OCEANPORT — Borough police, with the assistance of neighboring township police departments, took immediate steps last week to stop two separate incidents at the annual Lions Club Strawberry Fair, which led to three arrests.
“These two incidents were separate from each other,” said police Capt. Mauro V. Baldanza. “After the incidents, there were three more nights of the fair that fortunately went without incident. We had increased police presence from surrounding communities and would not tolerate any trouble.”
The Strawberry Fair was held May 19 to 24.
In a statement released after the incident, Baldanza said his department “would not tolerate any loitering or rowdy behavior.”
“Make no doubt about it, if you come to the fair to cause trouble, you will be arrested,” Baldanza said in the statement.
The first incident occurred at approximately 11:20 p.m. May 20 in the parking lot of the Monmouth Park racetrack, where the fair is held.
Baldanza said several juveniles from Rumson and Long Branch were waiting for rides home after the fair when an assault occurred.
“A Rumson [male] juvenile was kicked in the head by one or two juveniles,” the captain said. “No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.”
The teen sustained a head injury and received medical treatment, he said.
A separate incident, which police believe is tied to gang activity, occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. May 20.
Police arrested three Long Branch juveniles — two males and a female — for their involvement in the incident. A baseball bat was recovered from one of the juveniles.
“Two of the boys were assaulting people, and a girl tried to intervene; she was subsequently arrested,” said Baldanza.
The three juveniles have been charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct. Members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office will further review the case.
Juveniles reportedly from Ocean Township and Long Branch began assaulting one another and randomly assaulted people attending the event.
“As far as we know, there were a couple of gangs present, and their activity stirred some of the random attacks on other people,” said Baldanza. “The three arrested were part of the gang activity and part of the random attacks.”
Borough police, who were already at the scene policing the fair, started to immediately clear about 400 juveniles from the area at around 9:30 p.m. and closed the fair for the evening. The fair was scheduled to close at 11 p.m. Additional police officers from Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach, Little Silver, West Long Branch, Eatontown, Shrewsbury, Rumson, Fair Haven and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office assisted in clearing the event.
Baldanza said it was a “shame that rowdy juveniles with motives other than to have a good time came to the fair to cause problems.”
He and Mayor Michael J. Mahon stressed that the fair has always been a community and family event.
“The event benefits our volunteers and our borough year after year,” said Mahon. “Its organizers work tirelessly for many months to make this a success, and the actions of a few individuals can’t take away from this sacrifice and dedication made annually by the Lions Club.”
Baldanza said that in previous years there have been minor incidents, but not to the extent that occurred this year. The two incidents remain under investigation.