Rock throwers (l to r) James Turetzkin, Philip Williams and Lauren Magaw in the jury box, waiting for their hearing to begin. Photos by Mary Walton
By Charles Layton
All four adult defendants in the rock-throwing vandalism case agreed on Friday to a three-year schedule of payments to 180 victims throughout Monmouth County, including many in Ocean Grove.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Scully told each of the four that if they make good on their payment obligations, perform 75 hours of supervised community service and fulfill some other conditions imposed by the court, they can avoid the normal fines and prison terms prescribed for third-degree criminal mischief. All four had pleaded guilty to that offense on August 23 as part of a negotiated plea bargain.
If any defendant fails to meet the conditions set forth by the Prosecutor’s Office and Judge Scully, all deals would be off and that defendant would then be subject to a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
As outlined in court on Friday by Scully and Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Bycsek, the defendants agreed to pay a total of $117,895.34 in restitution — to victims and to their insurance companies –according to the following schedule:
— $5,000 to be paid immediately by each defendant.
— $679.83 per month to be paid by each defendant for a period of 36 months.
The defendants — Philip Williams, 25; Lauren Magaw, 21; James Turetzkin, 20, and Tyler Emmons, 18 — have all admitted participating in a months-long rampage of rock-throwing vandalism spread over 17 different Monmouth County towns, including Neptune Township. Police have said that 33 of those acts occurred in Ocean Grove from January through March of this year. The defendants would ride around in an SUV late at night tossing large stones through the windows of houses and parked cars. Police in Spring Lake arrested the group shortly after midnight on April 13 after receiving reports that windows were being broken. The defendants confessed to the entire vandalism spree at the police station that night.
Defendant Emmons stands in the jury box. Prosecutor Bycsek is in the foreground
Three of the defendants live in Neptune Township; Turetzkin lives in Neptune City. The name of a fifth defendant has not been released because he was 17 at the time of the arrests; he is being treated as a juvenile.
During Friday’s hearing, Cliff and Barbara Bandstra of Wall Township sat in the courtroom observing the proceedings. The couple told Blogfinger that they were on the list to receive restitution. They said they arrived home one Friday evening to find that the large paladium window in their entry foyer had been smashed. Replacing it cost more than $4,000, they said. The vandals had also hurled large stones against the stucco of the house and done other damage.
Asked why they were attending the hearing, Cliff Bandstra said, “I was just curious to see what they looked like.”
“And what kind of people would do this,” his wife said.
They said they also have a home in Ocean Grove, but were surprised when told that many Ocean Grovers had also been victims of the rock throwing.
The defendants said little — beyond “yes, your honor” — as Judge Scully outlined the conditions of their probation. They were called to stand before the judge one at a time and verify that they understood the nature of the deal they were entering into. During the next three years, the judge explained, they will be supervised under Monmouth County’s Pretrial Intervention program, which is designed for first-time offenders. They must abide by the normal terms of criminal probation, including mandatory drug monitoring as determined by the probation officer.
Scully explained that the amount of the restitution is owed by the four defendants “equally and severally,” meaning that if one defendant fails to pay his share the others must assume that liability.
Lawyers for the defendants noted that the case of the fifth defendant, in juvenile court, is not yet resolved. They asked Scully whether, if that juvenile defendant is ordered to pay restitution as well, that might reduce the amounts owed by the four adult defendants. Scully said he had no influence over the juvenile proceeding, but that such an outcome might be possible.
After the hearing, Cliff and Barbara Bandstra said they were not sure the restitution money they’ll receive will cover all of their losses, but they thought it would come close. Both also said they thought the punishments the defendants received seemed “pretty fair.”
“If they actually come through with it, and live up to it” Barbara Bandstra said of the defendants, “maybe they’ll learn something.”
Cliff and Barbara Bandstra chat with prosecutor Kathleen Bycsek before the hearing. The Bandstras had a $4,000 window smashed by the vandals