A Popeyes employee has been freed from the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending trial after being charged with firing at a car and striking one of the occupants in the head.
On June 10, Pleasantville resident Christian Ruiz, 18, was taken into custody for reportedly shooting a firearm at a car carrying six people, three of whom were children, outside a Popeyes in Mays Landing. At 11:50 p.m. on June 9, the injured traveler was transported by helicopter to AtlantaCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona.
Ruiz was ordered released pending trial by Atlantic County state Superior Court Judge Joseph Levin after a detention hearing on Monday.
According to a prior article, Ruiz faces six charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault by pointing a handgun, and aggravated assault by sending a firearm into a car.
According to police, he is also charged with three charges of unlawfully possessing a firearm, endangering the welfare of a child, and possessing a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
According to police notes provided by Ruiz’s defense lawyer, John Zarych, a worker at a nearby Walmart allegedly went to the Popeyes to exact retribution on those responsible for damaging his car.
Zarych claimed that after closing Popeyes at approximately 11:20 p.m., his client was confronted and assaulted in the parking lot.
According to the police reports, Ruiz was taken for medical attention soon after the event after suffering several injuries to his head, face, and back.
Zarych also questioned Ruiz’s possession of a weapon, pointing out that bullet casings discovered in the victim’s vehicle would help to explain the bullets that were fired at the lot.
While the state acknowledges that Ruiz may have been threatened by these people, Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Peluso stated that his use of the gun was excessive and that self-defense would probably not apply in this case because he was responding with lethal force.
Peluso stated that no weapons were found and that the state was unable to obtain any CCTV footage from Popeyes. A nine millimeter shell casing was discovered by the officers in Ruiz’s car’s center console, and another was discovered in the parking lot.
On July 25, Ruiz is anticipated to make another court appearance.
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