‘Murderous’ merge: NJ driver, 26, shot gun from her Mercedes, cops say

🔺 Shots while moving on Rt 22
🔺Mercedes-Benz driver arrested
🔺Woman charged with attempted murder

A 26-year-old Somerset County woman has been accused of trying to kill another young driver, firing shots from a moving Mercedes-Benz along Route 22 last month.

Juliette A. Piscopo, of Green Brook, has been charged with attempted murder for what police say was a road rage incident in North Plainfield.

After 9 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2, North Plainfield police responded to a 911 call of a vehicle struck by gunfire.

The female victim, a North Plainfield resident, reported that while driving eastbound on North Avenue and Madison Avenue in Dunellen around 8:45 p.m., a dark Mercedes-Benz tried to merge into their lane of travel.

The Mercedes-Benz eventually passed the victim’s car and another vehicle from the right shoulder of the road, then got behind the victim and began to follow the car for about 15 minutes into North Plainfield.

At that point, the victim was driving west on Route 22 in North Plainfield, when the Mercedes-Benz pulled up alongside the vehicle.

That person fired multiple rounds, shattering both the front driver and passenger side windows, perforating the fuel cap on the driver’s side and shattering a rear passenger window, before taking off, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald said.

Read More: NJ man convicted after road rage shooting incident gets prison

The victim reported being physically unharmed.

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and North Plainfield Police investigated and were led to Piscopo as the driver of the Mercedes-Benz as well as a registered handgun owner, an affidavit of probable cause said.

Police searched Piscopo's home and car on Feb. 7 and found a Beretta handgun, three shell casings in a jacket and a fourth inside the Mercedes, the affidavit said.

She turned herself in at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office on March 12.

In addition to first-degree attempted murder, Piscopo was also charged with second-degree counts of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a handgun.

On Tuesday, she was being held in Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Anyone with potential information was urged to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the North Plainfield Police Department at 908-769-2900 or via the STOPit app.

Information can also be provided anonymously through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom