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Paterson police charged Elizabeth Fernandez, 56, of Woodland Park and city resident Juan Rosario, 60, of Paterson with violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s state of emergency directives by opening their Quilvio Bar and Liquors on Main Street, where customers were found drinking inside and outside, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
Armin Mahesh, 59, of Iselin was charged after police found customers drinking in a back room of his and his wife’s Medina Liquor Store on East Jersey Street, Grewal added.
Brick police cited local residents Ibrahim Muhammad, who owns Coliseum Barbershop & Hair Salon, and employee Ashley Appleton-Tims, both 25, for defying state of emergency orders by opening for business, he said.
The summonses are proof that authorities won't tolerate "knucklehead gatherings," Murphy has said.
The governor has asked New Jersey residents to stay at home except for necessary travel, reminded everyone that he's banned social gatherings and ordered non-essential businesses to close until the outbreak is under control.
And while most violators tend to be businesses staying open or those gathering illegally, Grewal also cited some oddball behavior among the daily group of accused scofflaws.
Albert E. French, 33, of Milford was charged with violating the emergency orders and disorderly conduct for walking back and forth along Route 22 in Clinton Township displaying obscene poster boards and making obscene gestures to motorists, the attorney general said.
Willie Boles, 50, and Charles E. Scotton, 51, both of Pennsauken, were charged by Camden police with violating the emergency orders and gambling in public for a crap game on Marlton Avenue in Camden that drew 19 people, Grewal said. Both were warned last month after police shut down a similar game, he said.
Richard Mariano, 66, of Randolph was charged after police said he stole a refrigerator from a local recycling center and dismantled it on the side of the road while yelling at township employees.
Other incidents involved more familiar behavior.
Cheyenne M. Scott, 19, of Clayton was charged with spitting on a man in Clayton and then claiming she had COVID-19.
Moshe Knopfler, 55, of Union City was charged after police who’d warned him about several previous gatherings found 13 people on his property, Grewal said.
Steven C. Singleton, 29, Camden was charged after police said he resisted attempts to take him into custody and was found with a small amount of pot and Ecstasy pill while loitering at the Walter Rand Transportation Center.
Madison L. Greenetz, 25, of Cherry Hill was charged after police said they caught her drinking alcohol with a minor in a township park;
William L. Joseph, 20 , of Lindenwold was charged after police who’d warned him not to play basketball in the park found him shooting hoops again, Grewal said.
Sean M. McGuire, 42, of Camden was charged with threatening security staff at Cooper University Hospital – saying he didn’t “give a [expletive]” whom he infected -- and refusing to cooperate with Camden police at the Walter Rand Transportation Center, the attorney general said.
Newark police, continuing their crackdown, issued 34 summonses Wednesday for violations of the emergency orders and closed two non-essential businesses, he said.
“Our police officers are working bravely and tirelessly every day to protect us during this health crisis,” Grewal said. “Regrettably, they are being called upon far too often to deal with people violating the emergency orders — or what is more egregious, people using the virus to spread fear or impede officers in their vital work.
“Staying home and maintaining social distance isn’t just the best advice to stay healthy,” he added. “It’s the law.”
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