Timothy Miller, who was shot in the foot by a police officer who pursued him as he ran away from the scene of the shooting, had his bail lowered to $250,000
TRENTON – A Superior Court judge lowered bail this morning for a Trenton man charged with attempted murder in a shooting earlier this month.
Timothy Miller, who was shot in the foot by a police officer who pursued him as he ran away from the scene of the shooting, will have to post $250,000 cash to be released from jail, down from $1 million cash or bond.
Miller is charged with two counts of attempted murder, weapons offenses and receiving stolen property for an incident where he allegedly shot two men.
Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Lacken said investigators believe Miller, 32, of Ewing, got out of a car driven by his girlfriend and started shooting at two men on Montgomery Street near the intersection with Perry street on May 2 just before 8 p.m.
One of the victims suffered gunshot wounds to the mouth and the other was shot in the arm. Both were taken to the hospital and survived the shooting.
Police were in the area of the shooting and saw the 2002 red Lexus drive off from the scene. The driver did not stop the car when the police turned on their lights and sirens and led the police on a low speed chase for several blocks. The driver then stopped the car and two men bailed out.
The driver, who police apprehended when the car stopped, was identified as Tiffany Wright, Miller’s girlfriend. Wright, 31, was arrested on outstanding warrants and taken to the police station for questioning.
The chase of the other two men continued on foot. A Trenton police officer followed Miller down an alley between Bond Street and East Ingham Avenue, Lacken said.
Miller allegedly turned around and pointed a hand gun at the officer and the officer fired one shot striking Miller in the foot. Lacken said Miller, who dropped a gun and some drugs, fell but got up and ran into a nearby deli where he was arrested.
Lacken said the gun, recovered from the alley, was reported stolen out of Georgia and had five bullets missing from the clip. Five shell casings were found at the scene of the first shooting, she said.
Surveillance video from the area of near the intersection of Perry and Montgomery Streets shows Miller and another man getting out of the car with a gun shortly before the first shooting, Lacken said.
“You can clearly see that Mr. Miller has a gun,” she said.
In the video the man believed to Miller and another man were wearing masks or clothing covering their face, she said.
Jason Matey, the public defender that represented Miller in the hearing, said he has questions about the identification of Miller because the prosecutor said he was wearing a mask.
“This is very early on,” he said. “There are issues that I want to explore.”
During the hearing Miller said he is innocent.
“I didn’t shoot at anybody,” he said before Matey asked that he remain silent.
Edward Acosta, the registered owner of the car Wright was caught driving, was charged as an accomplice of Miller’s for the shooting, Lacken said. Acosta, 22, of Trenton, was arrested several days after the incident during a traffic stop in Hamilton.
Lacken said there is no physical evidence that would lead investigators to believe that Acosta also had a gun or fired any shots.
Both men were charged with two counts of attempted murder and weapons offenses and receiving stolen property for the stolen gun.
Matey, who was also appointed to represent Acosta for the hearing, said he has concerns about the strength of evidence linking Acosta to the shooting.
He said Acosta told him that about five months ago he was shot several times in the stomach.
“As a result of being shot he can’t run,” Matey said.
Lacken declined to comment about a possible motive for the shooting.
During her interview, Wright told police she had no idea about the shooting and was just driving Miller and his friend, Lacken said. She said she was scared when they got back in the car because they had guns and were yelling at her to drive away, Lacken said.
Wright’s attorney Robert Rogers argued that his client was concerned for her safety because two men with guns told her to drive away and that is why she did not pull over the car.
Judge Robert Billmeier upped Wright’s bail from $20,000 to $25,000, and owered bail for Acosta from $1 million to $500,000 cash or bond.
Billmeier said both Acosta and Miller will have to come back for a bail source hearing before they can post bail and be released.
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