News

Man Arrested In Connection to Fairfield Police Officer Shooting

Published March 14, 2010

FAIRFIELD — A Nutley man was charged with attempted murder after police say they linked his gun and rental car to the January shooting of an off-duty police officer in a road rage incident, law enforcement officials said today.

Preye L. Roberts, 24, allegedly shot Fairfield police officer Gerald Veneziano Jan. 30 after following his car to a parking lot near Fairfield police headquarters. Veneziano, who was shot in the neck and torso, told investigators he did not know his assailant, but he was able to describe the car and part of the license plate.

After investigating the shooting for weeks, police broke the case after Roberts was arrested for allegedly firing a weapon on Route 22 in Union Township, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino said in a press conference this morning. Investigators used the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, a database used by local law enforcement officers, to link the gun and weapon in the Union case to the shell casings found where Veneziano was shot.

“Projectiles and shell casings are almost as significant as fingerprints,” said State Police Sgt. Jeff Kronenfeld, one of the law enforcement officials working on the case.

Veneziano, of Belleville, is in stable condition at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, recovering from his injuries. On Friday night, investigators went to the facility to show photos of Roberts to Veneziano, who identified him as the man who shot him in January, police said.

Law enforcement officials said Roberts and Veneziano did not know each other before the alleged shooting.

Investigators said they also linked Roberts to the shooting because he was allegedly renting a black Dodge Caliber with a “W” in the license plate. Veneziano had previously told police his assailant was driving a black SUV with a “W” in the license plate.

Roberts is being held at the Union County Jail in Elizabeth, police said. Bail was set at $100,000 for the Route 22 shooting and an additional $500,000 for the Fairfield shooting.

Neighbors in Nutley described Roberts as a mature young man who appeared to be well-raised. He lives in a white, two-story house with his parents and two sisters, neighbors said.

“Ten years ago when we moved into the neighborhood, he was the first one in the family to introduce himself,” said Mike Treshock, who lives next door.

Another neighbor who declined to give her name characterized Roberts as “a very respectful and wonderful kid” from a good family.

“You couldn’t ask for better neighbors,” she said.

Police said Roberts was arrested at 1:41 a.m. on Feb. 13 for allegedly firing a weapon near a liquor store on Route 22 in Union.

The shooting does not appear to be related to the Jan. 30 shooting in Fairfield, where Veneziano was shot.

In that case, Veneziano told investigators he was driving to work in his silver Volkswagen Passat when a black SUV began following him from Clifton into Fairfield after a road rage incident.

Veneziano told investigators he eventually pulled into a parking lot near Fairfield police headquarters, identified himself as a police officer and confronted the occupant of the other car.

The police officer—who was not in uniform and not wearing a bullet proof vest—was shot multiple times. He returned fire, shooting 13 rounds from his service weapon before collapsing.

Multiple law enforcement agencies and police departments spent weeks working on the case before Roberts was charged today, officials said.

“We were all very happy, very pleased and very relieved,” said Kronenfeld, one of the law enforcement officers working on the case. “When you can put closure to something like this, it’s very satisfying.”

Staff writers Chris Megerian and Kelly Heyboer contributed to this report.