ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE 2020 Annual Report

ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE2020 Annual ReportTheodore N. Stephens IIActing Essex County Prosecutor

Essex County Prosecutor’s OfficeVeterans Courthouse50 West Market StreetNewark, NJ 07102www.njecpo.org973.621.4700

Chief ExecutivesFrom Left to Right: Acting First Assistant Prosecutor Romesh C. Sukhdeo; ActingEssex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; Executive Assistant ProsecutorGwen Williams; and Acting Chief of County Detectives Mitchell G. McGuire III.2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office

Essex County Prosecutor’s OfficeVeterans Courthouse50 West Market StreetNewark, NJ 07102www.njecpo.orgDuring 2020, the total number of new adult defendant case files received andreviewed by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO) was 10,190, versus10,859 in 2019. Also, 1,608 defendants were indicted or charged by accusationin 2020, versus 4,975 in 2019. A total of 43.5 percent of the ECPO’s total adultdefendant resolutions within 2020 following an indictment or accusationinvolved first or second-degree criminal charges. Further, in 2020, the totalnumber of juveniles referred in delinquency case filings in Essex County was727, versus 1,798 in 2019.(Statistics from N.J. Division of Criminal Justice, Analysis of Prosecutors’ Data, and from thePromis Gavel Database of the Administrative Office of the Courts, N.J. Superior Court).2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office

TABLE OF CONTENTSI.INTRODUCTIONMessage from Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II. 1A Brief History of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office . 5II.LEGAL UNITSAdult Trial Section . 10Appellate Section . 14Central Judicial Processing Unit. 17Drug Court Program . 18Forfeiture Unit . 19Grand Jury Unit . 20Juvenile Trial Unit. 23Mental Health Unit . 25Pre-Trial Intervention & Expungement Unit . 26Remand Court Section . 28III.INVESTIGATIVE SQUADSCrash and Fire Investigation Unit . 29Domestic Violence Unit. 31Extradition Unit . 34Financial Crimes Unit . 36Homicide Unit . 38Professional Standards Bureau . 42Special Prosecutions Unit . 442020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office - 1

Special Victims Unit . 46Child Abuse Unit. 46Sexual Assault & Rape Analysis Unit . 49Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program . 51Human Trafficking Team . 52Elder Abuse Team . 52Bias Crimes Unit . 53Megan’s Law Unit . 53IV.SUPPORT UNITSBusiness Administration Unit . 57Community Justice Unit. 59Media Relations Office . 63Victim-Witness Advocacy Office . 67Photographs by Lloyd Holmes.Copyright 2021 Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. All Rights Reserved.2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office - 2

Message fromActing Essex County ProsecutorTheodore N. Stephens IIthose of us in law enforcement, 2020 was an unprecedented year.F orTherewas no playbook or blueprint. Nothing could have prepared usthe twin traumas caused by COVID-19 and the public killing of GeorgeSforFloyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.In Essex County, the epicenter for COVID-19 in New Jersey and beyond,death and disease spread at a rate that we certainly would have neverimagined. Amid this human crisis, we had a duty to maintain public safetywhile protecting the health and well-being of the detectives, prosecutorsand support staff.To say that we were in uncharted waters would be an understatement.Questions from how to obtain and disseminate adequate personalprotection equipment to how to arrest and interview suspects andwitnesses in the middle of a pandemic had to be answered. In someinstances, we relied on remote work to keep people safe but in othersworking remotely was not an option. Suspects cannot be arrested overZoom. We learned and adjusted. Our staff of nearly 400 rose to theoccasion. Not only did they fulfill their duties but, in some cases, they wentabove and beyond. Through it all, I was always mindful of the fact thateven while working under new and foreseen conditions, each employeewas dealing with personal issues such as children who were learning athome, elderly parents who had to be protected from the virus, spouseswho were left unemployed and many other scenarios. The most painfulbeing the loss of members of our own staff, their family members, andmany colleagues in law enforcement.Yet, we never faltered. We investigated 78 homicides that occurred in2020. Of those, 56 were solved in 2020. We protected victims of domesticviolence who often found themselves more isolated and thus morevulnerable to attack because of the quarantine. We responded to reportsof child abuse, which we suspected might increase because of thequarantine, but not be reported as frequently because children were notattending school in person.2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office - 3

We were able to accomplish our goals because of the hard work of ourstaff as well as our strong support from our partners in law enforcementand the community at large. In addition to figuring out how to prosecute ina pandemic, we were confronted with the televised murder of GeorgeFloyd which laid bare some undeniable facts about race and policing. Thatcrime propelled the nation into a long overdue conversation over howbest to build trust among those in law enforcement and black and browncommunities we serve. Once again, this event presented two tasks for us.We sought to extend and advance the dialogue we have had with thecommunity about issues such as use of force and racial profiling. Yet, atthe same time, we were assisting municipal police departments that weredealing with protests.On that front, there was much success. Thankfully, there were no headlinegrabbing cases of use of excessive force in the county in 2020. The NewarkPolice had the distinction of not firing a single shot during a confrontationwith a suspect in 2020. Following the death of George Floyd, protests,which occurred in both suburban and urban parts of the county, wereextraordinarily peaceful.In the face of all the challenges, we never abandoned our commitment tobe a part of the giving community. We continued our annual Holiday ToyDrive in December. ECPO participated in two robust food distributioninitiatives. One was with Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo andlater we joined forces with the East Orange Senior Citizens program. Wealso assisted with the critically important COVID testing and vaccinationsprograms.The pursuit of justice is the sacred duty of all law enforcement agencies.Despite the unprecedented challenges of 2020, the Essex CountyProsecutor’s Office produced impressive results. This 2020 Annual Reporthighlights some of those accomplishments.2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office - 4

A Brief History ofthe Essex County Prosecutor’s Officethe State of New Jersey ratified its first Constitution (supersededI nby1776,later Constitutions in 1844 and 1947). Under this Constitution, theelected Governor appointed an Attorney General to enforce the laws of theState. The Attorney General in turn appointed deputies for the variouscounties, including Essex, to enforce the criminal laws on behalf of the localpopulace. In 1822, the New Jersey General Assembly passed an act authorizinga more independent Prosecutor of Pleas for each county, to be appointed bythe Court of Quarter Session once every five years. A few years later, theGovernor was given the authority to appoint each county’s Prosecutor ofPleas.On Feb. 20, 1829, Amzi Dodd became the first governor-appointed Prosecutorof Pleas for Essex County. The earliest record of a prosecution by ProsecutorDodd involves “a nuisance in suffering the water to stagnate and becomeoffensive in the old burying ground” in Newark. The first Prosecutor of Pleasworked alone, but by 1877 the Prosecutor required the help of a FirstAssistant.As Essex County grew and matters became more complex, the Office grew. By1922, Prosecutor John O. Bigelow employed 28 men, including three AssistantProsecutors, two Detective Captains, two Lieutenants, andvarious Detectives and clerks.In the 1920s and 30’s, cases involving gambling, organized crime and officialcorruption were growing in number. In October of 1935, the nationally knownorganized crime figure Dutch Schultz was shot at the Palace Chop House inNewark. Although the prime suspect was found hanged soon after theincident, the Office continued its investigation and identified Schultz’s realshooter who pled guilty to the murder in 1940.By 1945, the Office still had only three Assistant Prosecutors, despite agrowing number of murder and gambling cases. In 1951, Prosecutor EdwardGaulkin gained attention by successfully prosecuting four men charged withconspiracy, extortion and bribery in the Newark milk scandal case.2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office - 5

In 1959, Governor Robert Meyner nominated Brendan T. Byrne of WestOrange as the 25th Prosecutor of Essex County. Prosecutor (and laterGovernor) Byrne served the Office until 1967. By 1962, there were 16Assistant Prosecutors, most of whom were part-time employees. Shortlythereafter, the first female Assistant Prosecutor, June Strelecki, was appointed.Also, during Byrne’s tenure, the “Charlie Squad” was formed, a name coinedafter members of the public were urged to report illegal gambling by calling adedicated phone number and asking for “Charlie.”In 1967, the City of Newark experienced a week-long civil disturbance, whichheralded long-term social and economic change in Essex County. Thesetransformations challenged future Prosecutors to respond to changingpatterns andvolumes of crime with increased professionalism and dedication.By 1973, the legal staff numbered 63 lawyers, all full-time. CountyInvestigators replaced the former Detectives and were increasingly selectedfrom the ranks of experienced local police officers. Under Prosecutor GeorgeSchneider (Prosecutor from 1981 to 1986), the number of AssistantProsecutors exceeded 100. Increasing resources were dedicated to specialsquads. The Homicide Squad was expanded and a Narcotics Section, which atfirst was a joint task force with the Sheriff’s Office, wascreated. Eventually specialized units were established in Child Abuse, SexAssault,Arson, Domestic Violence, Megan’s Law and Gangs.In 1986, Governor Thomas Kean appointed the first African AmericanProsecutor in Essex County (and only the second in the State), Herbert H. Tate,Jr. Computerization of the Office was begun and continued in stagesthroughout the terms of Prosecutor Tate and his successor, ProsecutorClifford J. Minor.Also, during their terms, a sexual assault case was brought against a group ofhigh school athletes from Glen Ridge, who in 1993 was convicted ofvictimizing a 17-year-old mentally handicapped woman. This case, which washandled by Robert D. Laurino, who would later be named Acting Essex CountyProsecutor in 2010, was the subject of a popular book, a TV movie, and anepisode on the TV show “Law & Order.” Most importantly, the case brought2020 Annual Report of Essex County Prosecutor’s Office - 6