Pregnant illegal arrested for shoplifting.

Around 1:19 PM on September 7, 2023, Patrolman Ryan Spahr with the Eatontown Police Department responded to a report of a shoplifting at the Target store located at 56 State Highway 36. As he arrived at the store, he immediately made contact with someone in Asset Protection who told him that a woman with no identification who only speaks Spanish attempted to leave the store without paying for some of the items in her cart. Patrolman Spahr was led to the Asset Protection office, where the alleged shoplifter was being detained. While she initially gave a false name to the Eatontown Police, the woman was later identified as 25-year-old Maryeris Ernestina Velasquez-Joya.

Our content is educational and in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2001, c. 404). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person's reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.