In August 2020, Toms River cops (TRPD) busted Ricky A. Galloway with drugs, gun, and ammunition. In June 2023 he was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
In quite a dramatic turn of events, the New Jersey Appellate Division has just suppressed the evidence and tossed the conviction.
The reason: The court found that TRPD officers executed a search warrant in Lakewood - beyond their authorized jurisdiction.
On August 5, 2020, TRPD Patrolman Louis Taranto III obtained a search warrant from a Toms River municipal court judge. Based on Taranto's affidavit - which was based on his surveillance of drug sales - the Toms River municipal court judge found probable cause to believe that a certain Silver 2002 Jaguar "within the TOWNSHIP OF TOMS RIVER" had been involved in drug transactions. The judge approved a search warrant for seizure of evidence of those transactions.
Pertinently, the vehicle was registered to an address in Lakewood, a neighboring township. Apparently no one mentioned that little fact to the judge.
Two days later, TRPD officers conducted surveillance on Galloway at his Lakewood residence. Observing what they believed to be multiple drug transactions within Lakewood, the officers stopped Galloway's vehicle. The subsequent search yielded a .40-caliber handgun, 234 wax folds of heroin, and a small amount of cocaine. Additional contraband was discovered at Galloway's Lakewood home following a consented search. Galloway was charged with multiple weapon and drug offenses.
He filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that TRPD officers exceeded their jurisdiction by executing the search warrant in Lakewood. The trial court denied the motion, agreeing instead with the Prosecutor that "Toms River and Lakewood are both located in the County of Ocean," and that "a vehicle is inherently mobile and, thus, the territorial limitations the search of a residence presents are not present here." The court further determined that "the officers acted within the scope of the search warrant and, thus, the motor vehicle stop, arrest[,] and search of Galloway and the vehicle were constitutional."
Following the court's ruling, Galloway pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute CDS and certain persons not to possess weapons. In June 2023, he was sentenced to the State's recommended term of seven years imprisonment with a five-year term with five years of parole ineligibility, together with mandatory fines and penalties.
Upon appeal, the Appellate Division scrutinized the actions of the TRPD. The court emphasized that the search warrant was explicitly limited to Toms River. By conducting the vehicle stop and search in Lakewood, TRPD officers acted outside their jurisdictional authority, the court concluded.
"The officers' decision to execute the search warrant beyond the territorial limits set forth by the issuing judge undermines the judicial oversight integral to the warrant process, " wrote Judges Sabatino, Gummer and Jacobs. "We have not been presented with case law supporting the State's suggestion that we relax jurisdictional limitations in recognition of a vehicle's inherent mobility. And we decline to do so here," the panel added. Consequently, the court reversed Galloway's conviction and ordered the suppression of all evidence obtained from the unlawful search.
Galloway was represented by Assistant Deputy Public Defender Ethan Kisch.
This ruling underscores the critical importance of law enforcement adhering strictly to the parameters of search warrants and respecting jurisdictional boundaries. Legal experts suggest that police departments may need to implement additional training and oversight to prevent similar infractions in the future.
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has not yet announced whether it will seek to appeal the decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
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