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BY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Remember hearing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Police say Ryan Burke, 27, of Stratford, gave bagels and lox a new meaning when he was serving breakfast back in February.
Burke, a former cook at a Marlton restaurant, has been indicted on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and drug or food tampering after being accused of placing body hair in a policeman's turkey, egg and cheese bagel.
According to NJ.com, police say it was done in retaliation for traffic citations the cop gave Burke in March 2009. Burke was also indicted on a fourth-degree charge of retaliation for past official action.
If convicted, Burke faces up to five years in prison for the third-degree charges.
But Burke and his Cherry Hill attorney have maintained that wasn't true.
According to the Asbury Park Press, Burke's attorney, T. Alex Kushner described the situation as an argument between two people who don't get along and one happens to be a police officer.
Kushner said he plans to appeal the county prosecutor's decision to deny Burke's request to receive pretrial intervention. The intervention program allows first-time offenders to resolve their cases outside the normal court system and without any record of a conviction.
If the appeal is denied, Kushner said he will take the case to trial.
When reached Wednesday, Burke, who earlier described his arrest as "ridiculous," referred all comment to Kushner.
The Courier Post reports that Burke has said he spent four hours in the Burlington County Jail after his arrest, before his wife, using the couple's mortgage payment, was able to satisfy his $25,000 bail.
According to court records, Burke was arrested after the officer found "human hairs that had been torn from (Burke's) body" and placed in the officer's bagel sandwich.
Lt. Walt Miller of the Evesham police said he was pretty confident that the justice system will deal properly with the case.
Burke is scheduled for an arraignment on Oct. 4 in Superior Court.
