Plea Deal Possible for Woman, 70, Accused of Firing Gun at Neighbor

A plea agreement may be in the works for a 70-year-old township woman charged with firing a gun at a Mount Prospect Road neighbor.

Rosalyn Valachovic was scheduled to appear for a status conference Friday before Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong in Superior Court in Somerville.

But Steven Lieberman, her lawyer, said Valachovic was not feeling well and would be unable to attend.

Lieberman said the case has “taken a great toll on her,” has lost weight and has been confined to bed for the past two days.

Liberman said Valachovic “may be entering a plea” at her next court appearance on Sept. 30.

Valachovic is free on $15,000 bail after she was arrested June 1, 2010 on charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and aggravated assault.

On June 1, 2010 at about  10:43 a.m., township police responded to Mt. Prospect Road after receiving a 911 call reporting an assault in progress. The caller told police that she had been attacked by her neighbor.

Then police got a second call minutes later from a 43-year-old township man reporting that an elderly female neighbor, later identified as Valachovic, had fired a gun at him, authorities said.

The man, who resides near Valachovic, told police that the she had left her home armed with a loaded Smith and Wesson six-shot, .22 caliber revolver and fired the weapon in his direction, authorities said. The man was seated on a Kubota front loader tractor and operating it on the roadway near the end of Valachovic’s driveway.

Valachovic first pointed the gun toward the ground near the front loader and fired one round into the pavement, authorities said. According to the victim, Valachovic then raised the firearm and pointed it toward his head at which time he jumped from the front loader, and attempted to grab the gun.

A brief struggle ensued for control of the gun and during the course of the struggle, another shot was fired toward the man, authorities said. The man was able to disarm Valachovic and went back to his home where he called police. The man turned the gun over to a Bridgewater detective.