Sussex County Prosecutor's Office

June 24
Ashley Socha, 28, of Dover pled guilty to shoplifting, a fourth-degree crime.
Sentencing is presently anticipated for Aug. 2, 2019.
In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted to taking merchandise from the ShopRite in Byram Township on Jan. 9, 2019.
The case was investigated by Detective Robert Tierney of the Byram Township Police Department.
June 25
Jason Slater, 35, of Neptune, was sentenced to one-year probation, 75 hours community service. The defendant was also ordered to pay $155 in fines and fees.
He pleaded guilty on April 1, 2019, Impersonating a law officer, a crime of the fourth degree.
The defendant contacted both the Hopatcong Police Department and the Sussex County Communications Center multiple times impersonating a corrections officer from Bergen County Jail, to find if there was an active arrest warrant for him.
June 26
Samuel Caruthers, 47 of Mountain Lakes, was sentenced to three days in jail and three years of probation. The three days in jail must be served in 24 hour increments on Feb. 14, the anniversary of the offenses, during every year of his probation. Caruthers was ordered to submit to a thorough psychiatric evaluation and an evaluation of his personality, successfully complete an approved anger management program, perform 200 hours of community service work, have no contact with the victim and his family, submit a DNA sample and pay fines and fees totaling $1,455.
Caruthers was convicted on April 3, of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a third degree crime, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, a fourth-degree crime, and simple assault, a disorderly persons offense, after a jury trial presided over by the Honorable Thomas J. Critchley, Jr., J.S.C. The jury found that on February 14, 2016, while at a Mountain Creek ski slope in Vernon Township, Caruthers assaulted a 12-year-old snowboarder by punching him in the face multiple times and/or striking him with a ski pole causing injuries to the boy’s back, ribs and lip.