visajets Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/judge_dismisses_drunk_driving.html Mountainside judge dismisses drunken driving case against State Police sergeant Published: Thursday, August 11, 2011, 9:00 AM By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau The Star-Ledger Follow 70 Share close Google Buzz Digg Stumble Upon Fark Reddit Share Email Print Tom Wright-Piersanti/The Star-LedgerA State Police car sits at a crime scene in this May 2011 photo. A Mountainside municipal judge dismissed the drunken driving case of a State Police sergeant last week. MOUNTAINSIDE — A Mountainside municipal court judge has dismissed the drunken driving case of a State Police sergeant who was pulled over less than two days after a tougher alcohol policy for officers was imposed. Municipal Court Judge James DeRose dismissed the case against Sgt. Joseph Lettieri last Thursday, ruling there was no probable cause for pulling the officer over and suppressing any evidence against him. Lettieri, a 22-year veteran of the force, remains suspended without pay for the May 11 incident and still faces an internal investigation, a State Police spokesman, acting Maj. Gerald Lewis, said Tuesday. Lettieri had pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, Charles Sciarra, said his client was "absolutely not" driving under the influence. Stricter State Police policies on drinking and driving were distributed in a memo on May 9, a day after a Star-Ledger article reported an alleged cover-up of a 2009 crash involving a trooper in Camden County. The trooper in that case, who rear-ended another driver on Route 295, was not suspended or charged with the crash until two years later, and prosecutors now say he was drunk behind the wheel. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: • N.J. State Police sergeant faces drunken driving charge days after agency imposes stricter policies • N.J. State Police troopers face strict new DWI policies • Off-duty N.J. State Police officer used his undercover ID when he hit SUV • N.J. state trooper suspended without pay for a year after she was caught drinking, driving three times Afterward, State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes issued an order requiring "multiple layers of internal review" when a trooper is suspected of drinking and driving, and regional commanders must ensure troopers are properly tested for alcohol. The May incident involving Lettieri occurred after Mountainside police said a bulletin was issued for his car, which the State Police reported was involved in a crash on the Garden State Parkway. Lettieri, who supervises dispatchers at the State Police barracks in Totowa, and another driver hit each other while traveling south, side by side, on the Parkway in Union County, according to the State Police. No one was injured, and Lettieri has not faced any charges in relation to the accident itself. Sciarra said Lettieri did not leave the scene of an accident, and said there was only minor damage to his car. Lettieri was later pulled over and charged with drunken driving in Mountainside shortly after midnight. Sciarra criticized the new State Police policy, and said the division placed pressure on Mountainside officers to arrest Lettieri. "The judge seemed particularly concerned that the State Police compelled the arrest of my client from some remote location, superseding the judgment of the police officer on the scene," he said. But Frank Sahaj, the municipal prosecutor in Mountainside, said there was no evidence that the State Police placed pressure on officers. "I thought there was merit to the case," he said. "Although the case was dismissed in the municipal court, there is still an ongoing internal investigation being conducted," said Lewis. He did not respond to Sciarra’s criticisms of State Police policies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barcs Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Wow. That's absolute horsesh*t. How often do judges dismiss charges like than on your average citizen? Such biased unfair crap of a system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor99 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 To be fair, this officer did bring a lot of income to the state. He's been very busy ticketing teens on the shore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 To be fair, this officer did bring a lot of income to the state. He's been very busy ticketing teens on the shore. Do you have a link that would support this post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor99 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Do you have a link that would support this post? Yes, but it's in my pants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 To be fair, this officer did bring a lot of income to the state. He's been very busy ticketing teens on the shore. It's the gift that keeps on giving... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Yes, but it's in my pants. More short comings from you. Just when I thought you were on the cusp of greatness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor99 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 More short comings from you. Just when I thought you were on the cusp of greatness I'm getting old, no more long comings for me. I'm actually on the cusp of mediocrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelticwizard Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Municipal Court Judge James DeRose dismissed the case against Sgt. Joseph Lettieri last Thursday, ruling there was no probable cause for pulling the officer over and suppressing any evidence against him. The above sentence is all we know about the case. How are we to judge if this case is an outrage just from this? DWI defendants do beat the rap and get the evidence thrown out sometimes, just as people accused of other crimes do. Edit: OK, just went to the link and read the whole article, (only part of the article is reprinted here). Apparently the defendant, Lettieri, was involved in some sort of minor sideswipe accident on the highway earlier for which no charges have still been filed, (which means that probably Lettieri did nothing wrong). Then a few minutes late a cop receives a radio message to pull over Lettieri and he gets arrested. The whole thing sounds kind of fishy. I don't have all the details, but I am not too surprised this got thrown out of court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTM Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 "Nj is Corrupt" Which makes us different from every other state how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusher Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Do you have a link that would support this post? Yes, but it's in my pants. ...then suddenly I began to hear 70's porn music. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barcs Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 The above sentence is all we know about the case. How are we to judge if this case is an outrage just from this? DWI defendants do beat the rap and get the evidence thrown out sometimes, just as people accused of other crimes do. Edit: OK, just went to the link and read the whole article, (only part of the article is reprinted here). Apparently the defendant, Lettieri, was involved in some sort of minor sideswipe accident on the highway earlier for which no charges have still been filed, (which means that probably Lettieri did nothing wrong). Then a few minutes late a cop receives a radio message to pull over Lettieri and he gets arrested. The whole thing sounds kind of fishy. I don't have all the details, but I am not too surprised this got thrown out of court. I'm just saying, I'll be damned the day that a cop dismisses something on me or anyone I know because of lack of probable cause. What a joke. All a cop has to do is claim he smelled something suspicious, and there's probable cause right there. Your word vs theirs. Cops are supposed to be setting the right example for us, and it's counter productive when someone blatantly and wrongly abuses their power while on the clock, and isn't even held accountable. The judge is pretty much saying, it doesn't matter if he's drunk, as long as he was pulled over without probable cause (even though the guy who pulled him over was right). Such a bullsh*t, garbage legal system we have. This judge should be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 I'm just saying, I'll be damned the day that a cop dismisses something on me or anyone I know because of lack of probable cause. What a joke. All a cop has to do is claim he smelled something suspicious, and there's probable cause right there. Your word vs theirs. Cops are supposed to be setting the right example for us, and it's counter productive when someone blatantly and wrongly abuses their power while on the clock, and isn't even held accountable. The judge is pretty much saying, it doesn't matter if he's drunk, as long as he was pulled over without probable cause (even though the guy who pulled him over was right). Such a bullsh*t, garbage legal system we have. This judge should be fired. Fired..............id rather him hung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Let's go Jets. Plenty of other sites to talk politics on. Based on what happened here earlier this summer and several times each year before that, we prefer to avoid politics. Visa, you do know this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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