Gunman Gets 37 Years For Shooting NJ State Police Detective, Wounding Him

A South Jersey man has been sentenced to over three dozen years in prison for opening fire on and wounding a State Police detective more than three years ago.

On Tuesday, Bridgeton resident Tremaine Hadden was sentenced by Gloucester County Superior Court Judge John Eastlack to 37 years in state prison for the injury of State Police Detective Richard Hershey.

Of that term, nearly 28 years would be served without the possibility of parole.

The 30-year-old Hadden was convicted in May by a jury in Salem County of six counts including aggravated assault.

Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on a charge of attempted murder.

Testimony from a ballistics expert at trial demonstrated that out of more than a dozen shots fired at Hershey, about 11 were fired by Hadden.

🔵 State Police Det. Hershey survived; honored as ‘Trooper of the Year’

In April 2020, Detective Hershey responded to a violent home invasion in Pittsgrove, which had happened hours earlier.

While he was with the person reporting the crime, a caravan of 15 people in five vehicles pulled up to the Harding Woods mobile home park.

Some people got out of their cars and confronted Hershey, who announced himself as law enforcement before three men opened fire on him, striking him in the hip area.

Hershey did manage to return fire with his service weapon and the group fled.

Najzeir “Naz” Hutchings and Kareen “Kai” Warner, also from Bridgeton, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault earlier in May.

About 11 remaining defendants were charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and third-degree rioting, while some were also charged with weapons offenses.

Hershey underwent surgery, recovered and was named New Jersey's state trooper of the year for 2020.

“The prison sentence given to this defendant illustrates that my office will not tolerate violence against our law enforcement professionals as they attempt to do their jobs and protect the public,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in announcing the sentence on Wednesday evening.

He continued “Anyone who would brazenly shoot at an officer as he was identifying himself and giving verbal commands clearly has no respect for the law and those who enforce it. I remain grateful for Detective Hershey’s recovery and ongoing service to our great state.”

“Troopers are guardians of our safety, and their sacrifices will always be met with the full force of the law,” State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick Callahan said in the same written release.