JEROME DAMON, 25, was killed by return fire after Officer Joshlee Vadell was wounded.
Two Cumberland County men have been arrested in connection with an early morning shooting that wounded an on-duty Atlantic City police officer.
Two officers approached a group of men near Caesars Atlantic City at about 2:30 Saturday morning, because they were engaged in criminal activity, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said earlier.
Now, it turns out that crime was an armed robbery.
When Officer Josh Vadell exited the patrol car, he was shot, and critically injured. His partner, Thomas McCabe Jr., then returned fire, striking one of the suspects.
That man, Jerome Damon, 25, fled, but collapsed less than two blocks away, where he was found dead.
Five men being sought as persons of interest in the incident were located after Ruberton put out video from surveillance showing six men, including Damon.
All five have been located. Three were victims of an armed robbery by the other three, Ruberton said.
Damon's alleged accomplices were Martel Chisolm, 29, of Millville, and Demetris Cross, 28, of Bridgeton. They have been charged with two counts of attempted murder for shooting at the officers, three counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and weapons offenses.
Damon was just released from South Woods State Prison in June, according to Department of Corrections records. His charges included two counts of aggravated assault, eluding and filing a false report. Cross was given four years' probation in 2009, after pleading guilty to a fourth-degree charge of cruelty and neglect of children out of Camden County, court records show. That same year, he got two years' probation on a burglary charge.
