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Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J.
Taylor announced that a suspended NJ
Transit police officer pleaded
guilty today to official misconduct
for possessing nearly 4 pounds of
marijuana in his car which he
intended to sell.
Barrington Williams, 48, of
Irvington, who is suspended from his
position as a sergeant for the NJ
Transit Police, pleaded guilty today
to second-degree official
misconduct, a charge contained in a
July 9, 2009 state grand jury
indictment. Williams pleaded guilty
before Superior Court Judge Michael
A. Petrolle in Essex County.
Judge Petrolle scheduled sentencing
for June 16. The state will
recommend that Williams be sentenced
to five years in state prison.
Williams must forfeit his job and
will be permanently barred from
public employment.
The prosecution resulted from an
investigation by the New Jersey
State Police Organized Crime Control
Bureau North Unit and the Division
of Criminal Justice. State Police
detectives arrested Williams on July
10, 2008, when they stopped his
vehicle in Irvington. They executed
a search warrant for the vehicle and
found approximately 3.7 pounds of
marijuana in five bags, $3,600 in
cash, and Williams’ service handgun.
The NJ Transit Police Internal
Affairs Bureau assisted in the
arrest. In pleading guilty, Williams
admitted that he had the marijuana
in his possession and intended to
distribute it.
State Police Detective Sgt. Ronald
Hampton coordinated the
investigation. Deputy Attorney
General Annmarie Taggart of the
Division of Criminal Justice Gangs &
Organized Crime Bureau is
prosecuting the case and represented
the Division at the guilty plea
hearing. |