October 22, 2020
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ (MERCER)–A Mercer County grand jury returned an indictment this week charging a Lawrence Township police officer with two counts of second-degree official misconduct, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri reported.
Andres Mejia, 42, was charged in September 2020 with unsworn falsification and tampering with records, both disorderly persons offenses, following an internal affairs investigation conducted by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutor’s office and the Lawrence Township police discovered the falsification of records during an unrelated criminal investigation in August 2020.
The internal affairs investigation revealed that Mejia submitted an official arrest report to his superior officers at the Lawrence Township Police Department on August 16, knowing that it contained false and misleading information regarding a fictitious witness in an incident that he had responded to in his official capacity as a law enforcement officer.
The two-count indictment, returned on October 20, alleges Mejia failed to investigate a claim of domestic violence assault and made a false statement in a police report.
Mejia has been suspended indefinitely from the police department without pay pending the outcome of his criminal case.
Despite having been indicted, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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