Smentkowski Pleads Not Guilty to Merce Manslaughter

Charles Webster of the Asbury Park Press reports former Long Branch police officer and current Tinton Falls resident Dennis Smentkowski has pleaded not guilty in a Trenton federal court to charges of involuntary manslaughter related to the 2008 collision that took the life of popular principal Donald E. Merce.

According to authorities and the federal indictment, Smentkowski, 44, was under the influence of the sleeping pill Ambien when his 2007 Ford Explorer collided head-on with Merce's 2004 Chevrolet Malibu in front of the east gate of Fort Monmouth at 7:02 a.m. on May 6, 2008.

Smentkowski was indicted last month on an involuntary manslaughter charge, and if found guilty, he will face up to six years in federal prison. Federal charges apply because the site of the accident is on Oceanport Avenue on Fort Monmouth property, which is under federal jurisdiction. Smentkowski will return to federal court in Trenton on July 18.

For more on this story, please see the coverage on the Asbury Park Press website.