NEWARK, DE — A Saint Georges man has been charged with first-degree murder following a fatal road rage shooting that left a motorcyclist dead Tuesday afternoon, according to Delaware State Police.
Troopers responded at approximately 1:30 p.m. Aug. 4 to the intersection of Salem Church Road and Old Baltimore Pike for a reported shooting.
According to state police, responding troopers found 46-year-old Jason Paoletti of Bear lying in the roadway with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit assumed the investigation. Detectives allege Paoletti, who was riding a motorcycle, had stopped at a red light behind a Hyundai Elantra before pulling his motorcycle in front of the vehicle.
Investigators allege the Hyundai then pulled alongside the motorcycle, and a verbal altercation occurred between Paoletti and the vehicle’s occupants. According to police, Paoletti stepped off his motorcycle and reached into a saddlebag when the Hyundai’s front-seat passenger, identified as 28-year-old William Simpler Jr. of Saint Georges, allegedly shot him.
Police said detectives identified Simpler and the Hyundai through the investigation before locating him at his residence, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Simpler was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. According to state police, he was arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court and committed to the Delaware Department of Correction after bail was set at $1.5 million cash.
The homicide investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective B. McDerby at 302-741-2821 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
All suspects, arrestees, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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