74-year-old man accused of trying to kill Readington cops

READINGTON — A grand jury has indicted a 74-year-old man on two accounts of first-degree attempted murder after, prosecutors say, he fired at officers during a traffic stop last September.

Rafael Garcia of Mountainside pulled his car off to the shoulder along Route 22 near RIdge Road in Whitehouse Station on Sept. 27, 2016 and walked into an adjacent field, authorities say. Two Readington police officers stopped to check the car, saw Garcia standing in the field and told him to come back to the car, authorities say.

Garcia instead fired a gun "multiple times" at the officers from the field, according to Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns. The officers, whose identities were not disclosed, were able to subdue Garcia without firing back, Kearns said. The officers were not injured in the incident.

Garcia was initially held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Somerset County Jail.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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