Suspect in shooting of N.J. sheriff's officer is arrested

TRENTON - A Mercer County Sheriff's detective remained in critical condition yesterday after an alleged fresh-out-of-prison gang member shot him.

Off-duty Deputy Josh Hahn, 29, was driving with his father when he stopped to break up a dispute between Billy Walter Heisler and his sister, Shannon, outside a Hamilton pizza place on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. Heisler attacked the deputy, pistol-whipped him and shot him once in the chest, police said.

Heisler was captured in Trenton early yesterday after an intensive manhunt. He was charged with attempted homicide and two gun charges and jailed under $1 million bail.

"Heisler is a dangerous felon with a history of violence," said Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini.

The prosecutor added that Heisler, 27, was believed to be a ranking member of the Sex, Money, Murder sect of the Bloods street gang.

Hahn, who is recovering at Capital Health System's Fuld campus in Trenton, was able to communicate in writing yesterday with family and coworkers, including Mercer County Sheriff Kevin Larkin, who visited with him.

"He's got his sense of humor," Larkin said. "He gave us the thumbs up."

Heisler, who lives in Trenton and in nearby Morrisville, Bucks County, had been released from prison April 1 after serving a six-year sentence for eluding police officers. He'd also previously been charged with assaulting a police officer and weapons offenses.

Hahn, whose wife is pregnant with the couple's first child, was driving with his father Sunday to fetch a tool for a roofing project when he passed Heisler assaulting a woman and pushing her up against a pizza shop window, police said.

The Hahns pulled over, and Joshua Hahn identified himself as a sheriff's officer and intervened. As he tried to arrest Heisler, the suspect pulled a gun, clubbed the unarmed Hahn with the butt of the weapon and fired a bullet into the officer's chest.

"It all went down in about 30 seconds," Bocchini said.

Gunpowder residue was found on Hahn's hand and chest, leading investigators to believe that there may have been a struggle for the gun before the round went off.

A weapon was found in the house where Heisler was apprehended, but authorities won't know if it is the weapon used to shoot Hahn until they can match it with the bullet still lodged in the officer's body.

Heisler's sister has also been charged as an accomplice to the shooting because because she hid the white Acura that she and her brother had been driving.

A 16-year-old was also arrested with the Heislers. He was charged with obstructing justice. Authorities would neither release his name nor details of the allegations against him.

Hahn, a detective who helped track down fugitives, was described by authorities and friends as a decorated officer who stood out during his nearly six years of service.

"Josh Hahn is the kind of guy I could rely on sending anywhere," Larkin said, "and the kind of guy you'd want to have over to your house for dinner."