By: Richard L. Smith
Morris County authorities announced the sentencing of Raymond Branch, 20, of Newark.
According to Mountainside Police, on August 15, 2021, officers responded to the report of a 2017 black Maserati Ghibli stolen from a residence. The Maserati was recovered in Newark later that morning.
Police say the subsequent investigation identified Branch as a suspect.
Cellular telephone records, provided by Essex County authorities, were analyzed by Mountain Lakes Police and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence Unit.
According to authorities, the examination revealed that Branch used real estate and mapping applications on his cellular phone in the area of the theft in Mountain Lakes on the morning of August 15, 2021.
Authorities say members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) section forensically processed the Maserati, which resulted in the recovery of a latent fingerprint from the interior of the front driver door window that matched Raymond Branch. Branch was arrested on April 5 and detained pending trial.
According to officials, on August 2, Branch entered a plea of guilt to third-degree theft of a motor vehicle.
On February 24, Branch was sentenced to four (4) years in prison for the theft conviction. .