Governor’s Order Now Prohibits Groups of Ten or More; Two Charged With Violating Group Prohibition

On April 1, 2020, at about 2310 hours, Newark Police were dispatched to an apartment in the 300 block of East Main Street for a report of loud music.  Arriving officers found the apartment with loud music and made contact with tenants inside.  In addition to the two tenants, eighteen more people were found inside the apartment.  The investigation revealed that the tenants were holding a birthday party inside the apartment.

Although the Governor’s ninth modification to the state of emergency, which prohibits gatherings to less than 10 people, does not go into effect until April 2nd at 8:00 pm, the City of Newark passed an emergency ordinance on March 16th that prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people.

The two tenants in the apartment were issued summonses for violating the City of Newark noise ordinance and the City’s emergency gathering ordinance.  They were released pending their appearance in court at a later date.  All persons present in the apartment were advised of the requirements of social distancing.

The guidelines and requirements set forth by the Governor, the City of Newark and public health officials have been well publicized.  Newark Police will respond to reports of violations of the state of emergency and will take enforcement action as required.

For information about COVID-19, and the various laws, ordinances and state of emergency declarations related thereto, please see our COVID-19 page at https://newarkdepolicepress.com/covid-19/ .