Plymouth man charged with murder in road rage shooting

Investigators say a Plymouth man shot and killed another driver following a "minor traffic incident" in town Friday evening.

David Jerome, 23, will be arraigned on murder, reckless endangerment of a child and several gun-related charges in district court on Monday, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz. Police said Jerome and 41-year-old Brent Berkley, also from Plymouth, got into a fender bender that led to a fight in a Middle Street parking lot. Witnesses told police they heard between three and four shots, Cruz said.

Officers arrested Jerome without incident. Berkley was brought to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth where he was pronounced dead.

Jerome's 18-month-old son was in the car during the shooting, according to Cruz.

Cruz warned the public to be cautious and not let situations blow out of proportion.

"We live in a world now where many people have short fuses and terrible things happen very quickly," Cruz said. "They can escalate very quickly and then unfortunately look at the aftermath. Look what happens. Look at how, you know, one family has lost somebody forever. Another family is going to be dealing with significant issues."

Investigators said Jerome had a license to carry a firearm, but was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, improper storage of a firearm, improper storage of ammunition and possession of a large capacity feeding device. His license to carry was suspended Friday night.

Cruz said the investigation is ongoing so he is not going to speculate on the motive.

"Whether this was road rage, whether or not this ... what event came from. There was obviously rage that was here that evening, but for now, we're gonna continue to do our job and figure out what happened," he said.