Lt. Benito Gonzalez Jr Accused of Masturbating in Starbucks

A high-ranking officer of the Camden County Police Department is accused of committing a lewd act in a Cherry Hill coffee shop.

Lt. Benito Gonzalez Jr., who supervises the department's narcotics unit, has been removed from duty over allegations that he masturbated in public at a Route 70 Starbucks, a county spokesman said Monday.

The Deptford man was arrested Friday in connection with the May 7 incident, according to Cherry Hill police records.

"We are deeply troubled by the allegations of this off-duty conduct," said county spokesman Dan Keashen. "A swift and thorough investigation is being conducted."

According to the police report, Gonzalez allegedly pulled down his shorts and exposed himself at the coffee shop, "knowing or reasonably expecting that the act was likely to be observed by a non-consenting person who likely would be affronted or alarmed."

Gonzalez left the shop, but a Starbucks employee reported the incident to police immediately, said company spokeswoman Laurel Harper.

"Our top priority is to provide a safe environment for our customers and employees, and we take all reports of inappropriate activity in our stores very seriously," she said.

Gonzalez was charged with a disorderly persons lewdness offense, according to a Cherry Hill police spokeswoman, Lt. Amy Winters. "The investigation is still ongoing," she said.

Keashen offered a similar outlook.

"We are working to ascertain all of the facts in this matter with Cherry Hill Police Department and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office," Keashen said.

Police posted surveillance photos of a suspect after the incident at the department's Facebook page, but they were no longer online Monday.

The incident occurred at a Starbucks in the 1100 block of Route 70, at the Kinko's Plaza.

Gonzalez is a 17-year veteran and a former member of the city-run police department that was disbanded to make way for the county force.

Gonzalez was honored by the county police department in July 2013, after he and two other officers helped an elderly woman return home to Kentucky after she got lost and ended up in Camden. Gonzalez found the woman asleep in a car at 2nd and Clinton streets; with two detectives, he got the woman to a Brooklawn motel and contacted a relative.

The officers then accompanied the woman to a Philadelphia bus station to ensure her return home.

Officer Ed Zehner Arrested for Drunk Driving

IMPD Officer Ed Zehner was arrested for operating while intoxicated Sunday evening at 11:30, New Palestine’s chief of police confirmed.

He was arrested by a New Palestine officer when the officer spotted him swerving on rural Hancock County roads.

The police chief said Zehner had a BAC of .16, which is twice the legal limit.

He was taken to Hancock County Jail.

Officer Steven Feinbery Charged with Molesting Child

A Memphis police officer charged with molesting a child is out of jail on bond.

Steven Feinberg paid $40,000 to get out of jail Saturday.

He’s accused of sexually abusing a girl for the last five years.

According to the police report, the Department of Children’s Services got an anonymous tip that Feinberg was sexually abusing this girl.

During a forensic interview, she told police it was true.

“What makes everyone surprised is that it`s a police officer, somebody we trust,” said Dr. Jeffery Freiden, a licensed counselor who treats sex offenders in Shelby County.

Prosecutors have charged the Memphis police officer with molesting the girl since she was 12 years old.

Investigators say he started touching her when she was 12 and by the time she was 14, he started having sex with her.

Police say the victim is now 17 and opened up about this abuse, which she says happened in multiple houses Feinberg has lived in over the years.

The 33-year-old wasn’t at his Cordova home when WREG stopped by on Saturday.

Neighbors say they saw police at his house several times in the last few weeks.

“Kind of unsettling,” said neighbor, Kim Parsley.

Neighbors say he’s married with children.

“We teach our children to trust a police officer, trust people in charge,” said Dr. Freiden. “We have also got to teach our children that when they know something is wrong to come talk to you.”

Dr. Freiden says, if convicted, officer Fienberg could be spending years in prison because of how young the victim was when he allegedly started to abuse her.

“His first contact was at age 12,” said Dr. Freiden. “Usually ‘12’ is a number that State usually looks at as being way over the line.”

The Memphis Police Department has taken Feinberg off the job and Police Director Toney Armstrong says he’s going to ensure justice is served.

Feinberg has been a Memphis police officer since 2007.

If the accusations are true, this means that this sexual abuse started about two years after he joined the force.

He’s due in court Tuesday at 9 a.m.