Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Township Committee.
Bordentown Township Police Chief Brian Pesce pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated Thursday, stemming from an incident in Hamilton last April in which police found him lying in the road behind his truck.
Pesce, a Hamilton resident, appeared in the town’s municipal court and agreed to a plea deal that dropped the other charges against him for the April 22 incident, his lawyer, John Hartmann said.
Those charges included reckless and careless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, and failing to report an accident. Police had alleged Pesce’s truck struck a mailbox in the University Heights neighborhood and swerved several times, once at an oncoming motorist, who called 911 and followed Pesce and reported his location.
When officers arrived, at about 8:30 p.m., Pesce was incoherent and was taken from the scene under arrest and in an ambulance, police body cameras show. Blood was drawn at a local hospital.
Hartmann said the blood evidence was later suppressed and the judge sentenced Pesce to the lowest level of punishment, three months of use of an ignition interlock device, about $650 in fines and enrollment in classes about alcohol and drunken driving.
The case proceeded like it would against any first-time offender, Hartmann said. “Brian took responsibility and was treated like everybody else.”
Reached Thursday evening, Pesce referred comment back to Hartmann.
Bordentown Township placed Pesce on restricted duty after the arrest. The township committee said Friday that set-up will remain in place for the time being.
“As part of our decision-making process, and in accordance with the New Jersey Attorney General directives regarding Internal Affairs Policy and Procedures, the Committee will wait to review the results of an Internal Investigation from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office before any further decisions are made,” the body said in a statement.
“The Chief will remain in charge of the Bordentown Township Police Department under the restricted duty provisions currently in place.”
Pesce is in his 24th year as a police officer.
The town promoted Pesce in chief in early 2018 after he’d served as acting chief in late 2017 following federal authorities’ unveiling of a federal hate crime case against the former chief, Frank Nucera. (The former chief is currently serving a 28-month prison sentence.)
As a captain under Nucera, Pesce initiated an internal affairs action against Nucera with another officer, and took their complaints to the FBI, bypassing local authorities to make sure they were investigated. Pesce was the first person called to the stand by federal prosecutors during the trial, which began in late 2019.
After the Nucera case brought increased attention to the township of about 12,000 residents on the border of Mercer County, Pesce initiated a number of reforms in the department. He often speaks to the media as the department’s spokesperson, a role he had before he was chief.
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
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