When police were able to enter his apartment, they found Voorhees conscious but suffering from a rifle shot to the head.
On July 14, 2011, SWAT personnel prepared to move toward the Versailles Apartments on Sullivan Way in Ewing, where resident Wayne Voorhees had barricaded himself after shooting one person and firing at police. Voorhees admitted to the shooting in court today.
EWING — A Ewing man pleaded guilty yesterday in Superior Court to killing a neighbor in a dispute over a parking space in July 2011.
Wayne Voorhees, 52, told the court that he was standing at the window of his apartment at the Versailles apartment complex when he pointed a shotgun loaded with buckshot and fired at his neighbor, 24-year-old Timothy Rivella.
Voorhees stood in the courtroom clad in an orange Mercer County Correction Center jumpsuit and said that he was about 25 feet away when he shot Rivella, who was standing between the two men’s trucks, on July 14. Voorhees also shot himself in the head that day before he was taken into custody.
Rivella was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, police said.
The shooting was followed by an eight-hour standoff as Voorhees refused to cooperate with authorities at the scene, prosecutors said. The incident drew a heavy law enforcement response, including officers from several agencies and a SWAT team.
Rivella’s body lay dead below as the authorities worked to ensure that Voorhees surrender without further incident. When police were able to enter his apartment, they found Voorhees conscious but suffering from a rifle shot to the head.
Voorhees confessed to the shooting to police the same day, prosecutors have said previously.
Voorhees was treated at Capital Health Regional Medical Center for nearly a month following the shooting before he was transferred to Ann Klein Forensic Center for mentally ill criminals. He was eventually taken to the Mercer County Correction Center, where he remains pending sentencing.
Voorhees entered into a plea agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter. The agreement calls for a 25-year prison sentence, of which he will be required to serve 85 percent, or 21 years and three months, before he is eligible for parole.
Voorhees was originally charged with weapons offenses as well, but those charges will be dismissed, according to the plea agreement.
Rivella’s family was made aware of the plea agreement, Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Katz said. Members of his family were in court yesterday to hear the plea.
One family member, who listened in on the phone to the hearing, could be heard sobbing as the defense attorney said Rivella’s name.
Voorhees’ attorney, Jeffrey Broderick, said the plea is a tragedy for the Voorhees family.
“Mr. Voorhees will spend the rest of his adult life in prison,” Broderick said.
Broderick said his client never told him why he shot Rivella that day. He said Voorhees was battling depression and had lost his job around the time of the shooting.
Voorhees is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 15.
Contact Jenna Pizzi at (609) 989-5717 or jpizzi@njtimes.com.