Driver Fatally Shot Essex County Man After Getting Rear-Ended – West Orange, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Newark man who shot an East Orange driver to death during a traffic dispute last year has pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, prosecutors announced Friday.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the fatal shooting took place on May 5, 2018 in Newark when Basil Howard, 50, of East Orange, rear-ended Jerome Bearfield, 28, with his car.

After the crash, Bearfield got out of his own vehicle with a .38 revolver and fired at Howard, killing him, prosecutors said.

Bearfield didn’t have a license to carry a gun, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 23, Bearfield pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. He faces 25 years in prison pursuant to the No Early Release Act, prosecutors said.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4.

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