Former Long Branch, NJ cop sentenced for running home meth lab

A former Long Branch police officer has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison for manufacturing methamphetamine at his home.

Christopher Walls, 50, is also blocked from ever serving as a public official, and had to forfeit his firearms and firearms ID card, as part of a plea deal, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced.

Walls was sentenced Friday; the term includes a two-year period of parole ineligibility. He pleaded guilty in November to second-degree causing a risk of widespread injury and third-degree manufacturing a controlled dangerous substance.

"In manufacturing illegal narcotics out of his home, Officer Walls threatened the safety and security of the very community he swore an oath to protect and serve," Linskey said. "We feel that this sentence sends an unmistakable message that such conduct among members of law enforcement will never be tolerated."

Law enforcement in May 2021 responded to Walls's home on the 300 block of West End Avenue for a report of a domestic disturbance. After receiving a tip from another resident of the home, members of the New Jersey State Police Hazmat Unit found materials, chemicals, and instruments consistent with a meth lab in the basement of the home and in a shed on the property.

Walls was in possession of books related to making methamphetamine, explosives, and poison, authorities say. Officials also found multiple guns, high-capacity magazines and a large amount of ammunition in an "unsecured safe" that was "accessible to a child" living in the home.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.