Fred Gilbert faces charges including official misconduct.
A Atlantic County jail sergeant who allegedly hid contraband recovered from an inmate was indicted last week for official misconduct.
Fred Gilbert, 38, of Egg Harbor City, is accused of instructing a junior officer to report that no contraband was recovered in the June 12, 2023 incident.
A strip search of the inmate actually recovered suspected narcotics concealed in ripped rubber glove tips, according to the affidavit of probable cause previously obtained by BreakingAC.
Handwritten letters also were recovered, the affidavit states.
Gilbert photographed the recovered letters, with the suspected narcotics captured in the top left corner of the image, the affidavit states.
But when the officer who recovered the contraband asked for help writing the report, Gilbert told him to say no contraband was recovered, the affidavit claims.
"When the officer was unsure of how to write the report, Sergeant Gilbert physically typed it for him and had him sign it," the affidavit states.
Gilbert, a 15-year veteran of the jail, also authored a report as his own, making the same claim, according to the allegations.
The contraband was never recovered.
Gilbert is additionally charged with witness tampering, obstruction, false reporting and tampering with evidence.
He was charged on a summons and was not jailed. He is currently suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case.
The investigation was conducted by the Atlantic County Justice Facility with the assistance of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards and Accountability Unit.
