Judge cynical as officer who stole 8 sandwiches wants new trial

A former Rockaway Township police officer convicted of stealing eight sandwiches is trying to blame his lawyer for accepting a plea deal that ended his career, and wants to start the case over again.

Former Sgt. Christopher Stahl's guilty plea to the theft of eight sandwiches from a Quick Chek in 2007 kept him out of jail but forced him to leave the force. The Daily Record reports. Stahl says he is appealing because he "did not review the plea form. He was told 'you have to do this'" by his former attorney, NJ.com quoted his new lawyer, Gina Mendola, saying.

The Daily Record saidJudge William McGovern, who made a preliminary ruling that the deal should stand, believes that Stahl is having a case of "buyer's remorse" and doesn't believed that Stahl, a 15-year-veteran police officer, didn't understand the agreement.

Mendola said that the cashier told Stahl "you're good" as he left the store with the sandwiches in uniform, according to the Daily Record report. The cashier denied saying that and the store's manager called the incident a "miscommunication," according to an investigation report cited by the Daily Record.