“He was shot in the manner of a hunted animal,” the prosecutor said. “He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and he didn’t have the opportunity to defend himself.”
EWING — A township man was sentenced to 25 years in prison today for shooting his neighbor to death in July 2011 after they argued over a parking spot.
Wayne Voorhees, 52, pointed a shotgun out the window of his apartment at the Versailles apartment complex and shot 24-year-old Timothy Rivella, who was in the parking lot below.
“Timothy Rivella was shot not once, not twice, but multiple times,” Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Katz said during a hearing this morning in Superior Court in Trenton.
“He was shot in the manner of a hunted animal,” Katz said. “He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and he didn’t have the opportunity to defend himself.”
Rivella’s family, including his parents, uncles, cousins and best friend, attended the hearing and consoled each other as Judge Pedro Jimenez handed down Voorhees’ sentence.
“Our lives will never be the same,” said Angela Rivella, Timothy Rivella’s grandmother.
“There is no such thing as closure,” she said, fighting back tears as she spoken on behalf of the family. “Nothing we can do will bring him back.”
Voorhees will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence, or a little more than 21 years, before he would be eligible for parole. After release he will have to serve five years of parole.
Jimenez also ordered Voorhees to pay $15,562 in restitution to the Rivella family for funeral expenses.
Previous coverage:
• Ewing man admits killing his neighbor over parking space dispute, prompting lengthy police standoff
• Authorities explain delay on moving shooting victim during Ewing's standoff
• Accused Ewing apartment shooter indicted on murder, weapons charges