[ad_1]
POINT PLEASANT — Suspended Detective Sgt. Joshua Gunnell, who is awaiting a municipal court trial on shoplifting charges, has resigned from the Point Pleasant Police Department, a borough official confirmed Tuesday.
“Sgt. Gunnell is no longer an employee of the Borough of Point Pleasant, effective Sept. 1,” Borough Administrator Frank Pannucci told The Ocean Star.
The resignation followed an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office into charges that Mr. Gunnell engaged in shoplifting at a Walmart in Brick.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a settlement with the prosecutor’s office, Mr. Gunnell agreed to resign from Point Pleasant Police Department and never again work as a law enforcement official in New Jersey.
He also forfeited payment for any and all time accrued with the borough.
“He has not been paid since Aug. 1,” Mr. Pannucci said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The agreement was signed by Mr. Gunnell and his lawyer, Francis R. Hodgson on Sept. 1, by Point Pleasant Police Chief Adam Picca on Sept. 3, Mr. Pannucci on Sept. 5 and Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer on Sept. 7.
Mr. Gunnell was suspended with pay following his June 25 arrest by Brick Township police, who charged him with shoplifting $212 worth of merchandise from a Walmart store. He faces three separate summonses in the incident.
According to a police report issued by the Brick Township Police Department, Mr. Gunnell was arrested in the Walmart store at 1872 Route 88 at 4:26 p.m. on June 25. The charges included larceny – theft and shoplifting with an indication there was “concealed merchandise.” He was released at 6:58 p.m. and given a ride back to Walmart.
Since then, two more charges were filed against Mr. Gunnell for shoplifting less than $200 worth of merchandise from the Walmart, according to court documents.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Check out our other Point Pleasant Boro stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Subscribe today! If you’re not already an annual subscriber to The Ocean Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
[ad_2]
Source_link
