A former Mount Olive police officer will not be able to return to his job as a cop after a Morris County Superior Court judge said that his guilty plea in a criminal case would stand.

In 2014, the suspect admitted to illegally using a police database and pleaded guilty to obstructing the administration of law enforcement.

According to Morris County officials, the suspect’s illegal search was intended to help a neighbor who wanted information about another person’s arrest record. When the neighbor found out that a worker at a local landscaping business had an arrest warrant for sexual assault charges, he reportedly tipped off the worker. The sex crime suspect subsequently fled the state and went to California.

Detectives were able to trace the leak back to the suspect, who served as a Mount Olive NJ cop. Police then placed the suspect under arrest and charged him with the very serious criminal offense of official misconduct.

The suspect eventually reached a plea agreement with Morris County prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to obstructing the administration of law enforcement.

The suspect ended up regretting his decision because it meant that he could no longer work as a law enforcement officer. So he asked a Morris County Superior Court judge to throw out the guilty plea. However, the judge ruled that the suspect’s plea would stand and that he would continue to be prohibited from working as a police officer.

For further information about this case, view the NJ.com article, “Ex-Cop Accused of Obstruction Can’t Withdraw His Guilty Plea, Judge Rules.”