Judge finds insufficient evidence against Neptune man accused in 2020 Asbury Park shooting

FREEHOLD Before a Monmouth County jury got to deliberate in the trial of a Neptune man accused in a 2020 shooting in Asbury Park, a judge on Friday ordered the defendant acquitted, saying the state presented insufficient evidence to support a conviction.

In a somewhat rare occurrence, Superior Court Christie L. Bevacqua issued a directed verdict acquitting Wilfredo Morales, 46, of unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose stemming from a shooting on Church Street in Asbury Park on Nov. 24, 2020.

Morales had been accused of firing a gun at a passing Jeep outside his niece's home that night, said his attorney, Edward C. Bertuccio.

No one was injured in the incident, although police found spent and live shell casings at the scene.

At the end of the state's case, Bertuccio asked the judge to acquit his client rather than send the case to the jury to deliberate. Bertuccio based his request on what he said was "a significant lack of evidence and lack of proof.''

The defense attorney said no witnesses testified at the weeklong trial that Morales had a gun or discharged one. He also pointed out the alleged victim did not testify. Furthermore, he said someone else went to Asbury Park police headquarters following Morales' arrest to say he was the person who fired the gun and to tell police they had the wrong person in custody, Bertuccio said.

William Visone, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, argued the state had presented enough evidence against Morales for the jury to consider the charges against him.

Visone said a surveillance video showed three people - two women and a man - outside a house, with the man producing a gun and firing it at the vehicle.

Both women said the man outside the house with them was Morales, Visone said. And, an Asbury Park police officer testified that when he responded to the report of a shooting, Morales was wearing clothing consistent with the clothing worn by the gunman in the video.

Based on that, a jury "could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt this defendant is the individual who possessed that gun,'' Visone argued.

Bertuccio said the image of the gunman on the video was not clear, and the state did nothing to enhance the video.

Prior to the shooting, one of the two women - a friend of Morales' niece - received a phone call from her child's father indicating he just shot at her car as it was parked in the driveway of the house, Bertuccio said.

Bevacqua noted the caller asked the woman "if she liked the bullet in the back of her bumper,'' and threatened to shoot some more.

That's what prompted Morales and the two women to go outside and investigate, Bertuccio said. When they did, they discovered evidence that the rear bumper of the vehicle belonging to the niece's friend had been struck by a bullet, Bertuccio said.

That man who made the phone call was among the people in the Jeep that Morales was accused of firing on. Bertuccio said the state suggested Morales fired at the Jeep to protect the woman.

In ordering Morales acquitted, Bevacqua said no witness testified seeing a gun in the defendant's hand. And, the state did nothing to enhance the surveillance video picturing the gunman, she said.

The judge noted police did not find a gun on Morales when they responded to the scene or when they searched his car the following day. In addition, Bevacqua said police did nothing to test for gunshot residue on Morales or on the steering wheel of his car.

She said there was "no forensics at all that tied any gun to the defendant,'' and the only evidence put forth regarding the gun charges was that Morales was present at the scene.

"Mere presence is not enough,'' especially when someone else took credit for the shooting, the judge said.

"I think any inference that the state has here is so weak that no reasonable jury could convict this defendant beyond a reasonable doubt,'' Bevacqua said.

Bertuccio said his client broke out in tears of joy when he heard the judge's decision.

Calling the outcome "rare,'' Bertuccio said it was one of only a small handful of judgments of acquittal he has won in his 40 years practicing criminal law.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune man acquitted by judge in 2020 Asbury Park shooting case