Lavallette police sergeant charged with assault in Toms River

TOMS RIVER - A Lavallette police sergeant, who is also a Lakewood municipal prosecutor and onetime Toms River Township Council primary contender, has been arrested on suspicion of simple assault, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Wednesday.

According to municipal court records, Sgt. Justin D. Lamb, 35, faces one count of simple assault, a disorderly persons offense, tied to a 3:30 a.m. incident Monday. Court records show he was charged Tuesday.

A woman told township police that she and Lamb had been dating for six months and she had lived at his home since January, according to an officer report from Toms River police that the Asbury Park Press obtained through a records request.

The woman told police she had gone out with friends and returned to Lamb's home around 3:15 a.m. Monday, according to the report. She entered through a back door , went upstairs and found Lamb in bed with another woman, according to the report.

"She said at this time she turned the light on in the room and Mr. Lamb became angry," the report read. The woman "said Mr. Lamb threw her on the ground and began to kick her out of the way of the door."

The woman "said when Mr. Lamb realized he injured her, he ran out of the residence and left the location," according to the report. She grabbed some items and left as well, later showing police hand- and finger-shaped bruises to her arms and "swelling to her left knee which she said was from her knee hitting the ground after the suspect threw her," according to the report.

A Superior Court judge granted the woman a temporary restraining order, according to the report.

Lamb went to police headquarters for processing, according to the report. He also turned over his service weapon to his own police chief, Colin Grant, and turned over two personal firearms to Toms River police.

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Last year, Lamb, of Toms River, had challenged Councilwoman Maria Maruca for a council seat in GOP primary in Toms River.

Lamb lost to Maruca after an aggressive campaign that rattled the GOP establishment in town. During the campaign, Lamb urged residents to vote against a plan to build a $14 million firehouse in Toms River’s downtown. The firehouse plan was rejected by voters and Lamb claimed volunteers from his campaign made more than 500 calls to residents urging them to vote against the referendum.

Republican Councilman George E. Wittmann Jr. criticized Lamb during the race, saying a 2015 police confrontation made Lamb “disqualified to serve” on the governing body.

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That police incident occurred close to midnight on Aug. 23, 2015, when Toms River police responded to a noise complaint at a party at a Bay Boulevard home in Ortley Beach. According to a police report on the incident, Lamb confronted police when they arrived at the scene, initially refusing to back away from the officers and then cursing at them. Lamb was attending a party at the home, police said.

No arrests were made and no charges were filed in the incident.

At the time, Lamb called the incident described in the police report as "nothing more than brief disagreement," and noted no charges were filed and there was no disciplinary action.

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In his Lavallette job, Lamb was paid a base salary of $107,564 last year, according to state pension data. He has served on the borough's police force full-time for 15 years.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Lamb also worked as a municipal prosecutor in Lakewood through the law firm Rothstein, Mandell, Strohm & Halm. Committee minutes from Lakewood show that Lamb, another associate and a partner were appointed municipal prosecutors in January.

The prosecutor's office was preparing a letter to the law firm notifying Lamb that he was "prohibited from prosecuting cases for your firm in any municipal court pending the outcome of your recent charges," according to Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

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Partner Robert A. Rothstein has served as Lakewood's municipal prosecutor since 2001, according to the firm's website, though its partners practice law in other areas as well, including personal injury, workers compensation, elder law, estate planning, criminal defense, civil litigation and more.

A partner at the firm did not immediately return a message requesting comment.

Grant and Lavallette borough Administrator Robert Brice also did not return calls seeking comment. Lamb's current status with the Lavallette Police Department was not immediately clear.

Lamb is scheduled to appear in court June 4, according to court records.

The Lavallette Police Department was the subject of a section of "The Shield," a two-year Asbury Park Press investigation into police activity and misconduct. Watch the video at the top to learn more about that section and check out the entire series here.

Alex N. Gecan: @GeeksterTweets; 732-643-4043; agecan@gannettnj.com

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com

Stacey Barchenger: @sbarchenger; 732-643-4245; sbarchenger@gannettnj.com