Illegal Search Sent Morris Co. Man To Jail, Lawsuit Says

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A Landing man who spent more than 170 days in jail after firearms, ammunition and illegal drugs were allegedly found during the illegal search of his home is suing Roxbury police officers and the township for false arrest.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, names Stanley Pych, Steven Strowbridge, Jason DelTurco, John Field, Scott Shinkowski, Anthony Marciano, Dean Adone, as well as Roxbury Township, as defendants.

Erik D. Vandevelde, 34, of Roxbury Township, who was arrested on June 8, 2022, claims that on that night he was alone and asleep inside his residence when Fields, DelTurco, and Shinkowski illegally entered his home and conducted unlawful searches within its interior.

The lawsuit claims that the police searches were completed without a search warrant, without any available exceptions to the search warrant requirement, or without any other legal justification.

The case alleges willful misconduct, wrongful arrest, unlawful incarceration, malicious prosecution and illegal search and seizure against the named police officers as well as the township.

Vandevelde was arrested outside his house after police officers searched his home and took him back to police headquarters, where he was detained pending a trial at the Morris County Correctional Facility.

Around the same time, a fourth officer, Marciano, applied for and received a search warrant from a New Jersey Superior Court judge, allowing police to conduct another search and seize evidence.

The search warrant was also issued "without any probable cause, resulting in a second unlawful search," the lawsuit states.

Vandevelde was ultimately charged with a second-degree weapons possession felony, a third-degree weapons possession felony, a fourth-degree gun possession felony and several CDS possession charges.

According to the lawsuit, Vandevelde's defense attorney filed a motion for all evidence seized from his home, garage and surrounding structures to be suppressed.

The suppression order was entered on Nov. 29, 2022, with the trial court ruling that the entry into Vandevelde’s home and subsequent searches were unlawful. That ruling was affirmed by the Appellate Division on June 22, following the state’s appeal.

On July 18, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the case, and all charges against Vandevelde were dropped, according to the lawsuit.

However, Vandevelde claims that his wrongful imprisonment from June 8, 2022, until his release by court order on Dec. 1, 2022, resulted in lasting and serious personal impairment as well as emotional distress.

"Plaintiff has suffered great financial hardship as a result of the arrests stemming from the unlawful warrantless entry, search, and seizure," the lawsuit states.

The claim, filed on Sept. 19, demands compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and any other relief that the court deems to be just and equitable.

The Roxbury Police Department did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment on the matter.