A South Jersey man will face decades in prison now that he’s been found guilty of several charges stemming from the wounding of a State Police detective in a hail of bullets more than three years ago.

Tremaine Hadden, 30, of Bridgeton, was found guilty of six counts by a Salem County Superior Court jury: aggravated assault, conspiracy, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and certain persons not to possess weapons — all second-degree offenses — as well as third-degree riot.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge of attempted murder.

Hadden faces over 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in Salem County Superior Court on Aug. 11.

NJSP Detective Hershey (NJSP)
NJSP Detective Hershey (NJSP)
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🔵 State Police Det. Hershey survived gunfire; later honored as ‘Trooper of the Year’

State Police Detective Richard Hershey had responded to a violent home invasion in Pittsgrove in April 2020, which had happened hours earlier that day.

While he was with the individual reporting the earlier crime, an angry caravan of more than a dozen people in five vehicles pulled up to the Harding Woods mobile home park.

(Pittsgrove, Google Maps)
(Pittsgrove, Google Maps)
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Hershey intervened and three of the men opened fire on him, striking him in the abdomen/hip area.

He managed to return fire with his service weapon despite his serious injury and the group fled.

Hershey underwent surgery and was later named New Jersey's state trooper of the year for 2020. He was honored for what officials called his “fearless and courageous actions.”

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

Hadden fired at Detective Hershey numerous times from one vehicle, while Hutchings and Warner shot at him numerous times from another vehicle, according to investigators.

Najzeir “Naz” Hutchings (NJ OAG)
Najzeir “Naz” Hutchings (NJ OAG)
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All three men were among 14 people indicted on charges in July 2021.

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

“Those who resort to violence against our courageous men and women in uniform as they try to do their duty and protect the public will be held accountable,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said, in announcing the jury’s decision on Wednesday.

Harding Woods in Pittsgrove (Google Maps)
Harding Woods in Pittsgrove (Google Maps)
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Platkin continued “Law enforcement officers daily put themselves in danger in service to their communities, and my office will prosecute criminals who threaten or injure them to the fullest extent of the law. We look forward to bringing the remaining defendants in this case to justice.”

“This brazen assault on Detective Richard Hershey endangered the lives of innocent bystanders, and by standing his ground while outnumbered and under a barrage of gunfire, Detective Hershey undoubtedly prevented this from becoming a mass casualty incident,” State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick Callahan said in the same written release.

Places in New Jersey where you can now carry a legal gun

New Jersey passed its own law in December, trying to ban legal guns from “sensitive places.” 

A federal judge has found many of those spots to be legally protected on the grounds of armed self-defense, noting in her opinion, “Crowded locations are not sensitive places."

Here's the latest on what is legally allowed.

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