HIGHLAND PARK MAN SENTENCED IN SOMERSET COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

SOMERVILLE, N.J. – On September 27, 2024, following a weeklong trial, a Somerset County Jury convicted defendant Gerald S. Chapman, age 41, Highland Park, N.J., 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. The defendant was sentenced on November 15, 2024, by the Honorable Peter J. Tober, P.J.Cr. Judge Tober sentenced the defendant to five years in the New Jersey State Prison with a parole disqualifier of forty-two months.

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 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. Defendant then drove behind and around to the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle.

Once there, 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.

Testimony also revealed that 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. Finally, testimony revealed that 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.

The State would like to thank the Franklin Township Police Department, the Investigative Division of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, and the Forensic Division of the New Jersey State Police for the thorough investigation which led to the identification and apprehension of the defendant.

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