A former Morris County Sheriff’s Office officer accused of drug possession, arson, and official misconduct might reject a plea deal that he previously agreed to.

Jason Campbell is weighing the prosecutor’s plea offer after it was already rejected by a judge in Sussex County Superior Court. Meanwhile, the case has been transferred from Sussex County to Morris County after the judge rejected the plea agreement because, he said, its terms would undermine his “judicial integrity.”

In Morris County Superior Court, Mr. Campbell’s defense attorney argued that the plea deal’s mandatory five-year sentence for “flashing a badge” to avoid a drug arrest was excessively harsh. Mr. Campbell’s defense attorney indicated that Mr. Campbell changed his mind about the deal when he realized that he was not eligible for admission into the Drug Court program. Mr. Campbell’s attorney insisted that his client had accepted the plea deal only because of “the mistaken belief” that he was eligible for drug court.

Mr. Campbell has been accused of possession of Oxycodone, arson, official misconduct, and child neglect.

If Mr. Campbell goes to trial for the Oxycodone possession charge, he could face serious prison time. In New Jersey, Oxycodone possession is criminalized under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5. Depending on the amount of “oxy” pills in Mr. Campbell’s possession, he could be charged with third degree Oxycodone possession, subjecting him to as many as five (5) years in New Jersey State Prison.

For more information, check out the NJ.com article entitled “Morris County Sheriff’s Officer May Reject Plea Bargain for Drugs, Misconduct.“