July 07, 2016
Lori Craig/Contributed Art
Entrance to the 84th Street beach in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.
A popular Jersey Shore town is working to enforce what authorities are calling "quality-of-life" issues.
The Sea Isle City Police Department said in a release Wednesday that over the course of the first few weeks of the summer, it has received numerous complaints about crowd conduct and behavior, beach curfew, bike violations, open containers and underage possession and consumption of alcohol.
The department said it began targeted enforcement of these issues, particularly near the beach and promenade areas, over the Fourth of July weekend.
In addition to several summonses issued for underage drinking, drug possession and other offenses related to "quality of life," police responded to a rare armed robbery near the beach over the holiday weekend.
According to police, the incident occurred around 11:35 p.m. on Sunday, July 3, near 35th Street. Police said two juveniles were held up by three suspects, two of whom were allegedly armed — one with a handgun and the other with a stun gun.
One of the suspects, Joseph Amabile, remained at the scene and was arrested. Officers found him to be in possession of a switchblade knife and marijuana, police said.
The other two suspects, Vincenzo Severia and Brenden Burns allegedly tried fleeing but were tracked down and handcuffed.
Burns had a knife, a suspected controlled substance and a Glock handgun that had been stolen from Pennsylvania just days earlier, while Severia had a pink stun gun and a knife on him, police said.
All three have been charged with robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and related counts. They have been jailed at Cape May County Correctional Center after failing to produce bail, and an investigation is ongoing as more charges could be filed.
In the wake of these incidents, police are reminding residents and vacationers that fighting crime "isn't a job police can do alone."
The department thanked involved visitors, community members and parents who are willing to work with authorities to keep Sea Isle an "enjoyable, family-oriented" community.
Police also noted that they can be reached by phone at 609-263-4311, ext. 0.
