- Man killed by officers shot five times, records show -
- Outlaw Frog Raper -
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
By BILL BRAY
The Express-Times
NEWARK -- A Lebanon man who shot a Washington Township, N.J., police
officer last year was himself hit with gunfire five times during the
shootout in Franklin Township, according to newly released medical
records.
A report written by Assistant State Medical Examiner Lyla E. Perez and
obtained Monday by The Express-Times said state police shot Justin
McCarthy in the arms, chest and head during gunfire that broke out
after a traffic stop along Mountain View Road in rural Franklin
Township, Warren County, last May.
State troopers Mark Moyna and Richard Wambold killed McCarthy, who
shot Washington Township Police Officer Jonathan Schramm three times.
Schramm survived the shooting and is recovering from his wounds.
According to the toxicology report, McCarthy had a blood-alcohol
content of 0.163 percent, above the then-state limit of 0.10, when he
was stopped by Schramm and the troopers on a remote section of
Mountain View Road. No other drugs were found in his system, according
to the report.
Police stopped McCarthy's 1993 Honda Civic after they received reports
that occupants of a car fitting that description were shooting at road
signs and mailboxes in the area. Police saw a gun on the back seat as
they approached the vehicle and moved to place McCarthy and his
passenger under arrest.
As police tried to arrest McCarthy, he resisted, a struggle ensued and
the 1999 North Hunterdon High School graduate pulled out a .45-caliber
handgun and shot Schramm.
Underneath his shirt, McCarthy was wearing a bullet-proof vest. The
22-year-old also wore another weapon and magazine holster around his
shoulders, according to the report.
McCarthy was shot twice at point-blank range, once at close range and
twice at a distance. The report does not indicate in what sequence
McCarthy's wounds occurred. The report lists the wounds as 1 through
5.
Gunshot wound 1 was at point-blank range to McCarthy's upper right
arm. The bullet caused a round entrance wound a quarter-inch in
diameter. The bullet traveled from right to left and exited the arm.
The bullet was not recovered, the report said.
The medical examiner speculates that this bullet then struck McCarthy
in his jaw, and a fragment caused a small cut on his tongue.
Wound 2 was to his right forearm about 6 inches below his elbow. This
bullet also traveled in and out of McCarthy's arm.
Wound 3 was from point-blank range. The bullet hit McCarthy's right
side and traveled through his diaphragm, liver, right lung, heart and
left lung then exited his body in the left upper portion of his chest,
the report says.
Wound 4 was from close range. The bullet entered McCarthy's right
side, just above his waist, and traveled through his liver, right
kidney and lodged in the second lumbar vertebra.
Wound 5 was from a distance. The bullet first went through McCarthy's
left upper bicep and then through the right upper arm, where it exited
above the right elbow.
McCarthy had $77.05 in cash, a book of matches, breath mints and a
cigarette lighter in his pockets.
The report offers no clues on the events of the shootout.
The medical examiner's report includes a description of the crime
scene when examiners arrived at 6 a.m., nearly three hours after the
shooting.
McCarthy lay face down on the ground in a pool of blood near his car
with his hands cuffed behind his back. The Honda still had its
passenger-side door open from when McCarthy's passenger, Damon
Mammaro, surrendered to police without incident. To the left of
McCarthy's car was an unmarked police car and behind it was a
Washington Township police car, according to the report.
The state police denied The Express-Times' request to view a video
recording of the melee captured by a dashboard camera inside the
troopers' cruiser. According to state police spokesman Sgt. First
Class Kevin Rehmann, the video is not covered by the state's Open
Public Records Act because it's part of a criminal investigation.
Rehmann said the New Jersey State Police typically doesn't release its
dashboard video tapes, but prosecutors and defense attorneys have made
them available to the public in the past.
Leonard Artiglere, attorney for Mammaro, who faces numerous weapons
charges but is not charged in the shooting, said he hasn't seen the
tape. Artiglere said he hopes the matter will move forward soon.
Mammaro, 23 at the time of the shooting, of Bethlehem Township,N.J.,
is charged but hasn't been indicted since the May 30 shooting.
"That charge has been hanging over his head since that time,"
Artiglere said. He added that his client is cooperating with the
police investigation.
In October, the State Police Shooting Response Team declared the
shooting justified under the state's deadly force guidelines and ruled
that Moyna and Wambold had acted properly.
Reporter Bill Bray can be reached at 908-475-1596 or by e-mail at
wb...@express-times.com.