Local Police Officers Set to Appear in Criminal Court

COURT HOUSE – Four local police officers have January 2022 dates in Cape May County Superior Court, as they fight criminal charges stemming from 2021 arrests. A fifth local officer’s case has been referred to the grand jury for indictment, according to a court official.
While four of the five officers are suspended without pay, pending the outcome of their cases, one is suspended but still being paid as he sits in Cape May County jail. 
West Wildwood Officer Hannum
West Wildwood Officer Dylan Keenan-Hannum will appear in Cape May County Superior Court for a pre-indictment conference Jan. 24 in front of Judge Christine Smith, according to court officials. 
Hannum was arrested Nov. 14 on charges of making terroristic threats, burglary, and simple assault, following a domestic altercation in Lower Township.
During a Dec. 3 West Wildwood Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners and the town’s solicitor refused to answer questions about the officer’s status, other than to say that he was still employed, and that the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office was investigating.
Through a public records request, the Herald learned that Hannum is suspended with pay. He is the only one of the five Cape May County police officers currently facing criminal charges who is still being paid. 
In an email to the Herald, West Wildwood Public Safety Commissioner John Banning said he made the decision to suspend the officer with pay. 
“The final decision was mine. My decision was based after consultation with the borough’s legal counsel. I do not feel that I could divulge any recommendations or discussions at this time without first confirming with our legal counsel. In all fairness, I do not want to speak for our legal counsel and inadvertently misrepresent their opinions,” wrote Banning.
He later declined the offer of an interview with the borough’s legal counsel present. West Wildwood Police Chief Jacquelyn Ferentz did not respond to a request for comment.
According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by the Herald, neighbors of the alleged victim in the incident called 911 when she came to their door asking for help, saying Hannum had just assaulted her. 
When officers arrived on scene, they found the alleged victim in tears. She showed police text messages Hannum had allegedly sent her, informing her he was in possession of a loaded firearm and intended to kill her and a new male friend, according to the affidavit. It is unclear if Hannum was referencing his duty weapon.
The alleged victim showed police photos Hannum had texted her earlier from inside her living room while she wasn’t home, showing him sitting waiting for her, the affidavit continued. It is alleged he obtained entry through a door previously damaged in an unreported domestic incident.
The affidavit claims Hannum left before she arrived home, but later returned and knocked on the door. The alleged victim let him enter to talk and an argument ensued, culminating in Hannum allegedly striking the victim in the front of her neck with an open hand and placing her in “an arm bar type hold” and pushing her down, causing her to complain of pain. 
The affidavit also says the neighbors who reported the incident told investigators they witnessed multiple domestic violence incidents between the two but were begged by the alleged victim not to report the incidents because of her fear of causing problems at Hannum’s job.
Hannum is represented by defense lawyer Hercules Pappas, who did not respond to an email or voicemail left for him by the Herald. 
Hannum is currently in Cape May County jail, according to a Dec. 27 sheriff’s list of inmates.
Ocean City Sgt. Rolls
Ocean City Sgt. Tyrone Rolls will be arraigned by Judge Bernard DeLury Jan. 4, where he plans to enter a not guilty plea, his lawyer said.
Rolls was indicted by a grand jury in November on first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree aggravated assault and two counts of second-degree official misconduct charges.  
According to the affidavit of probable cause against Rolls, he had a sexual relationship with an underage girl, beginning when she was 15. The alleged victim was 20 when she filed the complaint in January and Rolls is now 51.  
The complainant said Rolls first kissed her the day before she began her sophomore year at Ocean City High School in his patrol car, while on duty.  
She claimed she was later digitally penetrated by Rolls while he was driving his personal vehicle, and after she had turned 16, the two had sex at Rolls’ Marmora home. The two continued to engage in sex through her senior year of high school, according to the complaining witness’ statement.  
On New Year’s Eve and/or Jan. 1, 2021, Rolls and the complainant had a verbal altercation, according to the affidavit, and he allegedly hit her with an open hand, saying, “Now you know what it is like to be hit.” She told investigators she felt she suffered a concussion. 
Meghan Hoerner, one of Rolls’ lawyers, told the Herald that Rolls did not want to comment for this story, but that he maintains his innocence. 
“It’s likely going to end up before a jury and we look forward to proving his innocence when we get to that point,” Hoerner said, adding she will be joined by James Leonard as co-counsel in Rolls’ defense.
Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman said in an email that “because of the pending criminal litigation, I am not able to comment,” but did confirm Rolls is suspended without pay from the department.
He was reportedly released on conditions pending trial by a municipal court judge in April. 
Middle Sgt. Bryan
Joshua Bryan, a Middle Township police sergeant, was arrested July 21 and charged with two counts of third-degree witness tampering. He was released on a summons.
Officials from Cape May County Superior Court said there is currently no court date listed for Bryan and that his case has been referred to the grand jury, where prosecutors will present a case to try to convince a majority of the 23 jurors that there is enough evidence to formally charge the sergeant. 
Bryan was listed for a separate incident on the Middle Township Police Department’s 2021 Major Discipline Disclosure. That document revealed Bryan was suspended 45 days for a “domestic violence situation” in Wildwood, where personal property was allegedly damaged. 
A request made under the Open Public Records Act to the Wildwood Police Department for a report resulting from that incident was not answered within the required seven business days and follow-up correspondence was returned by the deputy city clerk, who attached a document signed electronically by a police captain who said no records existed in that matter. 
The deputy clerk, when provided with the Middle Township Police Major Discipline Disclosure, did not immediately respond with an explanation for why the city would have no record of the incident.  
Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner said Bryan is suspended without pay pending the outcome of the current charges against him. Leusner added he could not comment on a pending criminal case and did not respond to multiple follow-up emails asking for any further statement on the prior domestic incident referenced in the major discipline disclosure.
According to an affidavit of probable cause in the current case, Bryan showed up at an ex’s home in uniform and while on duty to confront her about statements she had made two days earlier to his bosses at Middle Township police and officials at the New Jersey Army National Guard Recruitment Center, alleging that the two had engaged in consensual sex a couple of times while he was on duty. 
Bryan was allowed into her home July 4 after he repeatedly knocked on the complainant’s door and questioned her about why she had made those statements, according to the affidavit. 
He allegedly asked her who she spoke to with Middle Township police, so that he could “smooth things over.” He then asked her what he could do to “make this go away” and what she wanted him to do to “make this disappear” as he feared it would cause him to get in trouble and possibly lose his job, according to the complaint. 
His lawyer, Robert Perry, told the Herald he and his client both had no comment on the case. 
Lower Officers Craig and Campbell
Austin Craig and Eric Campbell, two Lower Township police officers, are suspended without pay after they were charged with stealing bicycles in Cape May, according to Lower Township Police Chief William Priole.
They will appear for a pre-indictment conference in front of Judge Smith Jan. 3. 
According to the criminal complaints against Craig and Campbell, each was charged with a fourth-degree crime for the alleged bike thefts.
Cape May police had issued surveillance footage of two suspects they said stole bikes from a rack near Decatur Street Oct. 8 and asked for help from the public to identify the suspects. 
Six days later, the county prosecutor announced their arrests and identified them as members of the Lower Township Police Department.
Priole told the Herald he is aware of the arrests and that his department is working with the county prosecutor and opened their own internal investigation. 
“At this juncture, we cannot comment further as the matter is an open criminal investigation,” Priole wrote in an email.
Efforts to reach Campbell and Craig, who were released pending court, as well as their attorneys, were unsuccessful. 
To contact Shay Roddy, email sroddy@cmcherald.com.