One Trenton detective remains in critical condition and another has been released from the hospital a day after being shot by a man facing arrest in a domestic violence case.
Authorities say detective Edgar Rios was hit by at least two bullets Thursday as he and a second detective were bringing a woman back to her home after she had filed a complaint against her ex-boyfriend.Detective James Letts, who was also shot, has improved and was released from Capital Health Regional Medical Center Friday.
The man who wounded the officers, 23-year-old Eric McNeil, was killed during the shootout. Prosecutors say one of the detectives returned fire but did not say which one.
McNeil had just served more than four years in prison for an armed robbery.
Meanwhile, Yama Blue, the woman at the center of a domestic dispute which led to the shooting of the two officers, is grateful to the detectives for saving her life.
“My heart goes out to them and if it wasn’t for them, that could have been me,” said Blue.
Blue said she had been seeing McNeil off and on since he was released from prison. But their relationship became increasingly volatile. Things quickly escalated at her Hobart Avenue home Thursday morning.
“He beat me up in my house, broke all my TV’s…you know everything. He destroyed my house period. He had this planned out already,” said Blue.
The officers were returning Blue to her home -- after spending hours at the station filing out a report -- as McNeil was coming out of the house.
Investigators say McNeil immediately opened fire, hitting Rios and Letts. The detectives returned fire, killing the suspect
Police confirm the Hobart Ave. home is one they've visited numerous times in the past.
