Peggy Wright

@PeggyWrightDR

A former chef who is accused of spitting in a customer's food at Kennedy's Pub in the Budd Lake section of Mount Olive turned himself into Superior Court late Wednesday, five hours after an arrest warrant was issued for his failure to appear for a hearing.

The accused, John F. Stagg Jr., 32, of Great Meadows, had failed to appear two weeks ago in Superior Court, Morristown, for a central judicial processing hearing, and was given a second court date of Wednesday. When he failed to appear again, Municipal Court Judge Ira Cohen — conducting the CJP hearings in Superior Court — issued a warrant for Stagg's arrest.

A friend of Stagg's contacted the Daily Record after reading that a warrant was issued and said Stagg had a notice to appear for a CJP hearing on Nov. 12. Superior Court had him listed for an appearance Wednesday. Close to 4 p.m. Stagg appeared in Superior Court, where Judge James DeMarzo vacated the arrest warrant and cautioned him to show up for CJP next week.

After the warrant was lifted, Stagg politely declined comment to the Daily Record, saying "I don't have much to say" and that he needed to get an attorney. He told DeMarzo he expects to apply for a public defender.

At CJP hearings, defendants who have been released into their own custody or posted bail within 24 or 48 hours are advised of their legal rights, the charges and given a new Superior Court date. The hearings are equivalent to "first appearances" for released defendants that traditionally were handled in municipal courts.

The pub's manager previously told the Daily Record that Stagg was immediately fired after the alleged spitting was confirmed by the restaurant. A fellow employee claimed to see Stagg spit in food that was sent back to the kitchen for further cooking on Oct. 18 by a 51-year-old patron.

Upon being contacted by police, the township health department immediately conducted an inspection and issued four tickets to the pub on Route 46 for health violations that included failure to have "ServSafe" training. The kitchen was closed but the pub remained open for drinks. This past Monday the kitchen was re-opened and given a satisfactory rating, said township chief health inspector Arif Akhtar.

Akhtar, who re-inspected the eatery, said a pub representative appeared in Municipal Court on Monday and paid a $400 fine to cover the four tickets, plus court costs.

"Everything has been corrected. They put everything in order," Akhtar said.

After being alerted to the alleged spitting, police conducted interviews, contacted the patron known as L.B., and charged Stagg on Oct. 19 with two offenses. The most serious, a third-degree crime punishable by up to five years in prison upon conviction, is that he knowingly tampered with a food product by spitting on L.B.'s food while employed as a cook at Kennedy's Pub.

The second charge, a disorderly persons offense, alleges that Stagg created a hazardous or physically dangerous condition by an act that served no legitimate purpose, specifically by spitting on L.B.'s food, according to the filed complaint.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com