The incident occurred at the Wayne Towne Center store on Friday, Jan. 10, at approximately 1:30 p.m. when Wayne Police Officers Anthony Halko, John Nielsen, and Sergeant John Culic responded to reports of suspicious activity at the store, according to Detective Capt. Daniel Daly.
The victim told police he was in a bathroom stall when someone reached under the front door with a cell phone. He provided a written statement indicating that the phone’s camera was activated and facing him, actively recording. The victim said he made noise to alert the individual of his presence, prompting the phone to be withdrawn. Moments later, the phone reappeared, this time from under the dividing wall of the adjacent stall, the victim said.
The victim left his stall to confront the suspect and reportedly observed him holding the phone. According to the victim, he struck the suspect, who then apologized. The victim demanded that the suspect delete the recording, which the suspect did in front of him, the police report stated.
The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Richard Jones-Johnson Jr., of Tinton Falls, told officers he had dropped a vape and mistakenly activated his phone’s camera while attempting to retrieve it. After questioning, officers placed Jones-Johnson under arrest.
Jones-Johnson was charged with third-degree invasion of privacy and released on a complaint summons in accordance with New Jersey’s Bail Reform guidelines.
Police emphasized that the charges against Jones-Johnson are accusations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The investigation was handled by the Wayne Police Department, with Detective Captain Daly serving as the public information officer.
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