NEWS

Cops: Drunk Montville man walks girl, 4, across highway

Peggy Wright
@PeggyWrightDR

MONTVILLE TWP. – Police say a 25-year-old Pine Brook man was highly intoxicated when he forced a 4-year-old girl to walk across Route 46 with him late Sunday during the snowfall.

A criminal complaint filed Monday in Superior Court, Morristown, shows that Jose Delacruz-Gomez from Old Bloomfield Avenue in the Pine Brook section of the township was charged Sunday with endangering the welfare of a child. He was lodged in the Morris County jail after he could not post $5,000 bail.

The complaint, filed by Officer Kurt Geisinger, alleges that Delacruz-Gomez forced a 4-year-old girl he was caring for to “walk through a snowstorm and snow-covered highways during an unreasonable hour and while he was highly intoxicated.”

Lt. Andrew Caggiano said that Delacruz-Gomez walked with the child from Bloomfield Avenue, across east and westbound lanes of Route 46 at 10 p.m. during the snowfall. They were bound for a Wendy’s restaurant on Route 46, Caggiano said.

He said the totality of the circumstances, including Delacruz-Gomez’s high level of intoxication, led to the charge.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com