NJ Grand Jury Indicts Actor in Road Rage Shooting

A grand jury in New Jersey has indicted actor Ernest Heinz on 31 counts, including first-degree attempted murder, following a road rage shooting that severely injured a woman near Stockton University in Galloway Township last September.

The incident occurred around noon on September 11, 2024, when Heinz, 47, and the victim, Maritza Arias-Galva, encountered each other while merging into a single lane on South Pomona Road. According to prosecutors, Heinz passed Arias-Galva's vehicle before both stopped at a nearby red light on Vera King Farris Drive, a route leading to the university campus. Authorities allege that Heinz shouted profanities and death threats at Arias-Galva from his vehicle, including the statement, "I'm going to kill you today," before firing a single shot into her car. The bullet struck her in the nose and exited the side of her face, causing severe injuries that resulted in permanent blindness in her right eye.

Arias-Galva, a single mother of three, had been driving home from the grocery store and planned to celebrate her belated birthday with her children when the confrontation escalated. She was rushed to a hospital after calling 911 to report the shooting,...