By: Richard L. Smith
An Essex County Grand Jury has indicted Orange Police Sergeant Yolanda Holmes, 44, of Somerset, on allegations that she forged signatures and tampered with official court documents to void traffic tickets for a friend.
Investigators say Holmes falsified two “Request to Dismiss or Void Complaint” forms on March 24, 2023, forging the names of a fellow officer and a sergeant.
The documents were submitted to Orange Municipal Court, where one ticket was dismissed. A second ticket could not be voided because it had already been paid.
The scheme unraveled when the municipal court returned one of the forms to the officer whose name appeared on it.
That officer quickly realized he had not attempted to dismiss the ticket and later confirmed he had never authorized Holmes — or anyone else — to act on his behalf.
Holmes is facing six counts of fourth-degree forgery, two counts of fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records, two counts of third-degree tampering with public records, and two counts of second-degree official misconduct.
The charges were announced by Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and City of Orange Township Police Director Todd Warren.