PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - A 23-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a man in Plymouth last week appeared in court Monday.
On Friday, David Jerome, of Plymouth, allegedly pulled a gun following a traffic incident and killed the other driver, Brent Berkeley, 41, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said that Jerome drove the wrong way down a one-way street in Plymouth, with his 18-month-old son in the car, and had a verbal altercation with a driver in a white pickup truck.
“This defendant admitted that he threatened to put the man in the white pickup truck in a body bag,” said prosecutor Jeremy Kusmin.
Authorities said that in a parking lot behind several restaurants, Jerome rear-ended a car that Berkeley was driving at the time.
Prosecutors said Berkeley got out and punched Jerome in the face. A bruise could be seen under Jerome’s eye when he appeared in court.
Jerome then allegedly shot and killed Berkeley, a landscaper and father of two children, prosecutors said.
“He yelled to the man that he had a gun in the car and then proceeded to fire rounds into his chest. He then, by his own admission, opened the door and continued shooting from a standing position over the victim who was on the ground, stating ‘don’t move’ to the victim,” Kusmin said. “This is certainly a case of overkill.”
It was revealed in court that Jerome performed CPR on Berkeley, but it did not save him.
“This issue is going to boil down to self defense — was too much force used by my client or justification? That’s the whole case here,” said defense attorney Jack Atwood. “Allegedly, gunshots on the right hand of the deceased might indicate that he reached for the weapon before other shots were fired.”
The courtroom Monday was filled with friends and family of both men.
“This isn’t a planned thing. Your husband goes out and your husband doesn’t come home. You have two people just like that. One’s dead, the other guy’s facing life in prison. Terrible,” Atwood said.
Jerome was ordered held without bail.
A GoFundMe was created for Berkeley’s family.
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