NJ Father, Son Jailed For Weeks On False Charges, Lawsuit Alleges

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown Township agreed to pay a $613,777 settlement to a North Middletown father and son who sued the police department for excessive force and improper arrest.

The father and son are Gary L. O'Neal and Gary J. O'Neal, who will be paid a lump sum of $613,777 from Middletown Township, according to a copy of the settlement provided to Patch.

$500,000 of the settlement was covered by the township's insurance policy. The remaining $113,000 will come out of the town's budget.

In 2018, the O'Neals sued the Middletown Police Department alleging excessive force and improper arrest.

The Asbury Park Press obtained a copy of their lawsuit and publicly posted it online; you can find it here: https://www.scribd.com/documen...

Their lawsuit named Detective Richard Fulham and various unnamed police officers (Middletown Police Chief R. Craig Weber was initially also named in the suit, but then dropped).

The family filed the suit in 2018, but the incident happened in 2016: The O'Neal father and son say that on June 17, 2016 Middletown Police, under the director of Det. Fulham, used a battering ram to knock down the door of their North Middletown home. Police said they were looking for a second son, Adam O'Neal, who police said they had learned was involved in the sale of marijuana.

While Adam was not home and was at work at this time, and while his bedroom door was locked, the O'Neals say Middletown Police threw the father to the ground and forcibly handcuffed him.

"At no time did plaintiff, Gary L. O’Neal, engage in any action that warranted the use of such excessive force," read the suit. The son was then also handcuffed and pulled outside.

"After the search warrant was executed, Defendant Fulham determined that all CDS (controlled dangerous substances or drugs), paraphernalia and monetary evidence found was located only in Adam O’Neal’s locked bedroom," read the lawsuit. After the father and son were taken outside in handcuffs, "A Middletown Township police officer stated to (the father), 'If Adam does the right thing, you won’t be arrested.'"

Instead, both the father and son were then charged with a slew of serious drug charges, including possession of heroin, cocaine and first-degree maintaining or operating a controlled dangerous substance production facility.

This was despite the fact that the O'Neals said none of the drugs were linked to them. Det. Fulham then told them, as they were being driven to Middletown Police headquarters, "Adam is in a lot of trouble. He's like Scarface."

Adam O'Neal was arrested later that same day. Despite the fact that he admitted all the drugs were his — and not his father's or brother's — Middletown Police kept the father and son in jail, according to the suit. The father was kept behind bars for 36 days and the son for 50 days.

A year later, in April of 2017, all the charges against Gary L. and Gary J. O'Neal were dropped.

Their lawsuit, filed by Mallon & Tranger law firm of Freehold, says Middletown Police acted maliciously and without probable cause. They also said the men's Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights were violated (unreasonable bodily seizure).

The lawsuit was filed in federal court.

Middletown Twp. agreed to settle the case on Oct. 21. As part of the settlement, Middletown Police admitted no wrongdoing or liability in the incident. Middletown Township declined to comment further.

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