STILLWATER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Sussex County) — The chair of the Sussex County Republican Committee was arrested after he allegedly pointed a handgun at another driver during a road rage incident in Stillwater Township,.
Troopers responded at about 2:18 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, to reports of a road rage incident on Millbrook Road in Stillwater Township, according to State Police spokesman Trooper II Christopher Postorino.
A preliminary investigation found that the incident involved the drivers of a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a Kia SUV.
The driver of the Kia told troopers that the Mercedes-Benz driver brandished a handgun, pointed it at them and then left the scene, Postorino said. The Kia driver and a juvenile passenger were not injured.
Further investigation identified the Mercedes-Benz driver as Joseph LaBarbera, 50, of Hardwick Township. LaBarbera is the chair of the Sussex County Republican Committee.
LaBarbera was later located at a restaurant on County Road 521 in Stillwater Township and arrested.
He was charged with fourth-degree aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, fourth-degree unjustified display of a firearm and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
LaBarbera was lodged in the Morris County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Following LaBarbera’s arrest, three state legislators representing Sussex County and the county’s five Republican commissioners called for him to temporarily step aside as chairman.
“For the good of the party, we believe the chairman should focus on this serious legal and personal matter, step aside, and allow the vice chair to temporarily lead the party and let the county committee make the best long-term decision,” state Sen. Parker Space, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, Assemblyman Michael Inganamort and Commissioners Jill Space, Jack DeGroot, Chris Carney, Alan Henderson and David Silverthorne said in a joint statement published by the New Jersey Globe.
The incident remains under investigation, and no additional information is available.
