Three men accused in a multi-state check-altering scheme were released from jail Friday.
Brigantine police arrested four men last week after a sergeant noticed suspicious activity near the TD Bank, and an investigation led to evidence of the scheme, according to the charges.
Three of the men were jailed, with a fourth released on a summons.
Anthony Lee Gonzalez was outside of a vehicle when he was stopped by police.
The vehicle he was seen with took off, with Walter McKoy, Jerome White and William Leach inside, according to information presented in court.
Gonzalez admitted to police that he was working with the men and had cashed an altered check, according to the charges. He also said he had worked with the men before and that there was evidence of the scheme and drugs in the vehicle.
"I give a lot of weight to fact that the defendant admitted to everything," Judge Patricia Wild said of Gonzalez. "It looks to me like the other two guys drove away and left him behind.
"He may be the least culpable of the three I'm faced with today," she added before McKoy's and White's hearings.
Leach was released on a summons.
Police stopped the vehicle and found cocaine, a loaded magazine, 14 fraudulent checks, nearly $2,000 in cash and check-altering equipment that included a typewriter, correction tape and razors, Assistant Prosecutor Paige Cramer told the judge.
But White's attorney questioned the strength of the state's case, saying there were some serious constitutional violations in regard to the stop.
Robert Johnson, who was a longtime prosecutor in Cape May County, said he believes there may be no charges left after motions to suppress are heard.
"Having been a prosecutor myself for a long time, if I was teaching search and seizure, I would use this police report as an example of what not to do," he told the judge.
White, 36, of Lumberton, N.C., has a criminal history that includes attempt to commit fraud, possession of cocaine, intimidation or force against a witness and perjury, Cramer said.
Johnson countered that his client's last contact with the criminal justice system was 2018.
The public safety assessments — used to help determine whether a defendant is held under bail reform — recommended each man be released.
McKoy's indicated he had no criminal history, although Cramer presented an out-of-state list of crimes that spanned nine states and filled 70 pages.
His convictions include forgery, weapons offenses, larceny, robbery and theft by deception, Cramer read. McKoy also was arrested in Delaware last April on charges that included rape, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping and conspiracy.
The judge found she could fashion conditions for each man to be released. That included barring them from contact with one another.
More charges are expected as the investigation into the scheme that is alleged to have traveled to various states continues, Cramer said.
