An actor known for minor roles in films and TV has now taken on the role of an inmate after being apprehended for shooting a mother of three during a road rage incident in New Jersey earlier this month.
Ernest Wesley Heinz, 46, faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated assault, weapon possession, and possessing a weapon for an illegal purpose, according to Galloway Township Police.
Police were alerted by a 911 call from Maritza Arias-Galva on September 11. She reported that a man in another vehicle shot her in the face and then fled onto Stockton University grounds, leading to a prolonged lockdown. Heinz was eventually detained at his Port Republic residence.
Officers arrived to find Arias-Galva shot in the face. She identified her attacker’s vehicle as a white Honda SUV and described him as a man with a blond ponytail.
She was taken by ambulance to Atalicare Regional Medical Center while police launched their search for the suspect.
According to court documents, Heinz had sped ahead of Arias-Galva’s car to cut her off while she was merging, as reported by WCAU. After she overtook him once more, he pulled up beside her at an intersection near the university’s entrance.
Her son, Victor Feliz-Arias, told the station that his mother told him Heinz threatened her.
“He said, ‘I’m going to kill you today. Today, I’m gonna take care of you.’ That’s what she reported he said,” Feliz-Arias recounted. “She rolled up the window, but he shot through it nonetheless.”
Feliz-Arias said his mother is recovering but may have permanently lost sight in her right eye.
“For me to think that somebody decided to shoot my mom for no reason, I still don’t get it,” he said.
Heinz has had parts in the tv series “The Sopranos,” the movie “The Prestige,” and the video game “Resident Evil,” among other small parts, according to his IMDB page.
He is being held pending a detention hearing, which has now been postponed twice, Breaking AC reports.
