CAMDEN – A New York City policeman, accused of a road-rage shooting in Voorhees and compared to a ‘time bomb’ by a prosecutor, has been ordered to remain in custody pending trial.
Hieu Tran, 27, allegedly shot a 30-year-old motorist at a Route 73 intersection on the night of May 17, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
The victim, a Voorhees man, has not regained consciousness and is now a quadriplegic, said Assistant Prosecutor Peter Gallagher.
“As of today, he’s still on life support,” Gallagher said at Tuesday's hearing.
Defense attorney Ross Gigliotti said a psychiatric examination found Tran suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, depression and an alcohol-abuse issue.
Road-rage death:Family's long wait for justice ends with sentencing
He called the 11:15 p.m. shooting “an aberration” and asked for Tran to be released with monitoring to a facility that would treat him for emotional and psychological issues.
“He has fellow officers endorsing his strong character,” Gigliotti said.
Prosecutor: Police officer is a threat
But Gallagher said the case against Tran is “extraordinarily strong,” and argued the suspended officer is a flight risk.
He contended Tran, if released, would pose “a grave risk to the community.”
Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce said he was “firmly convinced” Tran should remain in Camden County Jail.
Tran showed little outward emotion.
He sat with his manacled hands clasped on his chest, his head down and his eyes closed, through much of the hearing.
About 15 of Tran’s relatives and friends filled several rows of the courtroom. A woman sobbed at Joyce’s ruling.
The victim’s family sat grim-faced, with one woman fingering a string of beads during the session.
According to Gallagher, Tran was returning alone from a wedding in Sicklerville when he and the victim had a random encounter on the highway.
Surveillance video showed both men had stopped for a red light at Cooper Street.
The victim’s car suddenly sped into the intersection and hit vehicles in the opposite lane, seriously injuring a woman in one of the cars.
Gallagher alleged Tran drove to a Mount Laurel Wawa, where his credit car was used to buy gas. The suspect then went to his Yonkers apartment
Police responded to find the victim in his vehicle with a head wound.
“While the paramedics were responding (to the victim), the defendant was speeding up the turnpike,” said Gallagher.
A search of Tran’s cell phone showed he had looked online days later for a news story about the road-rage incident.
Three shell casings found at the crime scene were later matched to Tran’s service weapon, according to Gallagher.
“He used it to gun down an unarmed man who was just trying to get home from work,” Gallagher said.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
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