Harvey Cedars detective, the mayor's son, is charged with theft of silver necklace

He was the custodian of the department's evidence during the theft of the jewelry, valued at more than $200, authorities said.​

June 14, 2019

HARVEY CEDARS - A borough detective, son of Mayor Jonathan Oldham, has been charged with theft in connection with a silver necklace found missing from the evidence room during an audit.

Christopher Oldham, 32, was the custodian of the department's evidence during the theft of the jewelry, valued at more than $200, authorities said. He additionally was charged with tampering with evidence and filing a false report.

The mayor could not be reached for comment.

Christopher Oldham's theft case follows a similar recent case against a Harvey Cedar police officer.

Sean Marti, 49, of Stafford pleaded guilty in early May to one count of theft of movable property. The former Harvey Cedars police sergeant admitted to stealing an all-terrain vehicle that had been meant as a donation to the department.

Marti was fired after the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office recovered the ATV from his home in December, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

In the wake of those two theft cases, the borough's Board of Commissioners is considering hiring a civilian police director.

After the audit found the silver necklace was missing, the Professional Standards Unit of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office investigated.

The investigation found that Christopher Oldham "indicated the necklace was unclaimed property and had been turned over to the Borough of Harvey Cedars to be auctioned," which turned out to be false, according to a statement from Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.