An Egg Harbor Township father is accused of taking justice into his own hands when he got into a shootout with a group of Atlantic City juveniles who allegedly attacked his son a day before.
Kevin Hollingsworth, 38, and his wife wound up wounded in the exchange of gunfire outside a pizza parlor around 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17.
Police previously announced his arrest, saying that he and a woman were injured in an altercation with another group. But details were not made public until Hollingsworth’s detention hearing Wednesday.
Hollingsworth’s 17-year-old son returned home early Sept. 17, battered and bruised, telling his parents that he had been beaten and robbed of $250 while in Atlantic City the night before, defense attorney Lou Barbone told the judge.
Hollingsworth talked to his best friend, a sheriff’s officer, who told him to go to the police, Barbone said. He also suggested the family find out exactly where the attack occurred, and possibly try to identify the suspects before heading to the police station.
But it was Hollingsworth’s decision to put a loaded handgun in his waistband before getting on his motorcycle and heading to the city that proved a bad decision, Assistant Prosecutor Paige Jedlicka argued.
Following in a car was his wife, Amanda Hollingsworth, and the pair’s son.
They got to Southside Pizza in the 4000 block of Ventnor Avenue, with the teen confirming the attack happened across the street, according to information released in court.
While Hollingsworth went inside the pizza parlor, his teen’s son told his mother that the four juveniles sitting at a table outside were his attackers. Surveillance video shows her using her phone to take a picture, according to the report read by Jedlicka.
The teens go to the other side of the street, where a girl approaches one of the teens only to stop abruptly and run away, according to the report. It’s at that point that the teen, identified only as E.H., is seen with a gun in his right hand by his side.
That’s when Hollingsworth allegedly drew his weapon, pointing it as the teen, and saying, “Go ahead, motherf---er. I’ll kill your ass right here.”
E.H. allegedly replies: “Go ahead, and get your son out the car so we can pop him too.”
Both sides agree the first shots come from the juveniles. Both E.H. and another juvenile, A.R., fired, and are criminally charged, according to the information given in court. Their ages and hometowns were not discussed.
Amanda Hollingsworth was struck in the forearm. Kevin Hollingsworth was hit three times: in the left arm, left leg and calf.
The two run for cover into a closed barbershop nearby as Kevin Hollingsworth returned fire.
“If there’s ever a justification to produce a firearm, it is this circumstance,” Barbone said, adding that his client had just seen his wife shot and believed he was being killed.
"This defendant was the aggressor and instigator in this situation," Jedlicka countered.
She noted that Hollingsworth had first consulted with a friend — a sheriff's officer — who said he should go to police.
"Rather than do what was suggested by friend in law enforcement, he drove past the police station to the pizza place, and decided to take matters into his own hands," Jedlicka said.
"If they wanted to provide some sort of evidence, they easily could have taken that photo from the safety of their vehicle and then driven directly a few blocks to the police department," she added. "There was never a reason for an encounter."
When police arrived, they found the Hollingsworths inside the barbershop. An Army green Glock 48 was found on a booster seat.
Jedlicka alleged that showed an attempt to hide the gun. But Barbone countered that Hollingsworth put the gun down as he fell to the ground from his wounds.
He was hospitalized before being taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
The gun was legally purchased in Louisiana, according to Barbone. The charges, however, allege it was not legally owned in New Jersey, where the family has lived for two years.
Hollingsworth has no criminal history, and scored the lowest possible score on his public safety assessment for both dangerousness and failure to appear. But because of the gun charges, the recommendation was that he not be released.
Judge Jeffrey Wilson agreed.
“There’s a reason that you take a gun with you,” he said.
“I’m not trying to take anything away from Mr. Hollingsworth as to any parent coming to the rescue or the protection of their child,” the judge added. “But this was taking the law into his own hands and there were tragic results here. … To say that he armed himself just to go check out an address gives this court great concern.”
Hollingsworth will now remain jailed pending the outcome of his case.
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