A county detective charged with official misconduct in connection with the investigation of a hit-and-run accident involving his mother-in-law will be going to trial next year. The Cape May County Herald reports Robert P. Harkins Jr., a detective sergeant in the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, has rejected a plea deal with the state Attorney General’s Office, electing instead to have the case heard by a jury. At a hearing Friday, Oct. 20, the case was listed for trial beginning March 4.
The Attorney General’s Office alleges that Harkins launched an unauthorized investigation into a hit-and-run fender bender in which Harkins’ mother-in-law was the victim in 2019. He is charged with second-degree official misconduct, third-degree tampering with records and fourth-degree falsifying records.