Success Stories
On June 12, 2024, Union City Police Officers received calls of a shooting in the area of Kennedy Boulevard. Upon responding, officers found the victim on the ground with a gun shot wound to his upper leg. Police began canvassing the area and were able to recover numerous videos that strung together the events before, during and after the shooting. The cops investigation to our client, E.A., and his two codefendants being charged with Attempted Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Handgun. In summary, E.A., and his two codefendants were alleged to have gotten in an argument with the victim at the local basketball court which then turned physical. After the physical alteration, E.A. and the codefendants were alleged to have gone home to retrieve a handgun and then track down the victim. E.A. was further alleged to have found the victim and directed a codefendant to shoot him. To make matters worse, the second codefendant, turned State’s witness and cooperated against our client E.A. and his brother. After a lengthy courtroom battle, William A. Proetta, Esq. was able to convince the State to dismiss the Attempted Murder charges against our client E.A. In the end, E.A. ultimately pled guilty to a third degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and received a time served sentence with probation.
State v. E.A.
On August 6, 2022, Edison Police responded to a multi-car crash on Route 1 North and South in the vicinity of Town Square. Upon arrival, officers found a seven (7) vehicle crash, which resulted in the death of C.Y. and serious bodily injury to four (4) other people. Witnesses indicated that the defendant, G.P., was operating his vehicle aggressively, at a high rate of speed, weaving through lanes, ultimately causing the crash. Police were able to secure video surveillance from a nearby business that showed the crash take place. Upon further investigation, the police came to the conclusion that G.P. was operating his vehicle in a reckless manner, at a high rate of speed and utilized the acceleration/deceleration turn lane to attempt to pass other vehicles. This reckless driving led to G.P. striking the rear of vehicle 2. After striking vehicle 2, G.P. then struck vehicle 3. The strike to vehicle 3 sent it directed toward oncoming traffic in the northbound lanes, ultimately leading to more collisions and the death of C.Y. Based on these findings, G.P. was charged with Vehicular Homicide 2C:11-5A and faced a mandatory period of incarceration for 5 – 10 years, of which 85% of the sentence would have to be served before parole.
There was extensive litigation for over a year involving experts and legal issues pertaining to the ultimate question of causation and liability. In the end, William A. Proetta, Esq. was able to convince the State to amend the charges to a third degree to avoid a mandatory state prison sentence. Then at the time of sentencing, Mr. Proetta was able to successfully convince the Judge to give G.P. a period of non-custodial probation.
State v. G.P.
Our office represented a client arrested for third-degree money laundering in Middlesex County. The facts are ones we see more and more often, and they can lead to innocent people being charged. Imagine you are a contractor who was just paid for a job, or you sold some old items for cash. If you are carrying that cash when police search you, your home or your car, it can become a problem. With credit cards and apps like Venmo and PayPal, fewer people carry large amounts of cash, and police have grown suspicious when they find it. We have seen many officers take a “charge now, ask questions later” approach, leaving the accused to prove their innocence after the fact.
How the Case Started
Our client was pulled over in Middlesex Borough for a minor traffic violation, and the stop quickly turned into an interrogation. According to the police report, he seemed overly nervous, so officers called in a K-9 unit. The dog alerted to a bag in the back seat, but when officers opened it they found only cash, about $7,500. Our client explained that he bought and sold used cars for a living, typically for cash, and had sold a car that day. He even showed his auction license, which allows him to bid at car auctions. Police charged him with money laundering anyway.
How We Got the Charge Dismissed
The prosecutor’s office was willing to let our client apply for Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) but would not dismiss the case. PTI can be an excellent result in the right case, but here it would not have been a just outcome given the lack of evidence of money laundering and the problems with the search that led to the charge. We told the prosecutor we would accept only a complete dismissal or take the case to litigation.
We gave the prosecutor’s office a copy of our client’s auction license and sales receipts for the cars he sold on the day of the arrest and the days before it. That meant the State would have to present this evidence to the grand jury if it pursued an indictment. The prosecutor assigned detectives to verify the documents. After several weeks of investigation everything checked out, and with no evidence of criminal activity the State dismissed all charges.
Result: All charges dismissed. Our client walked out of Superior Court with no record, no fines and no probation, and the cash seized by police was returned to him.
State v. A.J.G., decided June 28, 2018.
We defended a client charged with multiple indictable crimes: two counts of forgery (N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1), receiving stolen property (N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7), possession of prescription drugs (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5d) and identity theft (N.J.S.A. 2C:21-7). The State alleged she used stolen prescription pad blanks and forged a doctor’s signature to obtain prescription drugs from a pharmacy under a false name.
Because the charges were serious, the case went to Superior Court and the County Prosecutor’s Office. We notified the prosecutor of our representation, requested the evidence, and prepared our client for the real possibility of state prison given the charges and her prior record. After its initial screening, the prosecutor’s office downgraded the charges to disorderly persons offenses and sent the case back to municipal court.
How We Won in Municipal Court
In municipal court we served the prosecutor with an extensive discovery request listing the evidence the State would need to prove its case. The State failed to produce several items, including the pharmacy surveillance video used to identify our client. We argued that, because of these gaps, the State could not prove the charges. The prosecutor agreed to amend the final charge to a township ordinance violation, punishable only by a fine, and dismissed every remaining criminal charge.
Result: Felony charges downgraded and dismissed; final charge amended to a township ordinance with a fine only. Our client went from facing a possible felony conviction and state prison to no criminal record and no jail.
State v. J.E., decided July 5, 2017.
I was recently retained by a young professional who had been charged with a third degree aggravated assault and was also facing a final restraining order after having a bad night with his wife. Like many domestic violence incidents – my client took the position that the allegations had been blown way out of proportion by his wife and that the police had taken her side.
I explained to him that defending these cases would be a marathon and not a race. First, we had to appear in the Superior Court on the restraining order to determine whether a final restraining order was necessary or whether the judge would dismiss the temporary restraining order that had been placed into effect the night of the alleged incident. The plaintiff, my client’s wife, had hired an attorney to try an make sure she could obtain a final restraining order against him. After spending some time speaking back and forth with her attorney and highlighting their weaknesses of the case, the plaintiff and her attorney agreed to dismiss the restraining order against my client in lieu of a consent agreement between both of them. This was a huge win for my client because he was able to avoid admittance into the Domestic Violence Registry and a forfeiture of gun ownership.
However, we still had the toughest part of the case in front of us – the criminal 3rd degree aggravated assault. If convicted, he would most likely lose his corporate job and he could clearly be incarcerated for up to 5 years in state prison, especially since this wasn’t the first time he had been arrested for an assault related crime. In order to get out my client out of this mess we had to challenge the state’s case against him. The reason the charge had been upgraded to an aggravated assault in the first place instead of a less serious simple assault was because his wife had alleged she suffered partial paralysis as a result of being hit in the face. The victim’s credibility was severely called into question when it came to light that her paralysis was a pre-existing condition and had not been caused by my client. Based on this and the victim’s unwillingness to testify in regards to such, I was able to successfully convince the County Prosecutor to dismiss the charges outright against my client.
State v. G.A.
Our theft defense attorneys recently represented a client who had been arrested for committing a substantial theft against port authority and E-ZPass in excess of over $50,000. This extraordinary amount was accumulated over 5 years of never or very rarely paying tolls as our client commuted daily to and from New York City. Our client was pulled over by a police officer as he drove through the toll plaza because he recognized his car and license plate from earlier reports of unpaid tolls. Based on the allegations, he was charged with theft of services in New Jersey.
Anytime you are dealing with a large theft alleging tens of thousands of dollars, the stakes become very steep and the penalties can be extremely serious. However, in this case our client had actually allegedly stolen from the State of New Jersey by depriving them of thousands in tolls owed. This made the situation even more serious because prosecutors typically take a harder stance when the crime is against the government. To make matters more complicated, our client was a professional and was adamant that he could not get convicted of a felony or be sentenced to incarceration because he would lose his job. So we applied our client for Pre-Trial Intervention “PTI” and began working with the prosecutor during the review process to work out the particulars and challenge the actual amount of theft that they had alleged. In the end our client was able to get admitted into PTI without making any admission of wrong doing. Once the 12 month period of PTI is successfully completed the charges will be dismissed in their entirety. If you would like to learn more about how our Jersey City Theft Lawyers can help you, such as the example above, then contact our office today for a free consultation.
State v. T.D. decided on May 23, 2017
picture compliments of nj.com
Our criminal defense attorneys recently defended a juvenile client who had been charged and arrested for 1st degree Robbery. The State alleged the following facts; first that our client along with three other accomplices, including his brother, had confronted the victim in a park while walking home. Then the group of males pushed the victim to the ground and began assaulting him by punching him several times. Then one of the assailants pulled a knife and demanded the victim’s cell phone. The State further alleged, that before it could go any farther, bystanders came to the rescue of the victim and the four assailants fled on foot. The victim was escorted to police headquarters where he was able to identity two of the individuals involved and give descriptions of the other two. Based on the victim’s first hand identification, our client and his brother were both arrested and charged with 1st degree Robbery, 3rd degree Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purposes, and 4th Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
The case originally started with custodial (incarceration) offers on the table. But we maintained our client’s “not guilty” plea and began attacking weaknesses in the State’s case against our client. Although the State had a firsthand identification by the victim witness, there was no knife ever found, none of the victim’s property was taken and our client did not make an incriminating statement. Using this information, we prepped the case for trial. On the last status conference before the trial, the State conceded to the deficiencies in their proofs and it was ultimately decided that our client would receive an adjourned disposition and plead guilty to a disorderly persons offense of Simple Assault and all other charges to be dismissed. The adjourned disposition meant that upon a successful completion of probation, the guilty plea would also be dismissed in its entirety, leaving our client with no criminal or juvenile record.
State v. V.C.
2nd Eluding & Aggravated Assault Receives Conditional Dismissal
Our criminal defense attorneys recently represented a young college student athlete who had been charged with a second degree aggravated assault on a police officer under 2C:12-1b(5)(a) and second degree eluding under 2C:29-2b each carrying a presumption of state prison of 5 – 10 years. Our client was on a scholarship to play sports for the college and had never been in trouble before but at the time we got involved in his case, his life was literally hanging in the balance depending on if he got convicted of these charges or not. We first heard about the circumstances of his case after getting a call from his frantic mother who had sent her son up to New Jersey to attend college and was beside herself with what had happened to her son.
The Facts We Were Working With
The circumstances of the case were that on the day in question, our client had been waiting in traffic to enter onto the highway. Police were directing traffic on a very congested roadway that was not moving very fast. After some time our client saw an opportunity to enter onto the ramp to the highway even the police were still not letting anyone go, so he decided to enter onto the highway without their direction. He drove by the one individual directing traffic and then a uniformed police officer stepped out in front of his car to try and stop him and our client swerved and the police officer was alleged hit by his vehicle. Our client continued driving onto the ramp and on to the highway until eventually becoming stuck in traffic again and being pulled over by police.
How We Pulled It Off
Based on the alleged facts of the case it seemed that it was an honest mistake that had been blown way out of proportion and that our client had not even realized the officer was struck by the side mirror of the car. Knowing these facts and what laid in the balance for our client and his future, our criminal attorneys began defend and attack the state’s case against him. Initially, the charges were too serious on their face for the prosecutor’s office to consider a remand so the case was sent on the path to indictment. From there we began working with the prosecutor’s towards what we considered a just and equitable resolution for our client – something not involving a criminal conviction. Eventually we were able to get the county prosecutor’s office to agree to downgrade the second degree charge of eluding to a disorderly persons offense of disorderly conduct and dismiss the aggravated assault on the police officer. From there we were able to make an application and motion to court to have our client entered into the conditional dismissal program for a period of 12 months, at which time the case against him would be dismissed in its entirety up successful completion.
State v. K.C. decided July 28, 2017
Our Hudson County criminal attorneys defended a client was charged with second degree Aggravated Assault, third degree Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purposes, and fourth degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. In particular, the second degree crime was punishable by 5 – 10 years in state prison with a presumption of incarceration if found guilty. Moreover, the crime would fall under NERA (No Early Release Act) which means that a defendant would have to serve 85% of the time before being eligible for parole.
Our client was a professional and could not afford to receive a criminal record and obviously not get sentenced to incarceration. So we first appeared in Hudson County Superior Court and were able to convince the County Prosecutor’s Office to downgrade the charge to disorderly persons offense of Simple Assault and send it back down to Jersey City Municipal Court. From there we appeared multiple times with our client and presented various defenses to the prosecutor and Court in furtherance of a dismissal but the Judge was hesitant to take action because the charges had been so serious. After months of back and forth were able to successfully make a motion for a dismissal of the charges altogether.
State v. P.T. decided February 4, 2016
Our criminal defense attorneys recently defended a client who had been charged and arrested for distributing the popular party drug known as “Molly”. Officers arrested our client and a co-defendant after allegedly witnessing drug sales being conducted. Our client was a college student with no prior record but he was charged with a second degree crime and was facing 5 – 10 years in state prison that carries a presumption of imprisonment even as a first time offender. To make matters worse, he was an out-of-state resident of Philadelphia, and was immediately taken into custody and incarcerated in the County Jail on a $50,000 bail with no 10% option (cash or bond only). Once retained, we immediately contacted the County Superior Court and had a Bail Reduction Hearing scheduled. During that hearing, we were able to offer compelling factors to the Superior Court Judge presiding over the case and were successful in getting the bail reduced so our client’s family could bail him out.
In the following months, we received discovery from the court and began challenging the proof issues that the State was relying on to prosecute our client. It became evident that the police improperly tested the alleged “molly” being sold by our clients, and that they could not prove that the substance was, in fact, a narcotic. At that point, the County Prosecutor’s Office agreed to downgrade the 2nd degree distribution charges to a disorderly persons offense and sent the case back down to municipal court. This was already a tremendous victory for our client because he no longer faced the very real possibility of mandatory prison incarceration and a felony record. However, once in municipal court we continued to press the State on their weaknesses in the case and we were ultimately able to the resolve the matter when we got the municipal prosecutor to a downgrade the drug charge to a municipal ordinance violation. Municipal ordinances to do not carry any record and are typically only punishable by a fine. Our client was able to walk out of court after only paying a small fine and with no criminal record after he once faced mandatory state prison incarceration of up to 10 years. Needless to say, it was a life changing event for him. If you or your loved one has been charged or arrested for drug distribution in New Jersey, contact our office today for a free consultation to see how our criminal attorneys may be able to help you.
State v. I.I.