Arrest Made In Fatal South Jersey Shooting: Police

A factory worker from Paulsboro has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a man that took place over the weekend in Woodbury, police said on Monday.

Thadius Wyatt Oswald, 19, was arrested and charged in the shooting death of 32-year-old Misael Ruiz Garcia of Woodbury, Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore announced.

Garcia was found outside his home after he had been shot in the head. He was discovered by police who were dispatched to the scene just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday night, according to the prosecutor’s office.

He was pronounced dead on the scene. An autopsy conducted on Sunday determined the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death as homicide.

Eyewitnesses told investigators a suspect ran from the scene on foot. On Monday, Oswald was arrested in Gloucester City without incident by officers of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office Fugitive Unit and the U.S. Marshal’s Service New York-New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Oswald is charged with first-degree murder; first-degree robbery; second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon; third-degree theft; and third-degree burglary. He is being held in Salem County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing.

The shooting is under investigation by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and the Woodbury City Police Department. The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office believes there are additional witnesses who may provide crucial information in this investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Det. John Petroski of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at 856-498-6238 or Det. Alex Phillips Woodbury City Police Department at 609-352-3919. Information can also be e-mailed to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at tips@co.gloucester.nj.us

Agencies assisting in the investigation are the Woodbury Fire Department; Woodbury City Police Department; the West Deptford Police Department; Harrison Township Police Department; Gloucester City Police Department; and the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Department.

Image via Shutterstock