By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Somerset County announced that on September 27, following a weeklong trial, a Somerset County Jury convicted defendant Gerald Chapman, 41, of Highland Park, of second-degree Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose, second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, two counts of second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and third-degree Hindering Apprehension.
The State was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Michael McLaughlin and Assistant Prosecutor Lorina Murphy, with the assistance of Litigation Paralegal Amy Vandergoot, officials said.
According to officials, sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2024, at which time the defendant faces up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison.
Officials stated that on May 5, 2023, the defendant engaged in a road rage incident against the victim, John Doe, while both were driving in heavy traffic on Easton Avenue in Franklin Township by the exit ramp for 287 North.
Testimony revealed that the defendant pulled alongside of the victim’s car and struck the passenger side mirror of the victim’s vehicle with his left hand, leaving his fingerprints behind, officials say.
Authorities say the defendant then drove behind and around to the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle.
Officials stated once there, the defendant pulled out a 9 mm handgun and fired two shots at the victim, striking the victim’s vehicle in the driver’s window and the rear driver’s side door while the victim was outside his vehicle on the passenger side to fix the side mirror.
Defendant then fled the scene, officials said, and testimony also revealed that the defendant had his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter and four-year-old daughter in the car with him at the time of this road rage shooting, officials said.
Finally, testimony revealed that the defendant disposed of his 9 mm handgun after the shooting and removed other evidence of the crime from his vehicle that could have aided in his apprehension, according to officials.