A 22-year-old city man shot himself in the leg on Wednesday night in a shooting on Governor Street, according to police.
Police responded to report of a shooting on Governor Street between Summer and Carroll Streets at about 9:55 p.m. Police located the 22-year-old Keith DeVita with a gunshot wound to the upper leg and had him transported to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.
Ceasefire Unit detectives Christopher Ravallese, Michael Quinones, and Salvatore Marotta investigated the incident and determined the DeVita’s injuries resulted from an alleged accidental self-infliction while he was handling a firearm.
Police charged the 22-year-old with unlawful weapon possession and certain persons not to have weapons. DeVita was previously convicted of robbery and weapon possession for an unlawful purpose, according to public records. He was charged with weapon possession for an unlawful purpose on April 4th, 2012 and sentenced on June 14th, 2013. He was charged with robbery on April 14th, 2016 and was sentenced on July 29th, 2016.
“The men and women of the special investigations unit are extremely well-versed in their abilities to see situations for what they are and anyone that believes they can fool them is fooling themselves,” said police director Jerry Speziale.
This is the city’s 5th shooting this year.
Speziale said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Anyone with information is being asked to contact detectives at 973-321-1342. Information can be sent to police anonymously through PatersonPD.com.