Jersey Journal (New Jersey)
 Photo Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal Robert Verpent (second left) appears in court during an earlier hearing in December. |
JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Jersey City firefighter yesterday pleaded guilty to punching his captain in the face while fighting a three-alarm blaze last summer and he was immediately fired but will serve no prison time, officials said.
“The key was to get this person off the Fire Department and he will never work as a firefighter again,” Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Pete Stoma said of former firefighter Robert Verpent.
Pleased with the plea deal, Fire Department Director Armando Roman said: “The firefighters of our department are a very proud and dedicated group and will not be shamed by former firefighter Robert Verpent’s action,”
At the plea hearing, Verpent corroborated the story as told by Francis Reynolds, the captain he punched.
Reynolds was inside the burning building with Verpent and a rookie and when he looked around, Verpent was gone, Stoma said.
He went out and looked for Verpent and when he found him, he ordered him back into the fire and Verpent punched him, Stoma said.
In a statement, Verpent said he became enraged when Reynolds called him a coward, Stoma said, adding Verpent said he was sick that day.
At the fire, Fire Chief Michael O’Reilly suspended Verpent without pay on the spot.
On Nov. 12, a grand jury indicted Verpent on the charges of fourth-degree aggravated assault and official misconduct.
He faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the official misconduct charge, but the charge was dropped as part of the plea deal in which he has been barred permanently from holding public employment.
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