Charges against NJ man dropped

MATAMORAS — On Dec. 18, the Courier published the monthly arrest log from the Eastern Pike Regional police, which included Dec. 5 charges against a New Jersey man. Those charges have been dropped. Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin reports that a review of the court records finds that five charges of the criminal offense of Bad Checks were filed on Dec. 5 against Ira Vinett of Manalapan, N.J., with offense dates in April and November of 2009. Tonkin and Eastern Pike Regional Police Chief Chad Stewart confirmed that those charges were subsequently withdrawn on Jan. 13 of this year, by the Eastern Pike Police following a preliminary hearing with Vinett. Stewart said Vinett provided a police victim notification form from the Manalapan Police Department, which indicated the secretary of the business stole checks, which were then falsely signed in Vinett’s name. “Our department withdrew the charges at the preliminary hearing for the bad checks,” Stewart said.