Crime Alert – (Eluding Arrest/Trespassing) – Lacey Township Police Department – August 15, 2016
On Saturday, August 13, 2016, Lieutenant Paul Sullivan, Jr., and Detective Michael Eden of the Lacey Township Police Department coordinated an additional Off-Road Multi-Jurisdictional Woods Enforcement Detail. The detail’s purpose is to deter illegal activity and enforce violations, including, but not limited to, off-road vehicle and trespass violations, DUI, underage consumption of alcohol, illegal drug use, and criminal mischief. The details began in April 2016 and have continued throughout the summer. The detail officers are assigned to patrol in marked police units, consisting of ATVs, Sport Utility Patrol Vehicles, and Humvees. The present detail consisted of officers from the Lacey Township Police Department, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Jersey State Police. At approximately 10:00 p.m. the task force was patrolling the area of Lacey Materials located at 5001 W. Lacey Road in Forked River, when they made contact with an individual trespassing on private property. The subject was operating a Quad on a road leading to the Tuckerton Railroad bed. While issuing the subject a summons, the task force officers were approached by an older model dark green Jeep Cherokee occupied by several males. Several Officers were positioned approximately 50 feet from the Officers issuing the summons to the above Quad Operator. As the Jeep approached it slowed and drove around the first set of task force officers and then stopped when they realized their way was blocked due to the enforcement action. Officers approached the Jeep and identified themselves as Police Officers. The driver abruptly put the Jeep in reverse and backed up at a high rate of speed ultimately striking an Ocean County Sherriff’s Officer operating a quad. The driver fled into the open area of Lacey Materials. A perimeter was established and a short time later task force officers located the Jeep in a wooded area, approximately a quarter of a mile east from the initial incident. The task force members located five individuals, including the driver, and placed them all under arrest. The five individuals were transported to Lacey Police Headquarters and processed. The driver, identified as 23-year-old Benjamin Sabo of Pinecrest Drive in Medford, NJ was charged with Eluding, Obstructing the Administration of Law, and Trespassing, with bail set in the amount of $50,000.00 with no 10 percent. In addition, he received several motor vehicle summonses including Reckless Driving, Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident, Failure to Report a Motor Vehicle Accident, and Open Container of Alcohol in a Motor Vehicle. He was lodged in Ocean County Correctional Facility in default of bail. In addition, 18-year-old Karl Werosta of Atsion Road in Medford, NJ, 19-year-old Nicholas Glaesman of Pequot Trail in Medford, NJ, and 24-year-old Maxwell Burt of East Lake Boulevard in Medford, NJ, were all charged on a complaint summons with Trespassing and released. The fifth individual was identified as a 17-year-old juvenile male from Medford, NJ. He was charged on a juvenile complaint with Trespassing and released to the custody of a family member. The Sheriff’s Officer that was struck did not sustain serious injury. The Jeep that Benjamin Sabo was operating was impounded. The incident is under investigation and additional charges are pending.