MOUNTAIN LAKES — Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll and Chief of Detectives Robert McNally confirmed the sentencing of Raymond Branch, 20, of Newark.
On August 15, 2021, the Mountain Lakes Police Department responded to the report of a 2017 black Maserati Ghibli stolen from a residence. The Maserati was recovered in Newark later that morning.
The subsequent investigation identified Branch as a suspect. Cellular telephone records, provided by Essex County authorities, were analyzed by Mountain Lakes Police and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence Unit. The examination revealed that Branch used real estate and mapping applications on his cellular phone in the area of the theft in Mountain Lakes on the morning of August 15.
Members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) section forensically processed the Maserati, which resulted in recovering a latent fingerprint from the interior of the front driver door window that matched Raymond Branch.
Branch was arrested on April 5, 2022, and detained pending trial. On August 2, Branch pleaded guilty to third-degree motor vehicle theft.
On February 24, 2023, the Honorable Noah Franzblau sentenced Branch to four (4) years in prison for the theft conviction.
Prosecutor Carroll commends the successful investigation and prosecution of Branch, which resulted from information sharing, interagency cooperation, and excellent police work by the Mountain Lakes Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence Unit. Senior Assistant Prosecutor Erin Callahan represented the State at sentencing.
