The sister of a man who was shot and killed alongside his girlfriend has called for the maximum penalty to be meted out against a police officer who allegedly went to buy pizza instead of responding to a 911 call about the incident.
Angela Webb slammed Franklin Township Police Sergeant Kevin Bollaro, who has been charged in connection to his response to the deaths of her brother Tyler Webb, 29, and his girlfriend Lauren Semanchik, 33.
Bollaro has not been charged for their deaths, but for failing to properly respond to the 911 call reporting gunshots and screaming on August 1.
New Jersey State Police Lieutenant Ricardo Santos, 45, who was Semanchik’s ex-boyfriend, was confirmed as the murderer. Santos was found roughly an hour away from the murder scene in his car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Bollaro is charged with with official misconduct and tampering with records and faces up to 10 years in custody and up to a $150,000 fine.
Webb’s sister wrote on Facebook that she hoped Bollaro ‘serves all 10 years and thinks about this every single day’.
Angela remembered her volunteer firefighter brother as a ‘goofball’ who was a little bit chaotic and ‘always a good time,’ she said in a heartfelt Facebook post on Friday.
‘He always had a story to tell, and I now know from all of the stories shared with me, he was not exaggerating; he really was everywhere, doing everything, all of the time.
Lauren Semanchik, 33, of Pittstown, and Tyler Webb, 29, of Forked River, were murdered in Semanchik’s home on August 1 by her ex-boyfriend, Ricardo Santos
His sister, Angela Webb (pictured together), demands Bollaro face the maximum penalty
‘He was my very first message before I woke up in the morning, my all-day entertainment and venting buddy, and my nightly call or FaceTime. You simply couldn’t help but laugh and smile when you were with him.
‘He was my “baby brother” – which sometimes led to eye rolls or sighs.. and now I would do anything for one more minute of calling him a pain in my butt.’
Bollaro is accused of neglecting to fully investigate the three 911 calls he was dispatched to about gunshots and screaming in the area.
He received knowledge of the first call around 7pm. He acknowledged the call to the dispatcher, but instead of heading toward the location, he drove in the opposite direction to a TD Bank, where he withdrew money.
The police officer received a second and third call from dispatch, telling him more neighbors had called reporting the same concerns.
Bollaro headed toward the first caller’s home, where his GPS location showed he stayed for four to six minutes. He did not activate his body-worn camera during the interaction, with came 17 minutes after the initial report came in, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Bollaro allegedly told dispatchers that he could not hear any gunshots in the area and proceeded to the location of the second call, where he spent around one minute on the road and GPS does not show he went to the home, prosecutors said.
Shortly after, Bollaro allegedly asked to be dismissed from the scene 12 minutes after arriving to the first address.
Franklin Township Police Sergeant, Kevin Bollaro has been charged for allegedly not properly responding to the three calls reporting gunshot wounds in the area. He faces up to 10 years in custody
He later reported that he was unable to get in contact with the second caller and had surveyed the area for 20 minutes.
It was later discovered he did not speak to the second or third caller, prosecutors said. His GPS location also allegedly showed he was not in the area during the time he claimed to have been searching.
GPS data showed he did not check the surrounding area, where he would have discovered Semanchik’s home.
Instead, he allegedly headed for Duke’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, where he remained for 50 minutes, prosecutors said.
‘He was later seen parking at and walking towards the Pittstown Inn, where he remained for approximately 57 minutes, engaging socially with patrons according to witnesses,’ prosecutors said in a press release.
Afterward, he then parked himself at Locust Grover Cemetery, where he spent five hours, despite no criminal or suspicious activity being reported there.
Semanchik and Webb were found by police officers on August 2 after officers responded to a call reporting an unconscious female with apparent physical trauma at a Pittman home.
Bollaro’s attorney, Charles Sciarra, made a previous statement, which read, in part: ‘Nothing Kevin Bollaro did or did not do that day impacted or could have stopped that tragedy in any way.’
Santos, 45, a New Jersey State Police lieutenant, who was Semanchik’s ex-boyfriend, was confirmed as the murderer. Santos was found roughly an hour away from the murder scene in his car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Semanchik was discovered by her father the following morning. Officers arrived to find the couple dead
‘Sgt. Kevin Bollaro has faithfully served that community for nearly 25 years [and] is not guilty of anything related to this horrendous killing. This prosecution is unfortunate.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Sciarra for comment.
Semanchik’s family attorneys released a statement saying: ‘The Semanchik and Webb families are shocked at Sgt. Bollaro’s egregious conduct as charged by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor.
‘We believe this to be the tip of the iceberg of the many failures by the local and state police, which will be uncovered and which led to the murders of Lauren and Tyler.’
Bollaro court appearance is set for November 5.
Santos had been stalking and harassing Semanchik prior to the fatal shooting.
Santos killed them inside the house. Semanchik’s father found his daughter the following morning.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Semanchik’s workplace, Long Valley Animal Hospital.
While Webb (pictured), who was a volunteer fireman, and Semanchik were lying dead in the home, Bollaro was allegedly withdrawing money from a TD bank and getting pizza
Semanchik worked as a vet. Her place of work started a memorial GoFundMe, which has garnered $97,000 for her family
‘As words can sometimes fall short from those of us grieving, confused, angry, and truly devastated, I can share this with no doubts: Lauren was LOVED. Deeply and unequivocally loved by her family, friends, co-workers, clients, furry patients, classmates, and anyone who had the pleasure of conversing with her or getting a glimpse of her rockstar smile and genuine kindness,’ the fundraiser said.
‘She loved life, and she loved helping others. She loved her family, as she often shared stories and plans she had with her sisters. She loved animals, the outdoors, kayaking, music, concerts, traveling, and so much more.’
The fundraiser has garnered more than $97,000 as of Saturday afternoon.
