Press Release from GC Prosecutors Office
On Saturday, June 9th at approximately 3:40 pm, Deptford Township Police Officers were dispatched to Marshalls department store, 1800 Clements Bridge Rd, Deptford Township, Gloucester County, for a shoplifting in progress. Prior to arrival, the officers had been alerted that one of the suspects was wanted in connection with a prior homicide.
Upon arrival, responding officers encountered three suspects, who had fled the store with a substantial amount of unpaid merchandise. One of the subjects, a black male identified as Raoul Gadson of Philadelphia, PA, was actively resisting with loss prevention agents from the store. As Deptford Township Police Officers approached, Gadson fled on foot while the other two suspects, both females, entered a rented Nissan Armada. Officers, who were outside their vehicles, commanded the driver to stop; however, she accelerated towards them. One officer, a Patrol Captain and 27-year veteran, was struck by the open driver-side door as the driver raced from the scene and toward the other officer. The driver, later identified as LaShanda Anderson, age 36, of Philadelphia, PA, reportedly attempted to deliberately run over the second officer in an apparent assault by auto. The second officer, a Sergeant and 17-year veteran, fired three shots at the driver in the oncoming vehicle striking her twice. The speeding vehicle veered, narrowly missing the officer, continued across the parking lot, and down onto the access road exiting the parking lot where it subsequently came to rest.
Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy conducted on June 10, 2018, by Gloucester County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as “multiple gunshot wounds.” Officers took the passenger, Chanel Barnes, 27, of Philadelphia, PA, into custody and charged her with shoplifting. Barnes was lodged in the Salem County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing.
The Sergeant was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated and released. He will be placed on routine administrative leave pending the investigation of the shooting. There were no reported injuries to the Patrol Captain. Eyewitness statements provided during the investigation confirmed that Anderson accelerated straight at the officer who reportedly acted in self defense. Gadson was charged with second-degree robbery and assault charges; he remains at large.
Circumstances surrounding the robbery and shooting are currently under investigation by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office as per directives established by the Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutor Charles Fiore vowed that his office will conduct a “comprehensive and objective investigation” into the shooting.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact GCPO Det. Anthony Garbarino at 856-466-6192 or The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at 856-384-5500. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Raoul Gadson is asked to contact GCPO Det. John Petroski of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office Fugitive Unit at 856-498-6238.
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