Thursday, April 26, 2018

Dennis Niceler Appears in Court


WOODBURY — The Egg Harbor City Historical Society volunteer and Galloway Township resident accused of dozens of commercial burglaries throughout South Jersey was directed by a Gloucester County Superior Court judge Wednesday to make his drug court application in his home county.
Dennis M. Niceler, 56, of the 200 block of West White Horse Pike, had applied for admission into the program for defendants with drug or alcohol addictions in Gloucester County instead of Atlantic County.
In Gloucester County, he is charged with third-degree burglary, fourth-degree theft by unlawful taking and fourth-degree criminal mischief for an alleged March 11, 2016, burglary at Terra Nova, a restaurant in Sewell, according to court documents.

So far, Niceler is facing charges related to 40 different offenses in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Monmouth and Ocean counties dating to 2009, according to court documents.
Niceler, a history buff and railroad enthusiast, was a dedicated volunteer for the Egg Harbor City Historical Society, managing its Facebook page and organizing paperwork that accompanied donated artifacts, society President Mark Maxwell has said.
Police and investigators have described him as methodical, including using Facebook photos, virtual tours and online maps to research his burglary targets, even learning the location of some alarm panels and safes.
In Camden County alone, he is alleged to have absconded with safes, a cash register and even an ATM, totaling more than $26,793 in cash and damages.

Niceler wore a blue Camden County prison jumpsuit and used crutches to get into the courtroom. He was still nursing a foot injury from Christmas Eve, when he was arrested by Gloucester Township police after allegedly jumping off the roof of the Laurel Hill Plaza shopping center in Camden County with a bag containing a crow bar, hammer, wire cutters, screw drivers, gloves and a ski mask.
Because Niceler is a resident of Atlantic County, coupled with his pending charges there, he would need to make the drug court application there, Assistant Prosecutor Rex Utuk said.

Niceler, who stuttered as he spoke to the judge, said an attorney had told him it didn’t matter where he applied for drug court, and that it would be transferred to Atlantic County when approved.
Superior Court Judge John C. Eastlack Jr. affirmed the application must be made in Atlantic County. If he is admitted to the program, he said, his charges from Gloucester County could be consolidated there.
Niceler will appear in court in Gloucester County again May 23, if his charges have not already been consolidated to Atlantic County.
Drug court assists defendants in overcoming alcohol and other drug dependencies while resolving related criminal charges, according to the state judiciary website.

Niceler was remanded to the Camden County jail in Camden after the appearance. He is being held there as he is shuttled from county to county for first appearances and detention hearings.
As of yet, he has no court date scheduled in Atlantic County.
According to J.C. Lore, clinical professor of law at Rutgers Law School, the sentence for a third-degree offense is three to five years. If he is sentenced consecutively, Niceler could spend the rest of his life in prison.
He was arrested Jan. 25 at his home by police from Haddon Township, Camden County, after a two-year investigation into a string of commercial burglaries in South Jersey, but was released on a summons.

Niceler was re-arrested the first week of February and remanded to the Camden County jail after a detention hearing, said Alex McVeigh, public information officer for the Camden County’s Prosecutor’s Office.

at 10:49 AM

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