Point Pleasant cop accused of shoplifting was back in court. What happened?
BRICK A former Point Pleasant police sergeant charged with stealing groceries from the local Walmart has been granted a conditional dismissal of one shoplifting charge and outright dismissal of two others after he agreed to resign from his six-figure job.
Joshua H. Gunnell, 41, who was a detective sergeant in charge of the Point Pleasant Police Department's detective bureau, received a conditional dismissal of the shoplifting charge when he appeared in municipal court on Sept. 28, according to court records. He did not enter a guilty plea to the charge.
In addition, two more shoplifting charges filed against him subsequent to his initial arrest were dismissed in exchange for Gunnell paying restitution to Walmart.
Gunnell paid fees and court costs totaling $158, as well as $149.52 to Walmart, said his attorney, Francis Hodgson, who declined further comment.
The initial shoplifting charge will be dismissed if Gunnell stays out of trouble for a year, according to court records.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the resolution came 27 days after Gunnell, a 14-year veteran of the Point Pleasant police force, agreed to resign. He executed a separation agreement with the prosecutor's office and Point Pleasant on Sept. 1, Billhimer said.
"Gunnell resigned voluntarily and agreed to forfeit his right to seek public employment in law enforcement,'' Billhimer said. "While the actions that gave rise to the criminal complaint were extremely troubling, I commend Mr. Gunnell for realizing the gravity of the situation and voluntarily resigning from the Point Pleasant Borough Police Department.''
Gunnell earned a base salary of $141,840 in 2022, according to pubic records.
He had been suspended with pay following his arrest on June 25.
The first shoplifting charge was lodged on that date after store surveillance footage captured Gunnell at a self-checkout machine removing multiple items from his shopping cart while only scanning one of the items for payment, according to an affidavit of probable cause to charge him with the offense.
When a store employee interjected and scanned the missed items, Gunnell completed the transaction and paid, but left numerous items that he didn't pay for concealed under reusable shopping bags in the top shelf of his shopping cart when he left the store, the affidavit said.
The items Gunnell was charged with stealing were described as "miscellaneous groceries and health care products'' valued at $212.12, according to the complaint charging Gunnell with shoplifting.
Additional shoplifting complaints were filed against Gunnell on July 27, alleging he stole from the same Walmart on previous occasions on June 4 and June 15 by under-ringing and concealing merchandise.
Those complaints were signed by store personnel after they reviewed additional security footage. Those charges were dismissed outright at the discretion of the municipal prosecutor at the Sept. 28 court proceeding, according to court records.
"Whenever a law enforcement officer is criminally charged for violating the very laws he or she swore to uphold, it reflects poorly on the vast majority of law enforcement officers who live up to that oath every day,'' Billhimer said. "All members of the law enforcement community must maintain the public's trust by conducting themselves with the highest level of integrity. We will continue to hold our officers to the highest standard and work every day to build trust with the communities we serve.''
Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: What happened with shoplifting charges against Point Pleasant cop?
