The retired head mechanic for the Paterson Police Department’s motor pool will remain in jail awaiting potential indictment by a grand jury after he was charged with murder for allegedly shooting a 57-year-old Elmwood Park man during a road rage incident in Clifton last month.
State Superior Court Judge Scott Rumana ordered 67-year-old Angel Pacheco, of Clifton, held after a lengthy hearing on Jan. 2, citing the seriousness of the crime and Pacheco’s possible risk to the public should he be released. Pacheco’s attorney did not dispute that his client purportedly shot Robert Rodgers and fled after the Dec. 20, 2024, near-midnight confrontation; rather, he sought his release on conditions, arguing that his client’s use of deadly force was reasonable.
Rodgers’ last name was spelled incorrectly in an initial release by the Prosecutor’s Office, the family and an obituary confirmed.
Paul Fernandez, Pacheo’s defense attorney, also brought two retired Paterson police officers to testify, with one describing Pacheco as “the most patient, laid-back guy you’ll ever meet,” and queried Pacheco’s daughter, who went to his house and tended to his wounds before Pacheco called police.
Pacheco is accused of firing a single round into Rodgers’ chest during an argument at a red light in the area of Lakeview and Merselis avenues. Pacheco allegedly admitted to police he grabbed his 9mm Glock G45 pistol from his waistband after the man approached his window, punched him in the face several times and allegedly said, “You’re going to shoot me?”
Police charged a 67-year-old Clifton resident with murder for allegedly shooting a 51-year-old Elmwood Park man in the chest during an altercation at the intersection of Lakeview and Merselis Avenues
Fernandez argued that Rodgers — whom he identified as a 6-foot-2-inch gym-goer — “made a choice” to get out of his vehicle and approach his client, who was seat-belted, and hit him to the “brink of unconsciousness.” Pacheco’s injuries included facial swelling and a cracked dental bridge, Fernandez said.
Had he not fired his weapon, Pacheco might have fallen unconscious and his truck could have gone onto the sidewalk with “people still out there shopping [before Christmas]” or into the car in front of him, Fernandez said. Prosecutors and the judge, who viewed surveillance video of the incident in court, said that despite arguments to the contrary, there was no vehicle in front of Pacheco at the time.
Fernandez also noted the alleged height and weight difference between the men, saying his client had “no choice but, under the law, to take it upon himself to protect himself with [this] serious deadly force thrust upon him by this larger man,” Fernandez said. His client was much smaller, he said.
Allan Nawrocki, chief assistant prosecutor, argued that it was not a case of self-defense, and that Pacheco had the opportunity, when Rodgers approached his vehicle, to de-escalate the situation and leave the scene.
“Clearly, he is a danger to the community,” Nawrocki said. “I mean, what’s next? Is he going to be in the supermarket and get into an argument with somebody and discharge his firearm and kill someone else?”
Police charged a 67-year-old Clifton resident with murder for allegedly shooting a 51-year-old Elmwood Park man in the chest during an altercation at the intersection of Lakeview and Merselis Avenues
Paterson retired officers, daughter testify
Pacheco’s daughter, a nurse, testified that she received a call from her father after the shooting and went to his house to tend to his wounds.
She recalled that her father’s lips were swollen and bloody, saying it looked as if he had “a few rounds of Botox,” and he kept spitting blood into the sink. She said she believed her father was no risk to the public, would attend court when required and would not obstruct justice.
When questioned by prosecutors, the woman said it was 45 to 65 minutes from the time she arrived at her father’s house to when Pacheco called the Clifton Police Department. The gun Pacheco allegedly used in the shooting was registered in his name, but Pacheco did not have a permit to carry, Nawrocki said. His daughter responded “no” when asked if she knew that her father “illegally carried a firearm.”
A retired Paterson patrol sergeant who has been friends with Pacheco for decades said he received a text from Pacheco after the shooting, but his phone was off because he was sleeping. The officer said Pacheco texted him that he had “hit someone” and “needed advice.” He said Pacheco had never been in trouble before.
A retired Paterson detective sergeant who has known Pacheco for over 30 years spoke highly of his friend, saying Pacheco has “never been known to fight anyone or argue with anyone,” adding, “He’s one of the best.”
Pacheco’s girlfriend said that before the shooting, she and Pacheco were at a social club, playing pool and dominoes, before he dropped her at her house and left. He was not drinking and did not take any non-prescribed drugs, and nothing appeared “out of the ordinary,” she testified through a Spanish interpreter.
The judge concluded that despite testimony that acknowledged Pacheco historically had not presented as a violent person, the incident itself was “as serious as it gets.” Pacheco had the option to leave the scene before it turned violent, the judge said, citing New Jersey’s duty-to-retreat principle, which states that a threatened person must first try to retreat to avoid confrontation before using deadly force.
Pacheco placed others at risk when he fired the gun, said the judge, who referred to police documents that said a person was in a car nearby. The bullet could have gone through Rodgers’ body and into that person, or Pacheco could have missed the shot and killed an innocent person, the judge added.
“I can’t say with any kind of certainty there isn’t any kind of danger” to the community, Rumana said.
Rodgers’ wife told police she and her husband were traveling in a white minivan on Lakeview Avenue when a pickup truck in front of them began driving erratically, according to arrest documents previously obtained by NorthJersey.com. At the red light, Rodgers exited his vehicle and approached Pacheco’s window, where the altercation ensued.
Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Clifton NJ shooting: Man charged with murder will remain in jail