Grant-Sponsored Patrols in Lakehurst Yield 4 DWI Charges

Patrols by working under state-sponsored grants yielded four DWI charges in early September, according to information released by Sgt. Ronald Heinzman.

Patrols under the Cops-in-Shops and DWI grants, sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, took place on Saturday, Sept. 3 into the morning of Sunday, Sept. 4.

According to police, all of the following were processed at the borough's police department and released pending municipal court dates.

• On Sept. 3, Robert P. Neal, a 53-year-old from Lakehurst, was charged with DWI, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane after being stopped near the intersection of Center Street and Union Avenue in the borough's downtown by Sgt. Brian Baranyay at 7:51 p.m., Heinzman said.

• Just past midnight on Sept. 4, Daniel E. Ortiz, 23, of Jersey City, was stopped by Baranyay while driving through the Lakehurst Circle connecting Routes 70 and 37. Ortiz was charged with DWI, reckless driving, speeding, failure to maintain lane, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle, open alcohol in a motor vehicle, unsafe lane change and failure to inspect, according to Heinzman.

• As Baranyay drove Ortiz to the police department headquarters on Union Avenue, he noticed a driver "operating all over the road" in front of his vehicle, at which time he called for other officers to stop the car, Heinzman said. 
  
  Chief of Police Eric Higgins responded to the call at 12:35 a.m. Sept. 4, stopping 34-year-old Natalia Martinez of Ocean Grove near the intersection of Route 70 and Center Street. According to Heinzman, Martinez was charged with DWI, refusal to submit to breath testing, resisting arrest, failure to stop or yield, failure to maintain lane and driving as an uninsured motorist. 

• The final charges of the sweep came as Virginia R. Russel, a 30-year-old from Newark, was stopped on Route 70 West in the Eisenhower Circle by Ptl. Iain James at 5:16 a.m. Russel was charged with DWI, having open alcohol in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, having fictitious plates and driving with a cracked windshield.

Heinzman and Ptl. Jeffrey Emmons assisted with the arrests. All of the above charges are not an indication of guilt.