The boyfriend of a Somers Point woman whose death is still being investigated was ordered held on a gun charge Monday.
Jesse Carter, 29, called 911 after his girlfriend shot herself, his defense attorney argued.
"Over the next two hours, my client went from being the caller for 911 as a concerned boyfriend to all of a sudden some kind of a suspect," V. Scott Macom said.
While the defense attorney presented the death as a suicide, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office has not yet determined the manner of death.
BreakingAC is not naming the 31-year-old woman since her identity has not yet been officially released and she was not named during the detention hearing.
She first pointed her gun at Carter, and "I believe a shot was fired," Macom told the judge.
"I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it," he quoted her as telling Carter. "If you leave the house, I'm gonna do it."
As Carter put his hand on the door, she pulled the trigger, Macom said.
"She committed suicide right next to him," he said.
The gun used in the shooting was by the victim when police arrived, but it was an allegedly stolen gun inside Carter's car that led to his arrest.
"The death investigation ended inside the house," Macom insisted, questioning how police were able to get a search warrant for the vehicle without probable cause.
He said a test for gunshot residue on his client's hands at the scene turned up nothing.
Regardless, a gym bag was found in the vehicle, with the gun and magazine inside. Two strips of the narcotic suboxone were also found, according to the charges.
The gun and magazine belong to the victim's father, Macom said.
The woman's father is a retired Atlantic City police officer, BreakingAC confirmed.
Macom insisted the Prosecutor's Office has evidence that she is the one who put the gun in that gym bag.
Video from a Ring camera across the street from the Third Avenue home where the death took place captured the victim outside "ranting and raving" around 10 p.m., Macom said.
"Ha, ha, ha, I put a gun in your car and you're on probation," she allegedly said. "You're gonna get in trouble if you leave me. You better not leave me because if you do I'm calling the police and telling them you have a gun in the car."
Macom said he has tried to get the video, but was denied it by the detective, who said it was not relevant to the case.
He then asked the judge if he would be able to approach the neighbor himself to get a copy.
Judge Jeffrey Wilson advised him to talk to the Prosecutor's Office.
Carter, who is from Galloway Township, was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for unlawful possession of a weapon stemming from a 2012 aggravated assault case, court records show.
He was on probation at the time the gun was found, which shows his incarceration did not deter his criminality, Assistant Prosecutor Paige Cramer argued.
She also pointed to a criminal history that began when he was a juvenile, which included two aggravated assault charges, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and theft.
The public safety assessment, which is used to help determined whether a defendant is detained pretrial under bail reform, recommended he be held.
The judge agreed.
He advised the defense that if the video is obtained "that may change the complexion of this case, you always have the option to make an application to reopen detention if it's found there's evidence that was not available at the original detention hearing."
Carter is next due in court April 17.
