Seatbelt Crackdown Yields 8 Drug Arrests In 4 Days For Morris Park Police

The Morris County Park Police ended the month of May with a busy stretch of arrests, most of which came during a seatbelt crackdown campaign.

The county agency, granted $5,000 for additional patrol hours during the two-week initiative, arrested eight people on drug and drug-related charges over the course of four days in late May.

According to the Park Police, the following arrests took place:

On May 23, Sgt. Eric Huffert was conducting a proactive Click-it or Ticket patrol and executed a motor-vehicle stop for a moving violation and failure to wear seatbelt in Dover. An investigation led to the driver, Jason M. Shepard, age 23, of Rockaway, to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance in a Motor-Vehicle, and Failure to Give Proper Signal; Brian S. Rosas, age 18, of Dover, to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance; and Marcos G. Espinosa, age 18, of Roxbury to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance and Failure to Wear a Seatbelt. All three were released with a court date pending.

On May 25, Ptl. Kyle Koster executed a motor-vehicle stop for failure to wear seatbelt in Morristown. An investigation led to the driver, Richard P. Thompson, age 21, of Morristown, to be charged with Driving While Intoxicated, Being Under the Influence of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and three motor-vehicle violations; and Donte D. Davis, age 21, of Boonton, to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, Being Under the Influence of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Both were released with a court date pending.

On May 27, Ptl. Casey Petrocy was conducting a property check at Hedden County Park in Randolph when she observed three suspicious persons. An investigation led to Anthony R. Pereda, age 29, of Dover to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; Andres F. Sabogal-Restrepo, age 29, of Dover, to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; and Geovanni J. Ramirez-Sanchez, age 25, of Rockaway, to be charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. All three were released with a court date pending.

Additionally, Officer Edward Koster responded to the finding of marijuana and heroin at Silas Condict Park in Kinnelon on May 27. No charges have been made in that incident.