the emergency orders constitute a disorderly persons offense carrying a potential sentence of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. However, violators can potentially face criminal charges including second, third, and fourth degree indictable offenses. Police have charged a number of persons with second-degree terroristic threats during an emergency for claiming to have COVID-19 and threatening to infect law enforcement officers or others by coughing, spitting, or otherwise exposing them. That charge carries a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in 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 defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

If you are seeing a lack of compliance with the Governor’s emergency orders in your town, please contact your local police department or report here covid19.nj.gov/violation

The Attorney General’s Office and New Jersey State Police will continue to work with law enforcement throughout New Jersey to deter non-complaint behavior.

No one should take advantage of this pandemic to further their own biased agendas. COVID-19 is no excuse to promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and or other biased stereotypes. Please report bias crimes at 1-800-277-BIAS.