Texas Man Indicted for Violent, Racist Post in Student Group Chat

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a 21-year-old Texas man has been indicted for posting a comment calling for racial violence in a group chat created by a Northern Burlington Regional High School student in the spring of 2018.

Kenneth Petersen, of the 400 block of North Clinton Street in Stephenville, Texas, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of Bias Intimidation (

Fourth Degree). The indictment was returned January 9 and signed by Prosecutor Coffina.

The investigation began in May 2018 after a Northern Burlington student who had created a group chat to discuss senior pranks using the messaging app GroupMe received a message from a sender she did not know that suggested “all the black people at the school” should be shot.

The student informed her teacher and police were notified. The comment raised particular concern in the school community because it was made as the 2018 graduation ceremony was approaching. The Mansfield Township Police Department immediately provided an increased presence on the campus, and it was quickly determined that the threat had come from out of state and that no students or members of the staff were in immediate danger. The investigation revealed that the message was posted by Petersen, who was attending a university in Texas at the time. He was arrested in September 2019 following a multi-agency investigation.

Access to the group chat was available to anyone with a GroupMe account, and had been discussed by students on other social media platforms. It is not clear what led Petersen to target that particular group chat.

“There can never be any tolerance for racially-motivated threats like this and, especially during recent times when we have seen threats escalate to actual acts of violence, law enforcement must respond with the utmost seriousness,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “You cannot hide behind a cell phone halfway across the country while spewing such hatred.”

The investigation was conducted by the Mansfield Township Police Department, with assistance from the BCPO, the New Jersey State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tarleton State University Police Department in Stephenville, Texas.

An indictment is an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

Pemberton Man Charged with Sexual Assault of Two Minors

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Pemberton Township Police Chief David H. Jantas announced that a 54-year-old man was arrested today on charges of sexually assaulting two young girls at his residence in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township.

Carlos Aponte, of the first block of Homestead Drive, was charged with two counts of Sexual Assault (Second Degree) and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Second Degree).

Aponte was taken into custody this morning at the Prosecutor’s Office in Mount Holly and lodged in the Burlington County Jail pending a detention hearing in Superior Court.

The investigation revealed that Aponte was acquainted with the victims. In an effort to protect their identities, no further information about the assaults will be released.

Aponte will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Eife, supervisor of the BCPO Major Crimes Unit – Special Victims Section. The investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office and the Pemberton Township Police Department. The lead investigators are BCPO Lt. Daniel Leon and Pemberton Township Police Detective Joshua Danka.

All persons are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Amish Patel, 31, of Delanco Sentenced for 2018 Willingboro Double Fatal Collision

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Delanco man was sentenced today to 12 ½ years in New Jersey state prison for causing the deaths of a married couple during a collision two years ago in the jug handle at Route 130 and Bridgeboro Road in Willingboro Township.

Amish Patel, 31, must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. The sentence was handed down in Superior Court in Mount Holly by the Hon. Philip E. Haines, J.S.C.

Patel pled guilty in November to two counts of Vehicular Homicide (Second Degree) and Driving While Intoxicated for the deaths of Robert Stephens, 52, and his wife Janet, 50, of Burlington Township, on January 13, 2018. He acknowledged in court that he had been drinking and at the time of the accident was traveling at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour.

The investigation revealed that at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Stephens’ minivan was stopped in the jug handle waiting to cross Route 130 onto Bridgeboro Road when Patel, who was traveling northbound on Route 130, lost control of his BMW 440, entered the jug handle and crashed into the minivan.

The force of the impact propelled the minivan over the guardrail and down an embankment, where it submerged into a body of water that is part of Olympia Lakes. Autopsies revealed that both victims had drowned.

“Our thoughts are with the friends and family members of Mr. and Mrs. Stephens, who spoke so beautifully today about what special and selfless people they were,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “This tragedy is made all the worse by the fact that it was entirely avoidable. There is absolutely no justification for anyone who is intoxicated to get behind the wheel.”

Patel was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Josh Dennis, supervisor of the BCPO Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit, and Assistant Prosecutors Douglas J. Bligh and Brandon Almeida. The collision was investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office and the Willingboro Township Police Department. Assistance was provided at the scene by the Delran Township Police Department, Edgewater Park Township Police Department and the New Jersey State Police. The lead investigators were BCPO Detective Michael Reagan and Willingboro Township Police Detective Ed Walker.

Burlington County Chiefs of Police Association New Executive Board Members

BURLINGTON CITY NJ (January 15, 2020)The Burlington County Chiefs of Police Association is pleased to announce the names of their new Executive Board members for 2020.

The members will be sworn to their new positions at the annual Installation Dinner starting 6:00pm on Friday January 24, 2020 at the Café Madison, 33 Lafayette Street, Riverside, NJ 08075.

Riverton Borough Police Chief John B. Shaw Jr. will take the oath of office of President of the Chiefs Association during a ceremony at the banquet.

The remainder of the 2020 Executive Board of the Chiefs\’ Association being sworn in consists of:

Vice President – Medford Lakes Chief Robert Dugan, 2

Vice President Westampton Township Chief Stephen Ent, Secretary- Lumberton Township Chief Nicholas Peditto, Treasurer – Chesterfield Township Police Chief Kyle Wilson, Sergeant-at-Arms Bordentown Township Chief Brian Pesce.

In addition to the swearing-in of the new board, the Chiefs\’ Association will also present the

Richard Dreby President’s Award

for service to the Chiefs\’ association and the Burlington County Police Chiefs Association College Scholarship Assistance Awards.

The Burlington County Police Chiefs\’ Organization and its members work toward the overall enhancement of law enforcement practices throughout Burlington County.

Two Neptune Township Teenagers Plead Guilty in Newborn Killing

FREEHOLD – Two teens have pleaded guilty in connection with a March 2019 infanticide in Neptune Township, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Jada M. McClain, 18, of Neptune Township, pleaded guilty to first degree Aggravated Manslaughter. Quaimere Mohammed, 19, also of Neptune Township, pleaded guilty to second degree Disturbing or Desecrating Human Remains in connection with the death of a newborn baby.Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ms. McClain faces a sentence of 10 years in Prison on the Aggravated Manslaughter subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA) requiring her to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. Mr. Mohammed faces a sentence of 5 years in State Prison on the Disturbing or Desecrating Human Remains offense.

On April 4, 2019, the Asbury Park Police Department received a report that Jada McClain, a student at Neptune Township Regional High School, had recently given birth, and that the newborn was deceased. The investigation was referred to the Neptune Township Police Department who, together with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, launched an investigation into the matter.

The joint investigation revealed that McClain had become pregnant by her boyfriend, Quaimere Mohammed, a student at Asbury Park High School, sometime in July 2018. McClain explained to investigators that she hid the fact that she was pregnant from her parents and that she gave birth to a boy in the early morning hours of March 29, 2019, in her home. After giving birth to the child, McClain pressed her hands on the boy’s chest until he stopped breathing. McClain contacted Mohammed, and later that morning, the two disposed of the child’s body in a dumpster on Monroe Avenue in Asbury Park. Investigators later recovered surveillance video which captured Mohammed disposing of the child’s body near the Washington Village apartment complex.

Investigators learned that the contents of the dumpster, including the newborn’s remains, were transported to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls, where they were compacted and buried. The infant’s body was never recovered.

McClain and Mohammed are scheduled to appear in Superior Court for sentencing for their crimes before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman on March 20. McClain remains incarcerated in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, where she has been detained since her arrest.

“This case is a horrible tragedy. An infant is dead and two young people are going to prison. None of this should have happened. Young persons who are not yet ready for parenthood need to understand that there are safe, legal and completely confidential ways to give up custody of a newborn,” said Gramiccioni.

On August 7, 2000, the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act became law. The law allows a parent who is unable or unwilling to care for an infant to give up custody of a baby who is less than 30 days old, safely, legally and anonymously. All that is required is that the baby be brought to a hospital emergency room or police station in New Jersey. As long as the child shows no signs of intentional abuse, no names or other information is required from the person delivering the baby.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Joseph Competello and Stephanie Dugan. McClain is represented by Thomas Catley Esq. of Ocean Grove. Mohammed is represented by Stephen Nelson Esq., of Neptune Township.

Mount Laurel Resident Indicted for Running Investment Scam

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a 59-year-old Mount Laurel man has been indicted for stealing $77,000 from a woman who had given him the money to invest in what she believed were legitimate business ventures.

Jeffrey B. Jasner, (photo)of the 200 block of Evans Court, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of Theft by Deception (Second Degree). The indictment was returned January 9 and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court.

The investigation revealed that the victim, a Philadelphia resident, reconnected with Jasner at a high school reunion in early 2018 and the pair began dating. Jasner untruthfully told the victim that he had created a business called Cities of a Million Lights that educates inner-city students on how to overcome the barriers of socio-economic, gender and sexual inequalities.

Jasner further told the victim that the mayors of Camden and Philadelphia supported the initiative, and that a kickoff would be held at Philadelphia’s Made in America festival with lanterns being released into the air on both sides of the Delaware River. The return on her investment would come from the money provide by companies who were sponsoring the event, Jasner stated.

Jasner also convinced the victim to invest in a fictitious travel agency which conducted business under the names of Love Traveling and Club Card.

Jasner guaranteed that he would repay the investments with interest if the ventures failed to produce the expected financial returns, but the scam started to fall apart in the fall of 2018 when he was unable to begin providing the victim with the payments he had promised.

The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant Prosecutor Margaux Loures. The investigation was conducted by the Mount Laurel Police Department and led by Detective Aaron Harty.

An indictment is merely an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

Edgewater Park Man Indicted for Killing his Mother in her Home

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a 53-year-old man has been indicted for killing his mother inside of her residence at the Courtyard

Apartments in Edgewater Park last year.

Brian Templeton (photo) was indicted by a grand jury on charges of Murder (First Degree), Desecration of Human Remains (Second Degree), Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree), and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Fourth Degree).

The indictment was returned yesterday and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court. Templeton is currently detained at the Burlington County Jail.

The investigation began on November 11, 2019, after an employee of the apartment complex asked police to check on 77-year-old Doris Templeton because she had not been seen nor heard from in more than two weeks.

The investigation revealed that on or about October 24, 2019, Templeton, who had been staying with his mother at her unit in the complex, killed Doris Templeton inside of her apartment, put her body into a chest and loaded it into the back of his car.

The body was discovered by investigators in the parking lot of Templeton’s employer on November 12, 2019. An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head.

Templeton will be prosecuted by BCPO Assistant Prosecutor Bob Van Gilst, supervisor of the BCPO Major Crimes Unit – Violent Crimes Section. The lead investigator is BCPO Detective Brian Miller.

An indictment is an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

Past Mt. Laurel Day Care Director Indicted for Taking $64,544 from Employer

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a 31-year-old Clementon woman was indicted today for stealing nearly $65,000 from a Mount Laurel day care

center where she was employed as the director.

Ashley Offenbacker, (photo) of the 300 block of White Horse Pike, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of Theft by Failure to Make Disposition (Second Degree). The indictment was returned today and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court.

The investigation revealed that Offenbacker, who was responsible for enrollment and billing at Kiddie Academy, instructed several parents to submit tuition payments to her in cash instead of utilizing the business’s online billing system.

She is accused of taking $64,544 from 14 families between November 2017 and January 2019.

The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant Prosecutor Melissa O’Mara. The investigation was conducted by the Mount Laurel Police Department. The lead investigator was Mount Laurel Police Detective Thomas Corsanico.

An indictment is merely an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

Authorities Say Deaths of Burlington Township Couple was a Murder-Suicide

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ–Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Burlington Township Public Safety Director Bruce Painter announced that the deaths of a man and woman who lived together in an apartment complex on Salem Road have been ruled a murder-suicide.

The investigation revealed that Tianna Drummond, 28, was fatally beaten by Kristopher Corry, 30, who then shot himself in the head. Their bodies were discovered the morning of January 2 inside of their unit at the Willow Pointe Apartments just after 9 a.m.

Autopsies performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Drummond’s death was a homicide and Corry’s was a suicide.

Burlington Township police officers had gone to the residence at the request of a neighbor who heard the couple arguing.

The case was investigated by detectives from the Burlington Township Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office.

Apparent Murder-Suicide in Burlington Township Under Investigation

January 2, 2020

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Burlington Township Public Safety Director Bruce Painter announced that an apparent murder-suicide is being investigated at a Burlington

Township apartment complex.

The bodies of Kristopher Corry, 30, and Tianna Drummond, 28, were discovered inside of their unit at the Willow Pointe Apartments on Salem Road at approximately 8:45 a.m. today by Burlington Township police officers who were asked by a neighbor to conduct a wellness check.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the decedents were in a relationship.

The case is being investigated by detectives from the Burlington Township Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office.

Autopsies will be performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood. More information will be released as it becomes available.