Liam Cherkasky captured this video of mounted police officers on the Wildwood Boardwalk on Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend. Wildwood officials said the mounted officers made a big impression on the crowd, and plan to have them back on the Boardwalk for the next two weekends.
A Camden County man was arrested early Memorial Day after police allegedly found a loaded handgun in the mesh lining of the shorts he was wearing shortly after he was ordered to leave the Wildwood Boardwalk.
Mikell Cortes, 18, of Clementon, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, resisting arrest by force, possession of a prohibited weapon and obstruction.
Cortes was ordered held in jail until trial Friday following a detention hearing before Superior Court Judge Christine Smith.
"This night could've ended tragically different, not just for other people on the Boardwalk but for this defendant," Smith said during her ruling. "Frankly, he's lucky to be alive since other officers didn't see a handgun and take him down at gunpoint. I'm going to be honest, I feel very badly that this is a high school senior who has now begun his adult criminal history with such a charge."
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Matthew Pruna, Cortes' attorney, told Smith during the hearing his client was weeks away from graduating high school. Smith said if Pruna wanted to provide additional evidence prior to Cortes' graduation day, she would consider a motion to reopen detention.
Police were enforcing curfew restrictions on the Boardwalk shortly after midnight Monday when they came across Cortes and asked for identification, Smith said while reading from the affidavit of probable cause.
Wildwood has a 10 p.m. curfew for people 18 and younger to leave the Boardwalk nightly. The curfew was put into effect after the city dealt with several issues last year that led to a state of emergency being declared and a shutdown of the Boardwalk the morning of Memorial Day. The city lifted the emergency five hours later.
Cortes began arguing with officers when he was unable to provide identification and became physical with the officers as they escorted him off the Boardwalk, leading police to take Cortes to the ground and place him in handcuffs, Smith said.
What's 16 hands tall and can see all the way down the Wildwood Boardwalk? A police officer on horseback.
Mounted police have been dispatched to Wildwood in the past, such as for the Barefoot Country Music Fest. Over the weekend, mounted officers were in the crowds.
While waiting for a prison transport van, officers attempted to search Cortes, but he resisted by "dropping his weight to the ground" and yelling at officers to "stay out of his pockets," Smith said.
When the van arrived, authorities tried to search Cortes a second time, but he resisted once again.
"The defendant resisted by intentionally dropping his weight to the ground and pinching his legs together, leaning to the right side," Smith said.
A third attempt to search Cortes was successful as officers seized a loaded Taurus TCP semi-automatic handgun with 10 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, Smith said. The firearm's serial number was scratched off.
Cortes had no prior adult criminal record, and it was unclear whether he had a juvenile history. The public safety assessment used to determine a defendant's likelihood of not appearing in court or committing new crimes recommended release.
However, prosecutors pushed for Cortes to be held due to the nature of the charges, the potential prison sentence he faces if convicted and the number of people he placed in danger.
"He made a conscious effort to get that firearm ready to shoot," Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Hance said. "He went through great lengths to conceal that firearm on his person. This also happened on the Boardwalk during a busy holiday weekend. Based on all of that, I'm asking the court to deviate from the PSA and detain this defendant."
Pruna argued his client only had the firearm on him because several people were threatening him and his family, and Cortes was advised those individuals may have been in Wildwood.
Wildwood approved to join Cape May County central dispatch service
The Cape May County Board of Commissioners approved a shared services agreement Tuesday that will allow the city to join the central dispatch system.
"While the act in itself may have been wrong, he believed he was acting in his own self-defense," Pruna said.
But Smith disagreed.
"What I did not hear is any report to law enforcement by this defendant that he was being threatened," Smith said. "That would've been the smarter choice given the fact he's now incarcerated."
Cortes is due back in court July 9 for a preindictment conference.
Contact John O'Connor:
609-272-7261
X @acpressoconnor
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