Deloatch Son in Crash Following Pursuit by Rutgers PD

UPDATE: 4:21 p.m.

Walter Hudson, of the Community Awareness Alliance, a spokesman and counselor for the Deloatch family, said Friday that Barry Deloatch Jr. does not own a handgun, nor was he the driver of the vehicle that was involved in the police pursuit on Thursday morning.

"We do know (that) Barry Deloatch was not the driver, so he had no control over the operation of the vehicle," Hudson said.

Police have confirmed that Deloatch, the son of slain New Brunswick resident , was a victim in a car crash early Thursday morning following a pursuit by the Rutgers Police Department.

Hudson said that Deloatch "does not own a handgun," and asked the community to keep supporting him and the Deloatch family while he recovers from the crash at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

According to Chief Rhonda Harris of Rutgers Police, Officer Brian Ruditsky responded around 2:20 a.m. to reports of shots fired in the area of Somerset Street and Easton Avenue, and then to an additional report of shots fired at Easton Avenue and Condict Street.

At the second location, Harris said that witnesses pointed at a car leaving the scene as being involved in the shooting, and the officer pursued the vehicle until it came to a stop on Somerset Street in front of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Harris said the officer, assisted by New Brunswick Police, gave commands to the occupants during what she called a "high-risk traffic stop", and the vehicle took off.

The pursuit went on down Somerset Street into Franklin Township, where the vehicle crashed at the intersection of Somerset Street and Lufberry Avenue, across the from the McDonald's restaurant.

The occupants of the vehicle were Anthony McLaughlin, 21 of North Brunswick and Deloatch, 24, of Piscataway Pappas said.

Harris said both men were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where McLaughlin was treated for non-life threatening injuries and released.

He is jailed at the Middlesex County Jail on charges of alluding, unlawful posession of a handgun and a charge of certain persons not to have weapons, meaning a prior charge prevents him from possesing a weapon, Harris said. 

His bail is set at $75,000, she said.

Deloatch underwent surgery for injuries sustained in the crash and remains hospitalized, Harris said.

He faces charges of unlawful possesion of a weapon and obstructing the administration of law, Harris said.

Deloatch's bail is set at $50,000, she said.

At Easton Avenue and Condict Street, police found a 26-year-old North Brunswick man with a gunshot wound to the midsection, and a 25-year-old North Brunswick man who was the victim of an aggravated assault.

The shooting victim was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he remains, according to Sgt. Mark Pappas of New Brunswick Police.

Deloatch and McLaughlin are not being charged for the shooting and assault, Pappas said.

New Brunswick Police are handling the investigation into the shooting and assault, and are investigating any possible links between them and the chase, Pappas said.

Rutgers Police are handling charges related to the pursuit.