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A new Jersey The policeman is reportedly being accused of misconduct Ignoring reports of a shooting that killed two peopleand going for Pizza instead.
According to the office of Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renee Robson, Franklin Township Police Sergeant Kevin Bolaro was on duty the evening of August 1 when he received a report of gunshots and screaming in Pittstown.
Instead of answering the call immediately, Surveillance allegedly showed Bolaro going two miles in the opposite direction and stopping to pick up cash and a loaf of bread.
The following day, the bodies of 33-year-old veterinarian Lauren Semanchik and 29-year-old volunteer firefighter Tyler Webb were found in a home about 600 feet from the location of the first 911 caller.
Prosecutors say both were shot and killed by New Jersey State Police Lt. Ricardo Santos, who later committed suicide. Santos previously dated Semanchik. She had become concerned about his behavior since their separation and left a voice message with the local police saying she wanted to file a report against him or seek a restraining order.
Prosecutors alleged that Bolaro drove to Duke’s Pizzeria in Pittstown that night, where he stayed for about an hour. Witnesses later saw him park and enter another local restaurant, where he remained for about an hour.
After his leisurely dinner, Bolaro drove to the crime scene without activating his emergency lights or sirens and told the police dispatcher that he had not heard any disturbances at the locations of the 911 calls.
Prosecutors said GPS data showed he had never been to those locations before dispatchers asked him to remove him from the scene.
Additionally, the sergeant later submitted a report in which he allegedly made false statements about his investigation into the call – including that he was canvassing the neighborhood at the time he was allegedly on his way to pick up pizza.
Prosecutors said Bolaro has been charged with official misconduct for willfully refraining from performing his police duties. He is also accused of tampering with public records for knowingly making false entries in his incident report.
Bolaro is scheduled to appear in court on November 5.
In a statement given to New York Post, Bolaro’s attorney, Charles Sciarra, called the charges “unfortunate”, but claimed that Kevin Bolaro did not say or do anything that day that could have influenced or prevented the murders.
According to WABC-TV, the victims’ families said they were “shocked” by Bolero’s alleged “serious conduct”, but added that his behavior was “an example of the many failures of local and state police” in the investigation.
Independent The Franklin Township Police Department has been contacted for comment on the investigation into Bolaro’s conduct.
The Associated Press contributed to this report