Sussex County Prosecutor

Oct. 24 Steven C. Quinn, 25, of Franklin pled guilty to joyriding, a third degree crime, criminal mischief and hindering apprehension, both crime of the fourth degree, and the motor vehicle offenses of reckless driving and failing to report a motor vehicle accident. In pleading guilty, Quinn admitted that, on July 16 in Franklin, he took a vehicle without the owner’s knowledge or consent, had an accident and then lied to police about the events that had taken place. Oct. 28 Michael T. Hadowanetz, 20, of Hamburg was sentenced to three years probation. He pled guilty on May 16 to possession of a controlled dangerous substance, a third degree crime, and use of paraphernalia, a disorderly persons offense, and pled guilty on Oct. 24 to aggravated assault, a third degree crime and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, a third degree crime. Michael J. Branon, Jr., 22, of Camden was sentenced to one year of probation which is to run concurrently to a term of probation he is currently serving in Camden County. He was ordered to serve 67 days in jail and was given credit for time served, and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. He must pay total fines and penalties of $155 and submit a DNA sample at his expense. He pled guilty on April 11 to forgery, a crime of the third degree. In pleading guilty, Branon admitted that he attempted to pass a fake $100 bill at a Quick Check in Hampton Township on May 27, 2009. He was originally enrolled in the Pre-Trial Intervention Program but was terminated for non-compliance. Matthew C. James, 25, of Hackensack was sentenced to two years probation which is to run concurrently to a term of drug court probation he is currently serving in Bergen County. He must comply with all the terms and conditions of drug court, pay total fines and penalties of $155 and submit a DNA sample at his expense. He pled guilty on July 25 to resisting arrest, a crime of fourth degree. In pleading guilty, James admitted that on Oct. 5 in Lafayette Township, he ran from two Bergen County Sheriff’s Officers who were attempting to serve him with an arrest warrant. John Fama, 31, of Newton was sentenced to a suspended four year New Jersey State Prison term and was given credit for 335 days served. He must submit to random urine monitoring, enroll and complete psychotherapy counseling with reports to probation every six months, was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with minors under age 16 and, under Nicole’s Law, ordered to have no contact with the victim in this matter. He must pay total fines and penalties of $1,930 and submit a DNA sample at his expense. He pled guilty on May 9 to obscenity to person under 18 and endangering the welfare of a minor, both crimes of third degree. In pleading guilty, Fama admitted that on June 22, 2010 and July 18, 2010 he sent photographs of his genitalia to a minor and on June 27, 2010 had sexual contact with her. Russell S. Sienkiewicz, 27, of Dingmans Ferry, Penn., pled guilty to the third degree crime of possession of a controlled dangerous substance. He admitted to possessing a collection of Alprazolam, Clonazepam and Oxycodon tablets hidden in a bag inside of his pants on Aug. 11, 2009. Joseph J. Sweeney, 29, of Milford, Penn., pled guilty to the second degree crime of possession of a handgun without a permit. He admitted to possessing a Glock .40 caliber handgun on March 14 during the course of a motor vehicle stop by Sparta Police Officer Joseph Pensado. Oct. 31 Lisa M. Slate, 32, of Wantage pled guilty to forgery and burglary, both crimes of the third degree. In pleading guilty, Slate admitted that she and a co-defendant took two checks belonging to another, forged the victim’s signature on them and cashed them, taking the cash for themselves. This incident occurred between Nov. 25 and Nov. 30, 2010 in Wantage Township. On April 24, 2011 Slate and two co-defendants illegally entered a residence in Branchville Borough and took property from the home.