Driver who killed Mount Arlington officer back in court

By state Supreme Court order, a judge in Morristown on Monday revisited whether police were justified in 2011 in getting blood and urine samples taken, without a warrant, from an admitted heroin addict who later pleaded guilty to being high and killing on-duty Mount Arlington Police Officer Joseph Wargo Jr. in a crash.

Michael J. Cassella, now 33, was sentenced in March 2013 to 20 years in prison on his guilty plea to the aggravated manslaughter of Wargo, 38, by speeding and driving while high on drugs in his grandfather's Mitsubishi on Route 80 in Roxbury.

Before Cassella pleaded guilty, defense lawyer Donald Lomurro had unsuccessfully tried in 2012 to suppress the blood evidence that showed Cassella was impaired on Oct. 16, 2011 when he crossed the grass median from Route 80 West and struck Wargo's patrol vehicle on Route 80 East. Wargo's car was shoved into the woods off Route 80 in Roxbury, right near the Mount Arlington border.

As a result of decisions from both the U.S. Supreme Court and the state Supreme Court, New Jersey's highest court remanded the Cassella case back to Superior Court, where Judge Stephen Taylor in Morristown on Monday heard testimony from two State Troopers who were among a crowd of officers who responded to the crash reported at 12:12 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2011.

Taylor must decide whether there were "exigent" circumstances -- or emergency circumstances -- to justify police bringing Cassella to Morristown Medical Center to have blood drawn and a urine sample given without a search warrant first being obtained by a judge. The judge said he would hear legal arguments on Jan. 20 and then issue a decision at some point.

At the time of his plea, Cassella had admitted to being under the influence of heroin, morphine and Xanax.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano noted that Judge Robert Gilson, who now sits in the appellate division, in 2012 ruled that "the totality of the circumstances" surrounding the crash justified the warrantless seizure of the bodily fluids.  Gilson's ruling on exigency was not solely based on concern that narcotic or alcohol levels would diminish during the time police sought a warrant, Troiano said.

Despite the prior ruling on admissibility of the blood evidence, the hearing went forward with Troiano calling Troopers Michael Gould and Patrick Freeland, who both spoke to Cassella at the scene and noticed he seemed impaired.  Freeland testified that Cassella told him that his license and car registration were in his wallet in the vehicle console. Freeland said he retrieved the items and also found an empty clear bottle labeled methadone.

"He (Cassella) said he had been a heroin addict and he was allowed to use it," Freeland said.

Both troopers testified about chaos at the scene and multiple tasks that had to be accomplished, including stopping traffic on both sides of the highway so that a helicopter could land and transport Wargo to Morristown Medical Center.  Troiano elicited details of the on-site investigation to show that police were heavily involved in an array of duties before Trooper Gould personally drove Cassella to the hospital where blood was drawn at 2:45 a.m.

"We had some issues during the drawing of the blood," Gould said. He testified that a hospital nurse could not find a suitable vein from which to draw blood and Cassella finally recommended blood be drawn from his foot.

Gould said he could not recall whether Cassella consented to the blood draw but he stated that he did not obtain a warrant over the phone from a judge at that time, and never has obtained a telephonic warrant as a trooper. Troopers at the scene also were involved in interviewing witnesses to the crash and instructing motorists how to leave the highway without disturbing crash evidence, Gould and Freeland said.

Troiano also played for the judge segments of Gould's interactions at the scene with Cassella that were captured on Gould's mobile in-vehicle video recording system. Cassella is heard telling the trooper that he was trying to get home to Howell. He said he was trying to get onto Route 9 and didn't realize he was on Route 80 in Morris County.

"I had zero drinks," Cassella told Gould.

"Any drugs tonight?" Gould inquired. "Absolutely not," Cassella responded.

"My mind's kind of racing right now. I was just in an accident," Cassella is heard saying on the videotape.

Trooper Freeland described a frantic effort by emergency responders and police to save Wargo's life, as he sat in his patrol car, severely injured and trapped in his seat by the dashboard.  While others worked to extricate Wargo, Freeland said, he personally got on top of the car and pulled on the steering wheel so the dashboard could be lifted off Wargo's legs.

Freeland said that Wargo, who had been alive during the extrication process, started to lose consciousness as he was pulled from the car.  Someone started CPR and when he tired, Freeland said he took over the chest compressions.

"I did compressions all the way to the helicopter," Freeland said.

Wargo had been married to his wife Amy for 11 years at the time of his death, and his widow said at sentencing in 2013 that their plans included children and a "special home."

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