Community Corner

Accused Brielle Shooter Makes First Court Appearance

Point Boro resident's bail continued at $1.5 million on Monmouth charges

Louis Cataldo, the 62-year-old Point Pleasant Borough man accused of shooting a woman outside the Sand Bar in Brielle early Tuesday morning – then firing on a SWAT team after he barricaded himself in his home later in the day – calmly grasped a piece of paper outlining the charges against him during his first appearance in a Monmouth County court room Wednesday afternoon.

Cataldo, wearing dark green prison garb with his short, salt-and-pepper hair neatly groomed, looked in the direction of Superior Court Judge Honora O'Brien Kilgallen as she read the charges against him: attempted murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Cataldo faces an additional four counts of attempted murder plus weapons charges in Ocean County for allegedly firing on a police SWAT team Tuesday, though Monday's appearance only dealt with the Monmouth County charges.

Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Charles Webster said there has not yet been a determination made as to whether both sets of charges will be handled in Monmouth County, or if Cataldo will face the latest charges separately in Ocean County.

The three minute-long court appearance resulted in bail against Cataldo being continued at $1.5 million cash on the Monmouth County charges, as favored by Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner, who is representing the state.

Cataldo's attorney, Charles Clark of Freehold, said the defense may formulate a future motion regarding bail.

Outside the court room, Clark was tight-lipped about the case, declining to answer questions on the details of the charges or appear on camera with reporters.

"There's no police report, there's been no discovery exchange yet," he said, regarding the case, though he reiterated his intention to make a future motion on the bail issue.

Cataldo continues to be lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institutional, Freehold, in lieu of bail.


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