U.S. Attorney indicts two local residents TRENTON - A former Asbury Park police officer and another man have been indicted by a grand jury sitting in Trenton on charges contained in a three-count superseding indictment. Count one charges Phillip Montgomery, 44, of Ocean Township, a former Asbury Park police officer, with deprivation of civil rights under color of law. Count two charges Montgomery and Efrin Rivera, 35, of West Long Branch, with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Count three charges both defendants with obstruction of justice. The defendants are charged in connection with an alleged theft of jewelry valued at over $2,000 that occurred during the execution of an arrest warrant. Montgomery and Rivera were arrested by law enforcement authorities on Sept. 13, 2006. Montgomery had an initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Tonianne Bongiovanni on Sept. 13. Rivera had an initial appearance before Judge Bongiovanni on Sept. 14. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office filed state complaints against Montgomery charging second-degree official misconduct and third-degree theft on Sept. 18. According to federal criminal complaints, which were issued under seal on Sept. 12, and unsealed on Sept. 15, law enforcement officers from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Asbury Park Police Department, including Montgomery, executed an arrest warrant for a fugitive at an Asbury Park apartment where the fugitive's mother resided in February 2003. According to the complaints, immediately following the police action, the fugitive's mother reported that certain jewelry, including a watch valued at over $2,000, was missing. Several days later the watch was spotted at a jewelry store in Monmouth County by friends of the fugitive, according to the complaints. The manager of the store reportedly told the friends that the watch recently had been brought to the jewelry store to have the band switched to a new one, according to the complaints. The case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigators with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. The U.S. Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Hoffman of the Criminal Division in Trenton. The state criminal charges are being prosecuted by Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor James E. Jones.