Fugitive ID'd In Fatal Shooting At Wawa At The Jersey Shore, Prosecutor Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Authorities are searching for a Toms River man who they have charged with murder in the fatal shooting at a Route 37 Wawa on Friday, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Saturday.

Douglas Cobb, 51, also known as Douglas Green, who goes by the nickname "Bootknock," was last seen driving a black 2016 Acuram MDX with New Jersey license plate T93YJL, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Subscribe

Cobb has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and being a certain person not to possess a weapon in the death of Bruce Gress, 42, of Toms River, the prosecutor's office said.

The shooting was reported about 7:20 a.m. on Friday at the Wawa at the corner of Route 37 and Garfield Avenue, authorities have said.

Toms River police found Gress with a gunshot wound to the head, authorities said. Emergency medical personnel responded and Gress was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was pronounced dead, the prosecutor's office said.

The investigation by the prosecutor's office Major Crime Unit, Toms River Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit identified Cobb as being responsible for the fatal shooting.

As of Saturday Cobb was not under arrest and he has been listed in the National Crime Information Center as a fugitive, the prosecutor's office said.

"Our focus now is to locate Douglas Cobb and bring him into custody," Billhimer said. "We ask anyone that knows Cobb to advise him to turn himself in peacefully."

Anyone with credible information concerning Cobbs' whereabouts is asked to call the Prosecutor's Office Major Crime Unit at 732-929-2027, or Toms River police at 732-349-0150.

In addition to the prosecutor's Major Crime Unit, Toms River Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Strike Force, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, South Toms River Police Department, Freehold Borough Police Department, Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office, and United States Marshals Service are combining on the investigation.