Man sentenced for damaging over 40 garbage trucks and support vehicles at Sussex County Waste Management facility
NEWTON, NJ (Sussex County) – A man has been sentenced for damaging over 40 garbage trucks and support vehicles at a Waste Management facility in Sussex County, according to Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.
Robert L. Bechaud, 59, of Stanhope Borough, was sentenced on January 3 before the Honorable Janine M. Allen J.S.C. at the Sussex County Courthouse in Newton, Murray said.
Bechaud was sentenced to three years of probation, conditioned upon serving 236 days in county jail, which he has already served. He was also ordered to submit a DNA sample and pay $405 in mandatory fees and penalties. Bechaud will face a future court hearing regarding his ability to pay restitution to the victim, Murray said.
Bechaud had previously pled guilty to third-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief, and third-degree endangering another person, Murray said.
The charges stemmed from a New Jersey State Police investigation in May 2024, after multiple garbage trucks and other vehicles at a Waste Management facility in Lafayette Township were found damaged. Bechaud admitted to purposely damaging over 40 vehicles, including breaking windows, cutting fuel and brake lines, and discharging fire extinguishers in the cab and engine compartments, Murray said.
Bechaud was represented by Thomas Fischer, Esq., and the State was represented by Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor Jerome Neidhardt.
