LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) -- A veteran police officer accused of operating a methamphetamine lab at his home will remain jailed until his trial, a state appellate court judge ruled.
Christopher Walls, a 19-year veteran of the Long Branch force, was suspended without pay from his job following his May 15 arrest. City officials have said they plan to file disciplinary charges with the intent to fire Walls, though it's not clear when that could happen.
A state Superior Court judge had ruled last week that Walls should be released pending trial, finding that Monmouth County prosecutors did not present enough evidence to overcome the presumption that Walls should be freed. Walls' attorney, Peter O'Mara, said no drugs had been found on the property and claimed prosecutors did not have the evidence to support a charge like maintaining a drug manufacturing facility.
The judge stayed his order while prosecutors appealed it to the higher court. The appellate court ruling, which was made public late Tuesday, overturned that decision.
The lab was discovered when police responded to a domestic disturbance call at Walls' home in Long Branch and someone there told officers about it, authorities have said. A state police hazmat team responded and found equipment and substances commonly used to make meth in the home's basement and in a shed on the property, authorities said, along with books about making the drug, explosives and poison.
Authorities also found an open, unsecured gun safe with two long guns, four handguns, eight high-capacity magazines and ammunition inside. The safe was accessible to a child living in the home, police said.
Walls, 50, is charged with maintaining or operating a narcotics production facility, manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine, risking widespread injury, child endangerment and a weapons charge. He faces several decades in prison if convicted on all counts.