Local Police Departments Help to Arrest Drunk, Suspended Driver

Cooperative efforts from the Manchester and Toms River Police Departments helped put a drunk driver behind bars late Monday night.

The received a call from their colleagues in Toms River at approximately 11:38 p.m. yesterday evening that an “erratic” driver was proceeding westbound on Route 37 from Toms River Township into Manchester Township, information which was immediately radioed through dispatch to Manchester patrol units.

Mere moments later, Ptl. Matthew Juralewicz and his partner, Sgt. Vincent Manco, located the erratically-driven vehicle in question on Route 37 entering the Leisure Village West adult residential community. At that point, the officers stopped the vehicle and determined that the driver, 59-year-old Dennis Amend of Manchester, was driving while intoxicated.

Amend was immediately arrested and charged with several traffic violations, including: driving while intoxicated, driving while suspended, operating an uninsured vehicle and refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test. It was further learned that Amend has just been issued a summons for driving with a suspended license on Sunday by Ptl. David Fusaro.

As a result of these numerous violations, Amend is now facing additional criminal charges of two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle during a period of License Suspension. Manchester Municipal Court Judge Daniel Sahin set bail at $25,000 with no 10-percent option. In lieu of bail, Amend was then taken to the Ocean County Jail.