Man Accused Of False Alarm At Monmouth Courthouse: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ – A Brick Township man was arrested Thursday after he pulled an alarm at the Monmouth County Courthouse, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.

Michael Marsh, 36, of Brick, was charged with one count of second-degree false public alarm in the incident that happened a little after 9:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.

Marsh is accused of pulling a wall alarm within the courthouse, Gramiccioni said. Wall alarms are part of the security and are used to alert personnel to an emergency in the courthouse.

A joint investigation by the prosecutor’s office and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office resulted in identifying and apprehending Marsh, Gramiccioni said.

He is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, awaiting his first appearance.

"Law enforcement everywhere treats every one of these incidents as a potentially serious threat to the safety and well-being of our citizens. These false threats are not a game or joke, but a crime that will be aggressively pursued by this office," Gramiccioni said.

Causing a false public alarm is a second-degree crime when the building involved is "necessary for public safety," such as the Monmouth County Courthouse, Gramiccioni said.

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