Crime Alert (Arrest of Convicted Felon in Possession of an AK-47 Assault Weapon) – On Sunday, May 15, 2016, the Lacey Township Police Department led a multi-agency task force covering in excess of 60 square miles of rural wooded area in Lacey Township and Ocean Township within Ocean County. The focus of the detail was on the detection and deterrence of criminal activity, trespassing, and off-road vehicle violations in the Pinelands and on private property. The task force was made up of law enforcement officers from the Lacey Township Police Department with the assistance of the Ocean Township Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, the New Jersey State Park Police, and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
At approximately 1:05 p.m., on Sunday, May 15, 2016, a patrol team from the task force, made up of the above agencies and led by Lacey Police Sergeant Paul Sullivan, Jr, and Lacey Police Senior Officer Michael Eden, observed a suspicious vehicle within the wooded area in Lacey Township. The vehicle was a 2007, Hyundai Tucson which was pulled off of the path and into the woods on Bryant Road in Lacey Township within the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area. Upon further investigation, the task force officers located two individuals in the wooded area approximately 100 yards from the parked vehicle. One subject, identified as Bruce J. Post, 3rd, was wearing combat gear and gave indications of possible white-supremacist involvement. Upon speaking with the two subjects and determining their activities to be suspicious, the officers then discovered an AK-47, a Walther P38 9mm handgun, eight 30-round high-capacity magazines, and one 100-round drum magazine, and various forms of ammunition at the scene within the woods. Officers arrested 42-year-old Bruce J. Post, 3rd of Exton Avenue in Trenton (Hamilton), NJ for several criminal offenses. He was transported to the Lacey Township Police Department for processing. The second individual, identified as a 38-year-old male from Trenton (Hamilton), NJ, was detained at the scene and not arrested as the investigation continued.
Bruce J. Post, 3rd was processed at the Lacey Township Police Department by Officer Michael Eden and Detective Keith Pearce. Bruce J. Post, 3rd was charged with the 1st Degree Crime of Unlawful Possession of Weapons (Certain Persons not to Possess Weapons – Felon), along with the second degrees offenses of Unlawful Possession of Weapons (handgun), Unlawful Possession of Weapons (Assault Weapon – AK-47), and Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons (Felon). Additionally, he was charged with the 4th Degree Crime of Possession of Prohibited Weapons and Devices (High Capacity Magazines). His bail was set in the amount of $400,000 with no 10 percent option. Bruce J. Post, 3rd was lodged in the Ocean County Correctional Facility in default of the bail. His photo will be available at http://omse.co.ocean.nj.us:8082/IML upon his booking at the correctional facility.
The investigation is continuing and additional charges against the second individual who was located at the scene are pending further investigation by Lacey Police. The vehicle, which belonged to Bruce J. Post, 3rd, was impounded for further processing. Shovels and tarps were also found in the possession of Bruce J. Post, 3rd. Based on the suspicious nature of the entire encounter, a thorough K-9 and foot search was conducted in the area the subjects were located. The additional search did not reveal any further evidence. Based on Bruce J. Post’s well publicized past history out of Trenton and Hamilton, NJ, the Lacey Township Police Department is asking anyone with information that might be helpful to this investigation to contact Lieutenant Michael DiBella or Officer Michael Eden of the Lacey Township Police Department at 609-693-6636.
The multi-agency task force that led to this arrest was established three weeks ago by the Lacey Township Police Department due to the increasing trespassing by persons in off-road vehicles, fire hazards, and criminal activity within the rural wooded areas west of the Garden State Parkway in Lacey Township. Lieutenant Michael DiBella of the Lacey Township Police Department has commanded the operation and will continue to coordinate the details in the weeks to come. – Chief David A. Paprota, Ed.D.