Toms River Cop to Seek Help at Mental Health Facility

According to OCPO, Superior Court Judge Pamela Snyder has decided to release a Toms River Police Officer, Rebecca A. Sayegh, 32, who was accused of assaulting her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend from custody, but only to permit her to enroll in an in-patient mental health treatment program.

Terrance Turnbach, Rebecca A. Sayegh's lawyer, said the 32-year-old was scheduled to take a plane Friday night to an out-of-state facility run by Shatterproof, a mental health treatment program that treats law enforcement officers.

Sayegh will participate in the program, which entails 30 to 90 days of inpatient therapy.

According to authorities, Sayegh has been detained at the Ocean County Jail since Monday on charges of home invasion burglary, two counts of assault, two counts of criminal mischief, terroristic threats, and resisting arrest in connection with the incident at the Berkeley Township home she once shared with her ex-boyfriend.

She was first released by Berkeley Township police, but at the hearing, authorities stated that she was detained again on Monday because home invasion burglary is a first-degree offense that carries a presumption of a warrant.

Turnbach claimed that Sayegh had lived with her ex-boyfriend for five years and that she still had possessions in the house, including clothes in a spare bedroom and her puppy, Rookie.

Sayegh informed Snyder that she had been living with her parents, however it was unclear when the relationship ended.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Sayegh went to the house at approximately 11 p.m. on April 24 and used a baton to smash the glass front door before reaching inside and allowing herself in, Assistant Prosecutor Isabella Young said.

According to Young, Sayegh was met in the foyer by her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, who had been watching TV in the living room. The altercation became physical as she was yelling obscenities, and at one point, Sayegh's nail pierced the other woman's eye, she claimed.

According to Young, Sayegh started shattering other objects and throwing a houseplant while the couple attempted to keep the dogs away from the shattered glass in the foyer. Sayegh stated that as she walked upstairs to retrieve further items, the pair rushed outside and called Berkeley police.

When police arrived, Sayegh was leaving the house's garage. When they informed her that she was being detained, she "got furious," according to Young, yelling more obscenities and resisting the officers' attempts to take her into custody.

Young stated from the affidavit that Sayegh once screamed that she would "burn the ---- home down next, you piece of ---."

Young made the case that Sayegh should be held pending trial, estimating that the damage to the house was $2,000 and that the damage to one car, which had been scraped by an unidentified object, was $500.

According to Young, her ex-boyfriend has subsequently applied for and been granted a temporary restraining order.

Turnbach claimed that the Toms River PBA set up the placement at Shatterproof and that she would have a bed there right away. Sayegh, who has been a Toms River police officer since 2016, was detained on Monday just as she was ready to depart for the program, according to Turnbach.

Snyder agreed to release Sayegh to attend the inpatient treatment, but he also prohibited her from interacting with the victims in any way.

On June 9, Snyder said, she will appear before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan for another hearing.