Sussex County Prosecutor

May 30 James Pappas, age 55, of Hopatcong, was sentenced to probation for three years. As a condition of Pappas’ probation he is to serve 90 days in the Sussex County jail, to continue with his current sex offender counseling and to pay a $2,500 monetary fine. Pappas was also ordered to pay $205 in monetary penalties. He pled guilty on April 2 and entered a guilty plea to an accusation charging him with the fourth degree charge of possession of child pornography. Pappas admitted to the court that between May 20, 2003 and September 1, 2005, he had knowingly possessed numerous images of children engaged in prohibited sexual acts or in simulation of such acts and that he did so by storing those images on his computer. Mark R. Dechert, age 38, of Montague, New Jersey, was sentenced to probation for a period of two years. As a condition of his probation, he was ordered to serve 60 days in the Sussex County jail, to pay $280 in monetary penalties and to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $4,980. He pled guilty on January 28, to one count of the third degree charge for a Megan’s Law violation for failure to register as a Megan’s Law offender. Under the provisions of Megan’s Law, Dechert was required to notify the local police that he was residing at a new address. Dechert admitted to the court that on or about February 1, 2007 he moved to Frankford Township and had failed to notify the New Jersey State Police that he had moved. Dechert also admitted that on or about July 10, 2007, in Frankford Township he unlawfully taken merchandise from the Ross’s Corner Exxon Gas Station valued at $4,980. Charles W. Gartner, age 41, of Sussex, was sentenced to probation for a period of one year. As a condition of his probation Gartner is to serve 30 days in the Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program. Gartner was also ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation within 45 days of his sentencing date. As a condition of his probation he is also to have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 and he is to pay $155 in monetary penalties. He pled guilty on April 2, to the third degree charge of knowingly showing obscene material to a person under the age of 18. Gartner admitted to the court that on or about March 7, 2007, he had used his computer to send a computer image of his genitals to a person he believed to be 13 years of age for the purpose of sexually arousing or sexually gratifying himself. The investigation revealed that Gartner was communicating with a female law enforcement officer from the Blount County, Tennessee Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The female law enforcement officer was working in an undercover capacity posing as a 13-year-old female. June 5 A juvenile, age 15, was sentenced to 12 months probation and a six month loss of driver’s license when he turns 17. He must attend school every day and follow all home and school rules, complete 30 hours of community service, tour the Juvenile Detention Center, submit a DNA sample, undergo random drug testing, testify truthfully against co-defendants, write a letter of apology to the victim, have no contact with the victim or co-defendants and pay restitution (to be determined) to the victim. In March the juvenile and several juvenile co-defendants entered the home of the victim and damaged several areas of the home while in there. June 6 Matthew Milone-Clapp, age 26, of Hardyston, was sentenced to three years in jail. In addition, he must pay restitution to his victims along with court costs. He must also submit his DNA and undergo substance abuse and mental health evaluations. Milone-Clapp, pled guilty on April 9 to seven counts of third degree burglary. He admitted to entering several Hardyston Township residents’ homes looking for cash or any type of prescription medications. Robert Toomes, age 43, of Stockholm, was sentenced to six years state prison and $550 in fines. He pled guilty on March 31 to two counts of third degree crimes of terroristic threats and one count of second degree possession of a firearm while carrying out a drug distribution offense. He admitted to threatening the lives of two Hardyston police officers, David White and Edward O’Rourke, on December 9, 2007 in Hardyston following an arrest on an unrelated matter. He also admitted on the same day an amount of marijuana of which he intended to distribute part of while also possessing an operable shotgun. Lester T. Grube, age 54, of Easton, PA, was sentenced to three years probation. He must also pay court costs and pay restitution to his victims. Grube, pled guilty on April 9 to two counts of third degree issuing bad checks. He admitted to issuing checks to two Sussex County businesses in return for services received knowing that the checks would not be honored by his bank. Michelle Weiss, age 39, of Olyphant, PA, was sentenced to three years probation, 180 days county jail, outpatient substance abuse treatment and $155 in fines. She pled guilty on April 8, 2008 to the third degree crime of conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance. She admitted that on July 10, 2006, she and two other individuals from Pennsylvania traveled to the State of New Jersey in order to obtain cocaine and heroin. Following a motor vehicle stop by Sparta Police Officer Marc Rubino, she was found to be in possession of three hypodermic needles and one of her co-conspirators was found to be in possession of 34 bags of heroin. June 9 Nathan Toland, age 19, of Frankford was sentenced to three years drug court probation, 96 days jail, $2,330 in fines and a six month loss of driver’s license. He pled guilty on May 12 to two counts of the third degree crime of possession of a controlled dangerous substance. He admitted to possessing 36 bags of heroin containing trace amounts and to possession of three Xanax tablets for which he did not have a prescription in Frankford Township on March 9. The matter was investigated by New Jersey State Trooper R. Korpi. Andrew Denny, age 27 of Hamburg, was sentenced to two years probation and 46 days in county jail. He must obtain gainful employment and undergo a drug treatment evaluation and follow the recommendation. He will have to pay court costs and restitution to his victim, a Hardyston Township resident. Denny, pled guilty on March 3 to third degree theft. He admitted to taking coins and cash from a Hamburg residence in September 2007. Charles Davenport, age 22, of Wantage, pled guilty to third degree eluding. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 18. He admitted to ignoring a law enforcement officer’s signal to stop. Heather M. Rempkowski, age 24, of Dingmans Ferry, PA pled guilty to third degree theft and burglary. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 18. She admitted to entering a relative’s home without permission and taking jewelry, prescription drugs and money. Dexter Ponton, age 36, of Paterson, NJ pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraudulent use of a credit card, a third degree crime. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 18. On October 7, 2005 and November 8, 2005, Ponton and two co-defendants purchased building supplies from Kuiken Brothers Building Supply stores in Ogdensburg and Wantage using credit card information that was fraudulently obtained. Steven Ceragioli, age 48, of Wantage, was sentenced to three years in jail with an 18 month period of ineligibility. In addition he must undergo mental health, alcohol and substance abuse counseling. He must also pay court costs and provide his DNA. Ceragioli, pled guilty on April 22 to third degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth degree aggravated assault. On March 17, state troopers responded to a call of shots fired at the defendant’s home in Wantage. Mr. Ceragioli was verbally threatening and ultimately fired several shotgun shots in the direction of the state police. June 10 Donald L. Finklea, age 48, of Newton, pled guilty to third degree burglary. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 11. He admitted to taking an envelope containing $100 cash from a cashbox in an office in Newton that was not open to the public at the time. June 11 Paul E. Pease, age 26, of Andover pled guilty to two counts of third degree burglary, one count of third degree theft and one count of fourth degree theft. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 25. He admitted to entering two Andover Township homes, one under construction and another abandoned and removing copper. Kristofer J. Baglio, age 27, of Newton pled guilty to three counts of third degree burglary. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 25. He admitted to entering three different Hopatcong Borough resident’s vehicles looking for items of value. Brandon E. Petersen, age 18, of Newton pled guilty to armed robbery, a first degree crime, aggravated assault, a second degree crime, terroristic threats, a third degree crime, possession of a weapon (knife) with purpose to use it unlawfully against the person of another, a third degree crime, and hindering apprehension, a third degree crime. Sentencing is presently anticipated for July 25. Petersen admitted that on April 30, 2005, in the Town of Newton, in the course of committing a theft, he inflicted serious bodily injury upon Doris Zayacz by repeatedly stabbing her about the face, head, neck and arm with a knife, and while threatening to kill her. He also admitted that after committing those offenses, he tried to secrete her purse and the blood stained clothing that he was wearing, by placing the items in a bag and throwing the bag in Lake Lenape. Petersen was initially charged as a juvenile, however, in February 2006, the Superior Court, Family Part, granted the state’s application seeking a waiver of the Family Court’s jurisdiction over the matter, and transferred the case to the Criminal Part of Superior Court. The investigation into the matter, conducted by the Newton Police Department and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, was led by Newton Police Lieutenant Michael Richards.