Crime & Safety

Train Ticket Tiff Puts Man on Express Track to Jail

Drug and alcohol arrests make the weekly Madison police blotter.

One thing is mostly certain: If you’re trying to escape outstanding arrest warrants by train, make sure to pay your fare.

On March 12 at 11:34 p.m., Patrolman Luis Goncalves arrested 26-year-old Phillip Lagrier of Newark on the strength of two failures to appear warrants issued by Montclair Municipal Court and Newark Municipal Court.

Goncalves was conducting a nightly incoming train check when the conductor alerted him that Lagrier had boarded the train and allegedly refused to pay the fare. Gonclaves ran a computer check which turned up the arrest warrants. Lagrier was taken to police headquarters for processing and released to Montclair authorities pending a mandatory court appearance. Gonclaves was assisted by Auxiliary Officer Sam Demarzo with the arrest.

On March 10 at 10:32 a.m., Patrolman Ken Shannon arrested Dylan Conmy, 20, of Madison on two arrest warrants issued by Harding Township Municipal Court and Madison Municipal Court for failure to appear. He was taken to police headquarters for processing. After processing he was taken to Morris County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail pending a mandatory court appearance.

On March 9 at 9:17 p.m., Patrolman Craig Perrelli arrested 18-year-old Colleen Moran of Chatham, Kevin Keown, 22, of Morris Plains and 21-year-old Stuart Behrens of Madison. He charged Moran with alleged underage possession of alcohol, Behrens with allegedly providing alcohol to a person under age and Keown with alleged possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Perrelli initially observed Behrens acting suspiciously in the parking lot at Gary’s Wine & Marketplace. He determined that he had allegedly purchased alcohol for minors. The group, including two juveniles, was brought into headquarters for processing and released pending mandatory court appearances. The juveniles were released to their parents. Patrolman Kenneth Shannon assisted with the arrest. 

On the morning of March 9 Patrolman Sean Plumstead arrested Peter Blankenstein, 38, of Chatham and charged him with alleged possession of drug paraphernalia. Plumstead initially stopped Blankenstein for a motor vehicle violation on Rosedale Avenue. He determined that he was allegedly in possession of drug paraphernalia. Blankenstein was taken to headquarters for processing and released pending a mandatory court appearance. Blankenstein was also issued a motor vehicle summons for failure to inspect his vehicle.

The Madison Police Department, , and responded to 14 medical emergencies during the week.

Police investigated nine motor vehicle crashes during the week.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.