Michael Furfaro (Photo courtesy of Red Bank Police Department. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A Red Bank man charged last month with illegally possessing a small arsenal of weapons was collared after police say he fired a gun through the window of his next-door neighbor’s home, nearly striking them.
Police say it remains unclear why ex-con Michael Furfaro, 39, fired his gun from inside his garage at 64 Newman Springs Road at about 11 am on July 5.
The bullet travelled through the window of an adjacent home, narrowly missing an occupant and becoming lodged in the wall, police said.
There were no injuries.
64 Newman Springs Road, where police say Michael Furfaro fired a shot in his garage that sent a bullet through his next door neighbor’s window.
Officers Taylor Doremus and Grace Magguilli responded to a call of shots fired and spoke with a resident of the adjacent house on Leighton Avenue who said a bullet had entered the window and become lodged in an interior wall, according to a press release issued Friday by Chief Michael Frazee.
Detectives with the Red Bank Police Department and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office executed a search warrant of Furfaro’s home and found 15 unregistered firearms, including two rifles, 13 handguns, and a controlled dangerous substance, police said.
Furfaro was arrested and charged with the following, according to police:
Unlawful possession of a weapon
Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
Possession of penetrating bullets
Possession of large capacity ammunition magazines
“At this time, the investigation remains active,” Frazee’s press release reads. “Additional charges may be forthcoming as the investigation continues, and evidence is reviewed.”
Furfaro’s attorney, listed in court documents as Michael Wicke of the Monmouth County Office of the Public Defender, did not return a phone call and email seeking comment. (Editor’s Note: Wicke responded saying another attorney in the office is representing Furfaro; we have reached out the attorney and will update this post if we receive a reply.)
At a July 23 hearing before state Superior Court Judge Paul Escandon in Freehold, online court records show, prosecutors made a motion to keep Furfaro detained while his case proceeds. The motion was denied by Judge Escandon and Furfaro was released on bail according to online records.
He is scheduled to appear in state superior court in Freehold on October 22 for a pre-indictment conference.
Under New Jersey state law, a person convicted of an indictable offense can not legally own a firearm.
Online State of New Jersey court records show Fufaro was sentenced in 2014 to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a 2009 arrest on burglary charges.
Multiple media reports list a Michael Furfaro as being one of eight people arrested in 2009 by Pennsylvania police in an alleged motorcycle and ATV theft ring that spanned three states.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
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