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NEW JERSEY COPS ■ DECEMBER 2014
2014 Valor Awards – Unit Citation
East Orange officers win big following bank robbery
Sergeant Freddie Townes, Sergeant Reginald Hudson,
Detective Gary Blakney, Detective Jon Cato,
Detective Shonee Thorne, Detective Christopher
Saldivia-Freeman
East Orange Local 16
On Dec. 27, 2013, Sergeants Freddie Townes and Reginald
Hudson, along with Detectives Gary Blakney, Jon Cato, Shonee
Thorne and Christopher Saldivia-Freeman of East Orange Local
16 were on patrol when they were notified that two suspects had
just committed a bank robbery in Montclair with a silver semiautomatic gun and fled in a black BMW.
As Hudson advised units information on a tracking device
inside the money bag, Saldivia-Freeman and Blakney observed a
man fitting the description of one of the suspects squatting near
a vehicle parked in a driveway. As they approached, the actor
stood up and ran through yards jumping over fences.
The detectives began a foot pursuit. Cato, who was in an
undercover vehicle, heard the foot pursuit and observed a man
fitting the description.
“I was set up in front of the house when I saw the guy hop the
fence and start running,” described Cato. “I was able to tackle him
to the ground and handcuff him.”
Thorne, meanwhile, found the suspect’s unoccupied vehicle
and searched it for the handgun. She then observed a rusty grill
by a nearby house. Upon opening the grill top, she found a bag
filled with money.
Townes, along with FBI Agents and Essex County Sheriff’s Officers, searched the suspect’s house, recovering numerous bags of
marijuana and a fully loaded gun.
“It was a big win,” Cato emphasized. “Officers don’t usually
come across getting the bank robber, the money, the guns, the
drugs. People with 20-to-30 years on the job don’t get jobs like
this. I was surprised it all fell out like that. It was a regular cold day
and all of a sudden we got some action in the morning.”
Saldivia-Freeman elaborated on the winning strategy: “We definitely had a hometown advantage. We have people in East
Orange on loan to the FBI, a lot of the Sheriff’s Department guys
and Montclair officers (who helped us out). It’s a good situation.”
East Orange officers do it again
Barely two weeks after the bank robbery incident that earned
them a Unit Citation Valor Award, East Orange Local 16 Detectives Jon Cato and Shonee Thorne performed another awardwinning display of police work.
On Jan. 7, 2014, along with Sergeant Keith Gillespie, Cato and
Thorne were on duty assigned to the Enhanced Community Safety Team in a high-crime area.
“That area, around North 18th Street, we always get calls with
intelligence about heavy drugs, heavy heroin, heavy gangs – that’s
like a warzone in our city,” Cato illustrated. “That day, I noticed
some suspicious activity and I set up on it.”
In an undercover vehicle, Cato took up a position to view the
front porch where he had information that large amounts of
heroin were being sold by several males. One of the individuals
reportedly had a Tech 9 machine gun.
He observed three males get into a car and pull away, and as
they passed his position, Cato observed the driver pass a gun to
the passenger, and radioed his observations to other units.
Thorne, who received the information, conducted a motor
vehicle stop on the vehicle with the three males.
“I noticed a lot of movement in the car,” Thorne described.
“There was a lot of grabbing of the crotch area. They were nervous; they wouldn’t stop.”
She and Gillespie removed the occupants of the
vehicle one-by-one.
“With the second male out of the car a struggle
ensued because he wouldn’t stop moving –
2014
Valor
awards
awards
Sergeant Keith Gillespie, Detective Jon Cato,
Detective Shonee Thorne
East Orange Local 16
wouldn’t put his hands behind his back,” Thorne added, finally
taking him to the ground. “Once we lifted him off the ground, the
gun was right by his feet – a loaded 9mm with hollow points. It hit
home real quick. After struggling and seeing the weapon, it could
have gone real bad.”
The three men were arrested and charged with weapons
offenses.
As for their double win, Thorne explained what it takes to have
a cohesive and successful unit:
“You have to know each other,” she emphasized. “Every move
– what they’re capable of doing. I’m honored and blessed that we
made it home safe those days, and I’m just honored to even work
with these guys. We put all our ducks in line and did what we had
to do.”