Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on May 24, 2025, Edgar Baerga, 47, of Stafford Township, was charged with Aggravated Assault and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor in connection with an incident that occurred in Stafford Township on May 24, 2025.
On May 24, 2025, at approximately 2:00 p.m., Officers from the Stafford Township Police Department responded to Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford in response to a 911 call regarding a 13-year-old female with a gunshot wound to the right side of her torso. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Stafford Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that while Baerga was cleaning his firearm at his residence in Stafford, the firearm discharged and a round struck his 13-year-old daughter. Baerga then drove his daughter to the hospital before contacting the police. The minor victim was thereafter transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where she is listed in stable condition.
Baerga was charged accordingly, and served with the charges via summons pending future appearances in Ocean County Superior Court.
Prosecutor Billhimer commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Stafford Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their combined efforts in connection with this investigation.
The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
R.P.C. 3.6(b)(6).