Long Valley Man Arrested After Losing Money in Fake Drug Deal, Cops Say

A Long Valley man was arrested by Mt. Olive Police when he reported a robbery that allegedly occurred after he tried buying drugs, authorities reported.

Bryan Christopher, 26, called police at 2:58 a.m. on Saturday and said he was forced to hand over $300 from a man holding nunchucks, Officer Michael Russell said.

Christopher told police he followed the alleged robber and a female to a residence on High Street where he was waiting for police to arrive, Russell said. When police arrived they identified Arthur Appleby III, 29, of Newark and Jennifer O’Reilly, 27, of Budd Lake.

An investigation revealed that a robbery never actually took place, Russell said, and that Christopher had attempted to purchase drugs from O’Reilly. Christopher gave O’Reilly $300 in exchange for a cigarette box that was supposed to contain drugs, but was empty, Russell said.

When the Long Valley man realized he had been duped, he called police and fabricated a story about how he was robbed for money, Russell said. During an attempt to retrieve the money prior to the robbery report, Appleby pulled nunchucks out of his pants for Christopher to see, Russell said.

Christopher was charged with filing a false police report, harassment, and terroristic threats. O’Reilly was charged with theft by deception and Appleby was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.

All were released and given court appearances.

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