Delaware State Police make an arrest in a fatal shooting that only First State Update told you about on Sunday.
The Delaware State Police said they have arrested 27-year-old Joel Reynoso of Henderson, Maryland, for murder after a road rage-related shooting occurred Saturday evening in Hartly that left one man dead.
On September 2, 2023, at approximately 6:22 p.m., troopers responded to the 2400 block of Halltown Road in Hartly, for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, troopers observed two vehicles stopped in the westbound lane of Halltown Road and the victim in the roadway with an apparent gunshot injury. Troopers and citizens performed lifesaving measures until EMS arrived. The victim was transported by EMS to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Due to the circumstances, the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit assumed the investigation.
Detectives learned a blue 1998 Nissan Frontier pickup truck, operated by Reynoso, was traveling westbound on Halltown Road in an aggressive manner. Reynoso nearly struck a burgundy 2020 Dodge Durango, which was operated by 53-year-old Michael Coffey, of Marydel, Delaware. The victim then passed Reynoso, and stopped in the roadway, forcing Reynoso to stop his vehicle. A physical altercation between Reynoso and the victim ensued until witnesses separated them. Coffey returned to Reynoso’s Nissan to retrieve his baseball hat that fell during the altercation. At this point, Reynoso fired a single round from a handgun, striking Coffey in the torso said police. Reynoso remained in his vehicle and was taken into custody by troopers without incident. Troopers recovered a black handgun from the dashboard of the Nissan. A computer inquiry determined that the handgun was reported stolen out of Florida’s Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 2015.
Additional computer inquiries revealed Reynoso is prohibited from possessing a deadly weapon. Reynoso (pictured above) was taken to Troop 3, where he was charged with the following crimes:
- Murder First Degree (Felony)
- Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (Felony)
- Carrying a Concealed Firearm (Felony)
- Reckless Endangering First Degree (Felony)
- Receiving a Stolen Firearm (Felony)
- Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited (Felony)
- Terroristic Threatening – 2 counts
Reynoso was arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court 7 and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $1,084,000 cash bond.
Breaking Report
On Saturday at approximately 6:25, emergency response crews from the Hartly Fire Company, in coordination with Kent County Paramedics, Delaware State Police Aviation’s Trooper 2, and Delaware State Police, were dispatched to Halltown Road (Route 8) and Proctors Purchase Road in Hartly. The initial report indicated that CPR was in progress at the scene.
Approximately 20 minutes later, at around 6:45, a male individual, reportedly in his 40s, was transported to a nearby hospital suffering from a gunshot wound according to initial reports. Though the incident is described as a police action, the precise details surrounding the incident were not disclosed at the time of this posting.
In response to the incident, police closed the roads in the vicinity, while they investigated.