Man arrested in Smith threat has criminal history
The man accused of making a series of online death threats toward U.S. Rep. Chris Smith is surprisingly a social media ghost.
Google searches turn up only a few hits for 43-year-old Dereal Finklin, most of them stories about his recent arrest for allegedly threatening to kill the Republican congressman who represents parts of Mercer County in New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District.
Even more surprising, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office apparently has very little information on Finklin — at least that it’s releasing publicly at this point.
Most of what is known about Finklin comes from online court records and an interview with Smith, who told The Trentonian that Finklin was charged after he posted a picture of Smith on Facebook with the caption “dead man walking.”
That much is confirmed by a criminal complaint warrant obtained by the newspaper.
Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Tiffany Lenart signed off on the charges July 28, but Finklin’s arrest didn’t become public until Wednesday.
Finklin, of Myrtle Avenue in Plainfield, faces charges of terroristic threats and cyber-bullying, third and fourth-degree charges, according to the scant one-page complaint.
The complaint does not provide any details on why authorities felt the congressman’s life was in danger, other than stating Finklin’s July 26 online rants were intended to cause the congressman to be “in imminent fear of death.”
Authorities feared Finklin was capable of carrying out his alleged death threats against Smith and therefore filed charges and made the arrest, according to the broad outlines of the complaint. The onepage document, however, does not explain why detectives feared Finklin would harm the congressman.
The Trentonian asked the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for records detailing how the investigation came together but was only provided with the complaint warrant, no affidavit of probable cause.
A prosecutor’s office spokesman said additional documents, such as the affidavit of probable cause that may shed more light on the case, wasn’t available on Thursday.
And prosecutors cited office policy in refusing to release Finklin’s mugshot. The Trentonian had to deep dive into Finklin’s criminal history to obtain his mugshot from a prior arrest. He has multiple theft convictions but doesn’t appear to have a violent past.
The little that is known about Finklin’s terroristic threats case comes from Smith, who is up for re-election this fall.
The congressman said a retired police detective whom he spoke with over the phone, but wouldn’t name, noticed Finklin’s posts, which were subsequently relayed to the prosecutor’s office.
Authorities performed a “deep dive” of Finklin’s social media postings, interrogated him and had him evaluated for any mental health issues, the congressman said.
However, The Trentonian was unable to find any Facebook posts the convicted felon made through an online search. A Facebook page with Finklin’s same name showed no recent activity or visible posts and pictures.
He remains jailed until his detention hearing Aug. 8 before Judge James McGann.
Prosecutors haven’t explained why they are attempting to detain
Finklin and have not provided court papers outlining their grounds for detention.
The Trentonian has submitted a public records request seeking to obtain the detention motion ahead of Finklin’s hearing but is still awaiting a response.
Finklin, who has prior felony convictions in New Jersey and out of state, faces up to five years in prison if convicted on the more serious third-degree charge.
Prior history
Almost two years ago when Finklin was working at Planet Fitness in Franklin Township, Somerset County, he stole a victim’s car keys from the locker room and used them to steal the victim’s vehicle on Nov. 26, 2016. The victim’s wallet was also inside the vehicle with various credit cards, according to court documents.
In the days following the November 2016 auto theft, Finklin used the victim’s credit card to buy approximately $14 worth of merchandise from a Target store in College Park, Maryland, and also attempted to use that card in Greenbelt, Maryland. Finklin then cruised over to Durham, North Carolina, where he used one of the victim’s other credit cards to buy a phone from Cricket Wireless for about $250, court records show.
The Cricket Wireless receipt showed a phone number for the wireless phone. When detectives called the phone number, it was answered by a person who identified himself as Dereal Finklin. Detectives also reviewed surveillance footage from Target and “positively identified” Finklin as the credit card thief, according to the judgment of conviction.
Finklin’s joyriding escapades ended on Dec. 12, 2016, when the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department arrested him in Tennessee for being in possession of the stolen vehicle, which was recovered. Finklin was ultimately extradited to New Jersey, where he pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by unlawful taking of movable property and fourth-degree credit card theft and was sentenced last December to 36 months of concurrent probation on both counts, records show.
In sentencing Finklin to probation, Judge Robert B. Reed found there was a risk Finklin would commit another offense. He also considered Finklin’s prior criminal record and weighed the importance of deterring Finklin and other potential criminals from violating the law, measuring those aggravating factors against the mitigating fact that Finklin had agreed to pay restitution and agreed to participate in a program of community service, records show.
The judge ordered Finklin to pay over $750 in restitution for two credit card charges and towing, and also ordered him to provide a DNA sample in the Somerset County case.
In another case, Union County Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch sentenced Finklin earlier this year to three years of probation to run concurrent to his Somerset County sentence of probation. He was also ordered to pay nearly $2,100 in restitution, records show.
Finklin admits he stole property in the Union County town of Mountainside Borough on March 6, 2015. He pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by unlawful taking of movable property in that case and received his non-custodial sentence of probation on Jan. 5, according to Kirsch’s judgment of conviction.
Finklin’s criminal history includes municipal court convictions for theft and attempted credit card theft and out-of-state convictions on three counts of theft of goods valued at $1,000 or less, one count of theft valued under $500, and one count of attempted credit card theft, according to Judge Reed’s detailed judgment of conviction in the Somerset County case.
Terroristic threats
An assistant deputy public defender, Regina L. Ruocco of the New Jersey Public Defender’s Office, is representing Finklin in his pending terroristic threats case.
Finklin made an initial court appearance on July 30. He was originally scheduled to have a detention hearing on Friday, but the proceeding has been postponed to Aug. 8, records show.
The Trentonian on Thursday has reached out to the New Jersey Public Defender’s Office for comment. Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Sellitti, a spokeswoman for the office, did not respond to an email as of Thursday evening.
Finklin’s public defender could consent to detention, but she will likely argue there are conditions of release that could mitigate Finklin’s potential risk of committing new criminal activity and maximize the chances of him showing up for mandatory court appearances.
If Finklin is ordered to pretrial detention, he will be held without bail pending final resolution of his case.