March 11, 10

NEWS / Suspended NJ Transit Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Official Misconduct for Possessing Large Quanti

TRENTON – 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.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases10/pr20100310b.html