Authorities have charged a South Jersey resident in the broad daylight shooting deaths of two men on a Salem City street.
James T. Bundy, 32, of Quinton Township, was standing on Olive Street shortly after 5 p.m. on July 12 speaking with two people sitting in a car when he allegedly pulled a gun and fired into the vehicle, according to police.
Lee A. Williams Jr., 29, of Carneys Point Township, fell from the passenger side of the car into the street, while the wounded driver, Jerry D. Taylor, 25, of Salem, drove off and smashed into a parked vehicle down the street.
The shooting was captured by a surveillance camera, according to an affidavit of probable cause, and video showed Bundy continued firing on Williams as he laid on the ground.
Bundy is then seen walking from the scene, climbing a fence and disappearing from view, authorities said.
Williams was taken to Salem Medical Center, where he later died. Taylor, who was found in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police recovered 14 shell casings from the middle of the street.
Witness interviews and video surveillance from multiple cameras led authorities to identify Bundy as the gunman, according to the affidavit.
He was arrested without incident on July 17 at the home of an acquaintance in Lower Alloways Creek Township and remains in Salem County Correctional Facility.
Bundy is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated assault and weapons offenses, including possession of a weapon by someone prohibited from doing so because of a prior drug distribution conviction.
A motive for the killing has not been revealed.
Investigators praised the work by multiple agencies in cracking the case.
“This arrest and investigation was a collaborative effort by the U.S. Marshals, New Jersey State Police K-9 unit, Salem County Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s offices, Lower Alloways Creek Police Department, the Salem Police Department and especially the public,” prosecutor’s office Chief of Detectives Elliot Hernandez said in a statement.
A task force made up of federal, state, county and local agencies was formed earlier this year to address a wave of violence in Salem. The city has recorded seven homicides this year, including six people killed by gunfire.
Following the killings of Williams and Taylor, Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan said gun violence in the community had reached a “crisis level.”
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.