New Jersey woman ‘salutes’ police in arrest mug shot

SPOTSWOOD — Shana Hilsman expressed her displeasure in being arrested in true Jersey fashion: with a double middle finger salute to the camera during her mugshot.

The Old Bridge woman was charged by Spotswood police in connection with several burglaries and attempted burglaries into vehicles on Janice Drive on Jan. 13 and again on Jan. 27 after a homeowner captured the image of a woman on surveillance video. Hilsman was taken into custody on Feb. 1 after an officer noticed her walking on a driveway in clothing matching the surveillance video.

Spotswood police posted Hilsman's mugshot on their Facebook page, which got a lot of attention and was re-posted by numerous news and crime websites. Questions were also raised about why the department posted the picture in the first place.

In a post that has been deleted, police defended the photo by saying that it's not their problem if that's how she wanted to represent herself.

"We have other things to do like catch more people doing bad things, not take pictures you are satisfied with," read the post which has been deleted due to derogatory and profane comments.

Hilsman was found to have a screwdriver, hammer and the same flashlight seen on the surveillance videos and charged with burglary and criminal trespass charges plus possession of burglary tools. She is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center with a pending court date.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

More from New Jersey 101.5