By Eunice Lee and James Queally/Star-Ledger Staff

WEST ORANGE — Raymar Lecky was gunned down around 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve on a Newark street corner.

A few days after his death, the chatter started up on Facebook questioning whether the 22-year-old from West Orange had been caught up in the drug violence that plagues the state’s largest city.

"I honestly feel horrible for his parents. But what was he doin (sic) down in Newark at 330 am anyway?!" one commenter wrote.

The initial remark prompted a slew of comments both against Lecky and in his defense.

"he (sic) was protecting his cousin which is noble so maybe people shudnt (sic) assume right away it was drug related," another Facebook commenter replied.

Minutes later, two others joined the thread and the conversation quickly turned ugly.

Someone by the name of Karen Roach charged that Lecky was a gang member. Minutes later, Lecky’s alleged criminal record was posted.

Then a commenter by the name of William Mango weighed in: "Live by the gun die by the gun BOOM," Mango wrote.

Such verbal jousting is typical online banter. But in this case, Roach and Mango — if those are the real names of those posting the comments — were not just disinterested bloggers. The two are police officers in West Orange, the town in which the shooting victim lived.

Both are now the subject of an internal affairs investigation, according to Capt. John Buoye, who at the time was serving as the department’s acting police chief. Officers are prohibited from discussing "any information relating to duties as a West Orange police officer" online, according to Buoye, who confirmed that Roach and Mango are both police officers.

While Buoye said he does not yet know if the officers personally wrote the comments, or if someone else posted under their names, neither Mango, 40, or Roach, 31, identified themselves as police officers in the posts.

Attempts to contact Roach were unsuccessful. Mango declined comment.

The cops are the latest public employees in New Jersey to come under question because of something they posted on Facebook or Twitter. The issue of what New Jersey public employees can say online has caused controversy in recent years.

Orange police officer Hector Rosado was fired, then reinstated, for using a racial slur and vulgarities on Twitter to criticize the city during police layoffs. In March 2011, former Union Township teacher Vicki Knox was the subject of controversy when she made anti-gay remarks on her personal Facebook page. Knox resigned from a 21-year teaching career and is seeking a disability pension, a decision to be made by the state Division of Pensions and Benefits.

While law enforcement agencies throughout the country have largely adopted social media policies, law enforcement officials often forget their audience when posting online, said Cpl. Frank Domizio, a social media expert and veteran Philadelphia police officer who lectures at Drexel University.

"Some people lose sight of the wide expanse that (social media) takes, the huge amount of people that can see what you’re doing," Domizio said. He said cops should behave online the way they would walking down the street in uniform.

DISPUTE WITH FRIEND

Lecky's alleged murderer Dwayne Edwards appears in this photo from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Lecky was killed in the early morning hours in a spray of gunfire near Sanford and Lanark avenues in Newark. Pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 3:18 a.m., another victim, an unidentified 26-year-old man, survived.

The young man was apparently shot during a dispute with a friend, according to law enforcement officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. Authorities have charged 35-year-old East Orange resident Dwayne Edwards with murder and weapon charges in connection with Lecky’s killing, but he is not yet in custody, officials said. Edwards and Lecky had been drinking, and a dispute in the group over a woman ended when Edwards shot and killed Lecky outside the club, the officials said. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task force is handling the investigation.

Four or five days after the killing, the comments appeared on Facebook, according to a thread obtained by The Star-Ledger. While the thread has since been deleted, screenshots were provided by a reader who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The first poster asked why Lecky was in Newark. The comment drew responses from acquaintances of Lecky, who said he died defending his cousin in a fight.

Minutes later, the two posters identifying themselves as Roach and Mango joined the thread. For the next hour, the two cops and more than 10 commenters traded insults and profanity.

"... two birds with one stone. One dead and one will eventually go to jail," wrote Mango, allegedly referring to Lecky and his killer.

Records show Lecky did have a criminal history. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in April 2009, but the charges were downgraded and the case was remanded to municipal court. Last May, he also was charged with a minor drug offense, records show.

While Lecky did not know either officer and was not a gang member, he had a history of disputes with West Orange police, according to a family member who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal from police officers. The relative said West Orange cops routinely "harassed" Lecky with unwarranted motor vehicle stops.

Lecky was trying to find work as a club promoter, according to the relative, who said the cops’ description of him couldn’t be more wrong.

"Raymar was the kind of kid who if you were sick, he would get up and carry food to you," the relative said. "He’d always reach out his hand to help those who had less."

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Buoye said he did not know about the Facebook controversy until he was interviewed for this story, but said the matter was referred to internal affairs to determine if the officers should face discipline. Both officers work in the department’s patrol division, said Chris Jacksic, president of the West Orange Local 25 Police Benevolent Association. Mango is a 19-year veteran, while Roach has been with the department seven years, he said.

"Anytime I’ve had dealings with them, they’ve been nothing but professional to the public and fellow officers," he said.

He had no knowledge of the jousting on Facebook, but Jacksic said officers are "held to a higher standard" and should refrain from commenting on police matters.

Social media strategist Lauri Stevens agrees. Based in Massachusetts, Stevens said the comments about Lecky’s alleged criminal history would violate most department’s social media policies.

"You really have to realize it’s a new mode of communication," she said. "There are risks."

Star-Ledger staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this report.

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