August 14, 2003

LAWRENCEVILLE STORE OWNER ARRESTED FOR PIRACY

8,539 VHS tapes, 353 DVDs seized         

      A six-month investigation by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Economic Crime Unit and the Lawrence Township Police Department ended yesterday with one arrest and the seizure of 353 pirated DVDs and 8,539 VHS tapes, Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini announced.      

      Ogden M. Smith, 46, of East Run Drive in Lawrenceville, was arrested and charged with one count of third-degree piracy yesterday afternoon when officers executed a search warrant at his store, Rice N Spices, 570 Lawrence Square Boulevard South, Lawrenceville.  Officers seized 8,539 VHS tapes and 353 DVDs.  

      Lawrence Detective Joseph S. Lech IV led the investigation.

      According to court records, Smith pled guilty to an identical charge on January 22, 2002, and was sentenced to three years probation.  He now faces three to five years in state prison on each charge.

      Smith was released on his own recognizance pending arraignment in Lawrence Municipal Court on August 26.

      Despite having been charged, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.