Around 4:53 PM on August 19, 2023, Sergeant Guy Mariani with the Byram Township Police Department responded to a report of a shoplifting at ShopRite on 90 Route 206. He entered the store around 4:56 PM met with store personnel as well as the alleged shoplifter they had detained. The alleged shoplifter was identified as Valerie, and store personnel informed Sergeant Mariani that she attempted to leave the store with $94 worth of unpaid items. According to their surveillance footage, they alleged that Valerie had also shoplifted from the same ShopRite on multiple other occasions. Patrolman Joseph Ruggieri arrived on scene to assist around 5:00 PM, and he walked upstairs to the loss prevention office so that he could review the surveillance footage. After it was determined that she attempted to leave the store without paying for the items, the officers informed Valerie that she was under arrest. Valerie was escorted outside the store, handcuffed, and placed in the patrol car. Patrolman Ruggieri transported Valerie to the Byram Township Police Department for further processing. At the station, it was discovered that she had multiple prior arrests for shoplifting, including 1 in Jersey City and 2 in Byram Township. She had apparently been arrested another time for trespassing after she had been banned from that location. Once Valerie was secured to the bench, Patrolman Ruggieri reviewed the USB drive containing footage from 6 other shoplifting incidents at the same ShopRite on 7/29/2023, 7/31/2023, 8/5/2023, 8/9/2023, 8/14/2023, and 8/16/2023. Valerie was charged with shoplifting under 2C:20-11B(1) and issued 7 summonses. As he was completing the summonses, Sergeant Mariani fingerprinted Valerie. Valerie was advised that she was banned from entering the ShopRite, and she could be charged with trespassing if she entered the store again. After they finished processing her, Valerie was released pending her court date on September 13, 2023 in the Andover Joint Municipal Court. Patrolman Derek Kuncken drove her back home following her release. Court records indicate that on November 20, 2023, Valerie pleaded guilty to the summons that was issued on August 19, 2023 and she was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 15 days of community service, and 1 year of probation. She was fined a total of $458 for that charge. She also pleaded guilty to the summons for another incident from July 31, 2023, and she was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 20 days of community service, and 1 year of probation (concurrent). She was fined a total of $795.36 for that charge. The other 5 summonses were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. ---------------------------------------------- Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider supporting this channel (email us for more information). Donations will be used to acquire more public footage related to law enforcement activities. Our content is educational and in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2001, c. 404). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person's reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.

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