NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–North Brunswick police confirmed that they investigated “numerous shots being fired” in a “road rage incident” in the area of How Lane and Route 27 shortly after 2am on Saturday November 1.
No one was injured, but two men from out of state were arrested in the case.
“Two vehicles became involved in a road rage incident. In the area of How Lane, the altercation became physical between parties from each vehicle,” reads an alert sent over the town’s emergency alert system. Â “During this dispute, the driver of one of the vehicles fired several shots at the other driver with a handgun. Both parties then fled the area.”
“Responding units located the victim a short distance away on foot. Aided by witness accounts, North Brunswick patrol units were able to locate the suspect vehicle on Route one south, just into South Brunswick.”
Taken into custody were Timothy Soto, 28, of Houston, Texas, and John Haley, 46, of Tucson, Arizona. Haley was charged with multiple charges, and is lodged within the Middlesex County Department of Corrections on $75,000.00 bail. Haley was charged and released. A loaded .40 handgun was recovered and seized, along with other evidence.
The announcement comes almost three days after the incident, and the same day that New Brunswick Today published an article detailing the shooting, along with a slew of other crimes and emergencies that occurred during a busy Halloween Friday night.
Three different police agencies were involved in this investigation, because it all started with a car crash in Franklin Township, and the shots were fired near the borders of New Brunswick and North Brunswick.
At first New Brunswick officers responded, initially reporting “That’s North Brunswick’s shooting.”
But eventually city police returned to rendezvous with both towns, where it was ultimately determined to be within the jurisdiction of North Brunswick.
The departments in both New Brunswick and North Brunswick have not responded to questions about the case.
“According to the notes we responded to Howe Lane at the request of North Brunswick PD for an MVA that had occurred earlier in the night,” said Franklin police spokesman Philip Rizzo. Â “The victim was given a late accident report due to the fact they had left the scene and it occurred at an earlier time.”
“There were no reports of road rage or shots fired in Franklin on Saturday. If one of the other jurisdictions you mentioned had an issue, we were not notified of it.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the North Brunswick Police Department’s Detective Bureau at 732-247-0922 or [email protected].Â
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
