MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — A former Dover councilman has been admitted into New Jersey’s Pretrial Intervention program in connection with charges stemming from two separate incidents in 2024, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Prosecutor Robert Carroll and Chief of Detectives Robert McNally said Sergio Rodriguez, 30, of Dover, was admitted into the program on Jan. 5, 2026, following proceedings before Superior Court Judge Ralph Amirata. The announcement was made public Wednesday.
Rodriguez was admitted into the 12-month Pretrial Intervention program on one count of fourth-degree criminal coercion related to an incident on Oct. 25, 2024, and on one count of simple assault and one count of harassment related to a separate incident on Feb. 7, 2024. As part of the program, Rodriguez was ordered to pay mandatory fines, fees and penalties and to have no contact with the victim business, prosecutors said.
The criminal coercion charge stemmed from an incident in which Rodriguez, who was serving as a member of the Dover Town Council at the time, allegedly identified himself as a public official while speaking with a liquor store owner and employee. Prosecutors said Rodriguez entered the business and told an employee that the store’s liquor license would not be renewed if alcohol sales continued to certain individuals seen drinking in a nearby courtyard.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Rodriguez later reiterated to the business owner that he was a councilman and could prevent the renewal of the liquor license if the owner did not comply with his demands. Following an investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Rodriguez was charged on Jan. 2, 2025. A grand jury returned an indictment in June 2025 charging him with fourth-degree criminal coercion.
The assault and harassment charges stemmed from a separate incident on Feb. 7, 2024, in Dover. Prosecutors said Rodriguez recorded himself approaching three homeless individuals who were drinking a clear substance from a bottle in public. Authorities said Rodriguez kicked the bottle out of one individual’s hand, causing swelling to the man’s right hand.
When the individuals attempted to leave, Rodriguez followed them, became increasingly aggressive and attempted to block their path as they tried to cross a highway, prosecutors said. That case was initially handled in Kinnelon Municipal Court before being transferred to Superior Court as part of a global resolution of the charges.
Admission into the Pretrial Intervention program allows defendants to avoid a criminal conviction if they successfully complete the program’s requirements.
