MCPO Holds Promotion & Hiring Ceremony for Investigative Officers

Published on January 04, 2023

Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, Chief of Detectives Christoph Kimker, and Deputy Chief Robert McNally announce the promotion of several members of the investigative team, and the hiring of a new Detective, within the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

A formal ceremony was held on January 3, 2023, in the Commissioner’s Public Meeting Room.

Keisha Higgs was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and will supervise the General Investigations Unit within the Courts & Administrative Division.

Lt. Higgs began her career with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in February 2000 as a Community Justice Intern, and has worked her way through the ranks. In October 2000, she was hired as a Municipal Court Advocate in the Victim Witness Unit, and in August 2004, was promoted to Detective.  She attended the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Academy Basic Course for Investigators and graduated in December 2004. She was promoted to Detective Supervisor in August 2016, and later to Sergeant in September 2017. She received commendations for her role in successful missing persons investigations, including a missing persons case involving a child being taken out of the country in a custody dispute. She’s also been recognized for her community involvement and received awards from several professional, civic and community organizations, including commendations and numerous letters of recognition for both her investigative work and her dedication to the community.  

During her tenure at the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Lt. Higgs has been assigned to the Narcotics/Special Enforcement Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, Weapons Return Unit, Bias Crimes Unit, Juvenile Unit, Missing Persons Unit, Community Affairs Unit, and the General Investigations Unit.

Lt. Higgs is also a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team, a Certified Police Instructor, and a member of the Morris County Rapid Deployment Team.

Promoted to Sergeant were Stephen Gangi and Craig May. Both previously had held the rank of Detective Supervisor.

• Sgt. Gangi will supervise the General Investigations Unit within the Courts & Administrative Division.

  Sgt. Gangi joined the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in 2017. Prior to his law enforcement career, Sgt. Gangi was one of the top recruited New Jersey athletes for baseball and football. He entered law enforcement as a Corrections Officer for the Essex County Correctional Facility in 2004. He was hired by the East Orange Police Department in 2006, and promoted to Detective, where he was assigned to the Street Gang Unit, Criminal Investigation Bureau and Violent Crime Task Force. While with the East Orange Police Department, he was awarded numerous citations for exceptional investigative work, a certificate of high merit, and finished his last three years as the top detective in the department with the highest percentage of cases closed by arrest.

  During his tenure with the MCPO, Sgt. Gangi has served in the Major Crimes Unit, where he has successfully investigated and arrested suspects in several homicides, and successfully investigated numerous bank robberies, aggravated assaults, and strict liability arrests for drug-related deaths. Throughout his career, he has testified in numerous trials, including most recently, a homicide trial in which he was the lead detective. The trial resulted in a 79-year sentence for the defendant. He was promoted to the rank of Detective Supervisor in 2021.

• Sgt. May will supervise the Pre-Trial Services Unit within the Courts & Administrative Division.

  In December 2002, Sgt. May joined the East Orange Police Department, where he worked less than one year in Patrol before being promoted to the rank of Detective. While assigned to the Enhanced Community Safety Team, he was responsible for aggressively combatting street crime and quality of life issues throughout the City of East Orange, and was recognized with numerous awards and commendations.   

  Sgt. May was hired by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in February 2017, and has been assigned to the General Investigations and Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment units. He is also a member of the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force and is the designated Field Training Detective for the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit.  He was promoted to Detective Supervisor in March 2022.

  During his tenure with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Sgt. May has successfully investigated and arrested suspects in numerous crimes. He received an Outstanding Law Enforcement Service Award in November 2019 for assisting in a Human Trafficking and Promoting Prostitution investigation, which resulted in the successful prosecution of Aldophus Mims, who was ultimately sentenced to state prison. In August 2021, Sgt. May assisted in a homicide investigation, where he was tasked with conducting a forensic interview of a child witness. During that investigation, he obtained pertinent information critical to the ultimate arrest of the suspect.

  Promoted to Detective Supervisor were Matthew Magnone and Lydia Negron. Both previously had held the rank of Detective.

• Det. Supervisor Magnone will continue to be assigned to the Major Crimes Unit.

  Det. Supervisor Magnone started his career in 1999 as an Agent with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and was assigned to the Grand Jury and Vertical Trial Teams, and Juvenile Unit. He was promoted to Crime Scene Investigator within the Major Crimes Division in 2006, where he served for nearly a decade and was the lead investigator on over 20 homicides, three police-involved shootings, and numerous suspicious deaths. He was recognized by and testified in Superior Court on multiple occasions as an expert in latent friction ridge processing and friction ridge comparison and identification. Noteworthy cases include the identification of a victim found in an Edison creek, initiating an investigation into their disappearance and ultimately leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the homicide. He also identified critical pieces of evidence at the initial crime scene and at the defendant’s home which linked the defendant, an Edison Police Officer, to the firebombing of the house of an Edison PD Deputy Chief. This led to the defendant’s arrest and successful prosecution.

  Det. Supervisor Magnone joined the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office as a Detective in 2015, and was hired by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in 2017. While with the MCPO, he’s been assigned to the General Investigations Unit, Professional Standards Unit, and Major Crimes Unit.

  In addition to his Det. Supervisor responsibilities, he serves as the elected State Delegate for PBA Local 327.

• Det. Supervisor Negron will continue to be assigned to the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit.

Det. Supervisor Negron was hired by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office as a certified Bilingual Transcriber in February 2009, assisting various units with bilingual needs and supervising all transcription/transcriber assignments. In March 2013, she was hired as a Detective. She has led numerous investigations, including wiretaps, undercover operations, and surveillance operations. Some of her responsibilities have included interviewing suspects, victims, and witnesses, handling informants, assisting municipalities and other agencies with surveillance, execution of search warrants, and coordination between law enforcement agencies. She has obtained multiple confessions and child victim disclosures of abuse. She has been designated to supervise squads during take down operations, and execution of search warrants and arrests. She has successfully investigated numerous cases which have resulted in charges that carried significant prison sentences. During her tenure with the MCPO, she has been assigned to the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit, General Investigations Unit, Juvenile/Missing Persons Unit, Special Enforcement Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, and Megan’s Law Unit.  She has received several awards and commendations.

Det. Supervisor Negron is also currently a member of the PBA 327 E-Board as their financial secretary and serves on the Good and Welfare Committee.

Matthew Marino was sworn in as Detective. Det. Marino joined the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in October 2019 and has worked in multiple units including the Domestic Violence Unit and Major Crimes Unit. Det. Marino coordinated the Office’s protection detail staffing for the Morris County vaccination mega site.

Det. Marino recently graduated from the NJ-IAAI Basic Course for Fire Investigators and is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI). He has attended a multitude of state and federal trainings. He’s earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University and an Associate’s degree from County College of Morris. 

Prior to joining the MCPO, Det. Marino served as an Emergency Medical Technician with South Branch Emergency Service. He’s also a Firefighter/EMT with the Mendham Fire Department.

Prosecutor Carroll said, “We have continued to promote from within our existing ranks due to the dedication, experience, and performance of these fine officers.  They also have the diverse skill sets that will best assist the MCPO to achieve its current operational needs and objectives.  We look forward to their future contributions to the mission of our office to best protect the citizens and communities of Morris County.”

Media inquiries concerning this press release should be directed to Public Information Officer Meghan Knab at [email protected] or by phone at 973-829-8159.  

 

Deputy Chief Robert McNally, Chief of Detectives Chris Kimker, First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Lt. Keisha Higgs, Sgt. Stephen Gangi, Sgt. Craig May, Det. Supervisor Matthew Magnone, and Det. Supervisor Lydia Negron.

Deputy Chief Robert McNally, First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Det. Matthew Marino, and Chief of Detectives Chris Kimker.