New Jersey Criminal Defense Blog

A Gloucester County middle school administrator is facing charges for stealing students’ prescription drugs from his school’s nurses office for his personal use. According to a news report, Philip Bevilaqua, a vice principal at the Gateway Regional Middle School in Woodbury Heights, specifically stole drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall – medication that is commonly used to treat hyperactivity disorder, but also prescription drugs that are commonly abused.

According to police reports, the school administrator allegedly stole the drugs on three occasions in April. Officials also say that the drugs were locked and stored properly in the nurse’s office when Bevilacqua allegedly took them. He has been released from custody. The grand jury will likely decide what charges he will face. Bevilacqua is currently on paid administrative leave from his job at the school, the news report said.

This school administrator is probably going through a lot of the feelings and emotions someone facing the possibility of drug and theft charges would be going through. It’s scary and distressing. Conviction on a new jersey drug charge can spell the end of a career for this vice principal. Right now, he needs an experienced criminal defense attorney who has represented clients accused of drug possession and theft – an attorney who can successfully get his case dismissed, get him an acquittal or at least lower his sentence or penalties.

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Posted In: Drug Offenses

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A former high school girls’ basketball coach who was convicted of sexually assaulting a player has been sentenced to seven years in prison, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports. Pamela Balogh, 40, a former coach at Immaculata High School, was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child; and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact. The jury in December however did not find her guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, which could have gotten her more prison time.

The victim, now a freshman in college, reportedly testified during the trial. She was 15 years old when the abuse started in 2005. Prosecutors alleged that Balogh initially lured the girl with gifts and phone calls before assaulting her in the coach’s office, her car, her home, and her sister’s home. Balogh was arrested in December 2006.

This coach’s story is an example of the damage a criminal sexual assault charge can cause to a person’s life and career. This woman will probably never coach again in a school. A sexual assault charge or conviction in New Jersey will cost you – heavy fines, probation and often prison time. According to Department of Justice statistics, more than half of sexual assault convictions result in prison sentences. If convicted defendants manage to escape prison time, they will be placed on probation. Sexual assault convictions also carry the longest median prison sentence, other than homicide – seven years, which is what this former coach got.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes

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Police arrested a 28-year-old West Windsor man on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, crashing his car, then walking away from the scene of the accident. According to this news report, Roman Karvalis lost control of his Honda while driving on Route 1 near Carnegie Center Boulevard.

Officials say Karvalis gave them conflicting accounts of the crash. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Karvalis’ Honda and another black vehicle speeding and weaving through traffic. Police also received reports that Karvalis then lost control of his Honda, which flipped a couple of times. Officers reportedly caught up with Karvalis in his home, determined he was intoxicated and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident.

DWI convictions in New Jersey can be quite an ordeal. Mr. Karvalis especially has a tough road ahead because of the additional charges involved. That said, there are several ways by which people have avoided these serious DWI convictions in New Jersey. The first step is to hire an experienced New Jersey DWI attorney, who is knowledgeable about drinking and driving laws in New Jersey, and who can help avoid these damaging convictions for their clients.

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Posted In: DUI DWI Drunk Driving

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In a tragic Bridgeton murder case, a local 14-year-old has been charged with murder on suspicion of drowning her newborn baby in the tank of a public restroom during a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds. According to a news article in South Jersey News Online (), the girl not identified because of her age, is already the mother of a 13-month-old and hid this pregnancy from her friends and family.

Prosecutors allege that the teenager, a student at Bridgeton High School killed the baby boy moments after she gave birth to him in the restroom. Officials are still in the process of deciding how to file the charges. Prosecutors could charge her as a teenager, which means she could get a maximum sentence of 20 years in a juvenile facility. They could also charge her as an adult, which means her case would be tried in open court and if found guilty, she could face a sentence of 30 years to life in prison.

This is clearly a frightening scenario for a young girl 14 years of age. One can only imagine what her parents, family members and friends must be going through right now. This girl needs the services of a criminal defense attorney who has extensive knowledge of juvenile laws. New Jersey juvenile criminal defense cases can vary greatly, which is why it’s very important that each case is assessed by an accomplished criminal defense lawyer in a timely manner so that all legal actions can progress quickly and efficiently.

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Posted In: Murder

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