JACKSON — Police officers working undercover arrested a Pennsylvania man who was wanted in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
In a press release, Jackson police Sgt. Christopher Parise reported that during the evening hours of April 22, Police Officers Michael Cavallo and Derek Gorski were working undercover.
The officers were observing the parking lot at the Buy Rite liquor store, 10 South Hope Chapel Road, when a vehicle pulled into the parking lot, the sergeant said.
Parise said a man got out of the vehicle, walked to the corner of the building and urinated on the sidewalk in view of customers who were entering and leaving the store.
The officers approached the man, who was identified as James Shoats, 36, of Warrior Run, Pa.
Parise said Shoats was found to be a New Jersey wanted person out of Ocean County and Monmouth County. He also had outstanding warrants out of Asbury Park, Tinton Falls and Keansburg.
Cavallo arrested Shoats and charged him with urinating in public, which is a violation of a municipal ordinance.
The suspect was turned over to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and subsequently lodged in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River.
Parise said Cavallo and Gorski were on duty at the liquor store parking lot with funds provided by the federal Cops in Shops grant.
The federal Cops in Shops grant seeks to deter individuals under the age of 21 from purchasing alcohol and to prevent adults from purchasing alcohol for people under the age of 21.