September 01, 2021
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Wellingthon Ayala-Peralta, 36, of Philadelphia, faces multiple charges for allegedly firing two shots from a stolen gun during a road rage incident on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway on Aug. 24, 2021.
New Jersey State Police have arrested a Philadelphia man who allegedly brandished a gun and fired two shots into the sky during a road rage incident last week on the Garden State Parkway.
Wellingthon Ayala-Peralta, 36, was charged this week with unlawful possession of a firearm, DWI and related weapons offenses in connection with the Aug. 24 incident.
Around 10:47 a.m., troopers from the Holmdel Station were notified about an erratic driver who was reported to be traveling southbound on the Garden State Parkway in Middlesex County.
A 911 caller told authorities that the driver pulled up next to him and fired two gunshots into the air. The caller said the man was driving a black Honda Civic with a Pennsylvania license plate.
Troopers stopped the car at milepost 89.2, near Lakewood in Ocean County. Ayala-Peralta was found to be in possession of a stolen 9 mm handgun and a high capacity magazine, police said. Further investigation determined that Ayala-Peralta allegedly was driving while intoxicated.
Ayala-Peralta was held at the Middlesex County jail pending a detention hearing.
State police did not provide additional details about what might have led up to the incident.
