Shoot-out injures 4 officers, suspect in Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - A gunman opened fire yesterday on a SWAT team that burst into a home during a drug and gun raid, wounding four officers while spraying bullets from atop a staircase, authorities said. One officer was critically wounded.

Lakewood Patrolman Jonathan Wilson was shot in the face and was in critical but stable condition at a local hospital. Authorities said they were optimistic he would survive despite being grievously wounded.

"He is in good spirits and he's communicating," Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said.

Authorities said Wilson was in danger of losing an eye. He is a six-year veteran of the force, married with four children, including a newborn.

Police Chief Robert Lawson said the officer was shot in the forehead. But because the bullet was fired at a downward angle, it did not penetrate his skull, instead exiting through the side of his face.

Lt. Greg Meyer was shot in a foot and was in good condition at the hospital after undergoing surgery for bone injuries.

Two other Lakewood officers, Sgt. Louis Sasso and Patrolman Leonard Nieves Sr., were shot in their bulletproof vests and they suffered only minor injuries despite being struck in the chest. They were treated at and released.

The suspect, Jamie Gonzalez, 39, was in critical condition after suffering numerous gunshot wounds as police returned fire, Ford said.

He was charged with four counts of attempted murder, as well as illegal weapons possession, and receiving stolen property. The .357 Magnum used to shoot the officers was reported stolen from South Carolina, Ford said.

Gonzalez was to be held on $2 million bail once he is released from the hospital.

Another man who was in the house when the shooting erupted also was in custody but had not been charged as of yesterday afternoon. First Assistant Prosecutor Ronald DeLigny said that it did not appear that person was involved in the shooting, but that he may be implicated in the underlying guns and drugs case that brought the multi-agency task force to the house in the first place.