A 25-year-old woman was pepper-sprayed and charged with disorderly conduct following an incident at a 7-Eleven store. According to a Fox News report, the alleged incident occurred at a 7-Eleven in Bridgeton. Officials say she became angry when there were no sausages in the hot dog cooker and she tried to attack an employee. Police arrived as she was trying to climb over the counter to attack the clerk. They pepper-sprayed her, arrested her, and turned her over to a hospital for evaluation, the report states.
Disorderly conduct is commonly referred to as improper behavior. N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2 states, “A person is guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense, if with purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof he (1) Engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior; or (2) Creates a hazardous or physically dangerous condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor.”
There are many types of actions that can be considered disorderly conduct. Under the law, even using offensive language can result in a disorderly persons offense if it is done in a public place and someone was offended by it. These types of crimes can result in heavy fines and they can hurt someone’s reputation and standing in his or her community. If something similar happens in the future, the suspect may face even harsher penalties for a repeat offense.
The criminal defense lawyers in NJ at Lependorf & Silverstein handle all types of disorderly conduct cases in New Jersey. If you or a loved one has been charged for improper behavior, it is important to take the charges seriously and to speak with a defense lawyer.