The ruling to suppress evidence found in a search of Matthew Sheridan's vehicle effectively ends the prosecution's case against him on charges of third-degree possession of cocaine.
SOMERVILLE -- A Somerset County Superior Court judge granted a motion Wednesday to suppress evidence found in a search of Matthew Sheridan's vehicle on the day his parents were found dead in their Montgomery Township home.
The decision by Somerset County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Ciccone appears to end a pending trial where he was facing charges of third-degree possession of cocaine.
Ciccone said there was no probable cause to search his vehicle and that the small amount of cocaine allegedly found inside cannot be entered into evidence.
Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet said he is not sure if the state will appeal the decision. "We respect and understand the court's ruling," he said. "If evidence is suppressed, there is no case to proceed upon."
Mark Sheridan, who attended the hearing with his uncle, Peter, a federal judge in Newark, declined to comment as he left the courtroom. Matthew Sheridan also had no comment.
"Matthew wanted me to say that we're grateful that the judge took the motion seriously," said Newark-based attorney Henry E. Klingeman, who represented Sheridan along with Ernesto Cerimele. "We hope the state will drop the prosecution at this point and not appeal. If it's over, we're glad it's over."
The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office initially moved the investigation to Middlesex County, but, after the indictment, the trial moved back to Somerset County with Middlesex County prosecuting.
The Sheridan family have long-stated they were promised Matthew Sheridan would not be charged in the case and that his prosecution was in retaliation for the family's challenge of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office's findings in the death of their parents, John and Joyce Sheridan.
John and Joyce Sheridan were found dead in the home they shared with Matthew in the early-morning hours of Sept. 28, 2014.
John Sheridan, 72, was chief executive officer of Cooper Health System and a politically-connected former state transportation commissioner. Joyce Sheridan, 69, was a retired schoolteacher.
On March 27, 2015, the prosecutor's office ruled the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan as a murder-suicide, stating John stabbed his wife to death before pouring gasoline throughout their bedroom and setting it on fire. John Sheridan then stabbed himself and died in the burning bedroom, according to a prosecutor's report.
The couple's four sons have contested that determination, submitting evidence that contradicts the determination that John killed his wife, set their bedroom on fire and then stabbed himself.
On the day their bodies were discovered, a small quantity of cocaine was allegedly found in Matthew Sheridan's vehicle after he returned to the home from a fishing trip to Fishers' Island in New York with his friend, William Couch, according to court documents.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.