Stolen Handgun Mishap: Ocean County Man Shoots Himself

Stolen Handgun Mishap: Ocean County Man Shoots Himself

According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, on February 23, 2025, Richard Rokicki, 58, of Whiting, was charged with being a Certain Person Not to Possess a Weapon, Possession of Stolen Property, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Hindering his own Apprehension, all in connection with an incident that occurred in Whiting on February 23, 2025.

On February 23, 2025, at approximately 2:40 a.m., Officers from the Manchester Township Police Department responded to a residence in Whiting for a report of a male having sustained a gunshot wound.

Responding Officers found the male, later identified as Rokicki, with a gunshot wound to his leg. Rokicki was transported to Jersey Shore University Hospital in Neptune for treatment of his injuries.

During an initial investigation into the incident by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Manchester Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Rokicki advised Detectives that while a friend was visiting his home, he (Rokicki) asked the friend if he could hold his firearm.

Rokicki told Detectives that he then accidently shot himself in the leg, at which time his friend collected the weapon and left the residence. Rokicki gave Detectives a description of his friend and the type of vehicle he was driving.

Manchester police were called to Rokicki's home about 2:40 a.m. Sunday and found him with a gunshot wound to his leg, authorities said. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment.

Rokicki first told detectives from Manchester and the prosecutor's office that he had accidentally shot himself after asking to hold a friend's handgun, the prosecutor's office said. After he shot himself, the friend took the firearm and left, Rokicki told investigators, and gave a description of the friend and the friend's vehicle.

Authorities then executed a search warrant at Rokicki's home and found a handgun that been reported stolen in North Carolina, as well as a spent shell casing.

The investigation revealed that Rokicki had fabricated the story about the friend at his home, and that Rokicki was alone and had the stolen handgun, and had indeed shot himself by accident, the prosecutor's office said.

Rokicki was arrested later that day at his home after he was released from the hospital, authorities said. He is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.