LOWER TOWNSHIP — Less than an hour before being shot and killed by a homeowner whose residence was being broken into, a 21-year-old man got kicked out of a friend's car while being driven home, according to authorities.

James Weaver Jr. died of a single gun shot wound to the head Sunday morning, according to the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office and Lower Township police.

But it was an earlier dispute with two friends that led Weaver to the stranger's house, where according to his grandmother, he was looking for help.



Weaver broke two rear windows of the friend's car after getting into a argument with the driver and another passenger, authorities said. When the driver pulled over and told Weaver to get out, Weaver then damaged the front windshield before waking off at around 2:25 a.m., the release said.

Then, according to PressofAtlanticCity.com, Weaver called his grandmother and asked her to pick him up.

From there, Weaver made his way to a house on Route 109 where at about 3:15 a.m. he awakened the couple living there as he tried to break in, authorities said.

While the wife was on the phone with police, her husband climbed into his wheelchair and got his handgun, authorities said.

Authorities said Weaver was shot once in the head after breaking a glass door and being warned by the homeowner not to enter the home.

Weaver’s grandmother, Debbie Cianchetta, told the Press her grandson got into a bar fight earlier in the evening and then panicked after his friends left him along the side of the road. She said he wasn't at the house to burglarize it.

His aunt told the website Weaver didn't use drugs and has no criminal record.

The homeowner hasn't been named by authorities.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.