Man Indicted For Scotch Plains Fatal Shooting

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — A Middlesex County man, who was arrested late last year and charged in connection with the 2004 fatal shooting of a Plainfield resident in Scotch Plains, has been indicted, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced.

A Union County grand jury has returned a three-count indictment against David Ghigliotty, 35, of South Plainfield is charged with first-degree murder and two related weapons offenses in connection with the death of 26-year-old Taji Pile.

Scotch Plains police officers responded to the 1300 block of Rahway Road where they found Pile injured in the street on June 22, 2004 shortly after 10:45 p.m.

Pile was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

An investigation involving the Prosecutor’s Office’s Homicide Unit (which became the Union County Homicide Task Force in 2008), the Plainfield Police Division, and the Scotch Plains Police Department ultimately resulted in Ghigliotty being identified as a suspect.

He was arrested without incident at his South Plainfield home in November 2016.

Bail in the case was set at $1.5 million by state Superior Court Judge Frederic McDaniel.

Ghigliotty could face 30 years to life in state prison for the first-degree murder charges.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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