Sep 17, 2025 By Mike Jones 5 min read

Charges against two Cecil Township police officers accused of falsifying a report involving an alleged drunken driver, who was given a warning and a ride home in the back of a police cruiser seven years ago, will proceed to court after they waived their preliminary hearing Monday.

Officer Shawn McNaughton and Sgt. John Holt are charged with obstruction of justice, unsworn falsification, evidence tampering, tampering with records and conspiracy in connection with the Sept. 9, 2018, traffic stop of a driver who showed signs of impairment and had a blood-alcohol level nearly two times the legal limit to drive.

According to court documents filed by the state Attorney General’s office against the two officers, a man identified as “John Doe” had been drinking alcohol at a picnic the day before in Cecil Township that carried into the early hours the next morning. He got into an argument with his wife and then left, prompting her to call 911 to report him as a drunken driver at 4:03 a.m. About a minute later, McNaughton pulled over a white 2017 Ford F-350 on Cecil Henderson Road since Doe had been driving without headlights at the time, and Holt arrived moments later to help with the traffic stop, according to court documents.

During the stop, the driver asked repeatedly to speak with a “senior township official,” according to investigators. After field sobriety tests were conducted, he was eventually taken back to the Cecil Township Police Department for a Breathalyzer test, which showed he had a blood-alcohol level of at least .15% during two tests, court documents indicate.

The driver then asked again to speak to the “senior township official” and was allowed to call the person from his cellphone, which lasted about four minutes. While court documents do not name the person, sources familiar with the situation indicated that the official was Cecil Township police Chief Shawn Bukovinsky. McNaughton then spoke to Bukovinsky on the phone and informed him of the situation, prompting the chief to tell him it was up to the officer to make the final decision on whether the driver should face charges, according to court documents.

“According to McNaughton, at no point did the official direct McNaughton not to charge Doe,” the court documents state.

However, the driver received a ride home from Holt and his car was towed from the traffic stop location. McNaughton then made edits to the traffic stop report – changing the call from “Traffic Complaint (DUI Arrest)” to “Traffic Contact (Warning)” in the police department’s database – and also altered the times in which the call was cleared, according to court documents.

According to court documents, McNaughton’s revised report stated that the driver’s blood-alcohol content was “within the legal limits” and although he “expressed concern for (Doe) to continue driving (Doe) agreed to have (his) truck towed by Buggy’s Auto and was given a ride home by Sgt. Holt.” Holt approved the report later in the day, investigators said.

The driver, who has not been identified, was never charged and the statute of limitations has since expired. It’s not clear what connection the driver had to Bukovinsky or why he was permitted to call the police chief while in custody at the police station.

Investigators cleared Bukovinsky of any wrong-doing during the incident. He did not return a phone call Tuesday from a reporter requesting comment on the charges against the officers or his involvement in the situation.

The Observer-Reporter filed an open records request Tuesday asking for all Cecil Township Police Department reports from any incidents or traffic stops on Sept. 9, 2018.

A statewide grand jury convened by the Attorney General’s office recommended charges against McNaughton and Holt in late April, and Special Agent Daniel Mayer filed charges against the two officers on May 14. Both officers waived all charges to court before they were to appear Monday afternoon before District Judge Kelly Stewart in Washington.

Both are free on $1,000 unsecured bonds while they await for their cases to be adjudicated. Holt’s defense attorney, John Schwab, did not return a phone call Tuesday while McNaughton’s defense attorney, James Kraus, declined to comment.

Township Manager Don Gennuso said in an email Tuesday that township officials could not comment on the matter. A spokesman for the Attorney General’s office declined comment and would not reveal the identity of John Doe.

It’s not known what their employment status is, although both are still listed on the roster of officers on the police department’s official website. The Cecil Township supervisors held a closed-door executive session to discuss “an employment matter” following their June 2 meeting and held another executive session before their July 7 meeting to discuss personnel matters. Their meeting minutes show they have taken no official action against the two police officers, and it’s unknown whether the department has disciplined them.