A 33-year-old police officer from Newark has recently been indicted on a series of charges following an off-duty shooting incident that occurred in June.

Officer Wali A. Burks, a resident of Newark, is accused of providing his personal firearm to an individual who allegedly fired the weapon outside a bar in Newark. Furthermore, Burks is also facing allegations of attempting to conceal his involvement in the incident. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of the shooting.

Following a thorough investigation, a grand jury indicted Burks on 17 charges, including attempted aggravated assault, various weapons offenses, hindering, tampering with evidence, and multiple counts of official misconduct.

Alongside Burks, his co-defendant, Matthew R. Cain, a 31-year-old resident of Irvington, is also facing charges. Cain’s charges include attempted aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Robert Florida, the spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, declined to comment on the case when approached for a statement.

Efforts to reach Burks’ attorney for a comment were unsuccessful.

However, Husain Gatlin, the attorney representing Cain, stated on Saturday that his client maintains his innocence and believes his continued incarceration is unwarranted. Gatlin looks forward to fighting for Cain’s rights in open court and believes that his client’s rights have been undermined.

The investigation into this incident began after a shooting occurred outside Neptune’s Bar and Grill on University Avenue in Newark around 1 a.m. on June 4.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, an individual traveling in a white Infiniti fired multiple gunshots, leading pedestrians to seek shelter. After reviewing surveillance footage, investigators identified Cain as the shooter and discovered that both Cain and Burks had entered the bar together prior to the shooting.

The affidavit states that Cain was involved in a physical altercation inside the bar before being removed. Subsequently, Cain and Burks entered a white Jeep Cherokee that belonged to Burks. Later, both the Jeep and the Infiniti returned to the front of the bar, where Cain exited the Jeep and entered the rear passenger side of the Infiniti. Notably, Cain appeared to have a firearm in his waistband at that time.

The police reported that both vehicles circled University Avenue before returning to the front of Neptune’s, with the Infiniti leading. Cain allegedly fired multiple rounds from the Infiniti, prompting people to take cover.

During the investigation, a 9mm bullet was discovered in the glove box of Burks’ Jeep. The ballistics analysis confirmed that it matched the shell casings found at the shooting scene.

According to detectives, Burks had registered a Sig Sauer handgun with the Newark Police as his off-duty firearm. On June 16, Burks contacted Newark Police Detective Meghan Wicks to inform her that he wanted to surrender the weapon. However, he only provided her with the lower portion of the handgun, claiming that he had discarded the barrel after it malfunctioned months earlier.

Upon analysis, the gun was found to be a ballistic match for the shell casings recovered at the shooting scene.

Further investigations into Burks’ cellphones revealed that he had exchanged calls with a friend identified as “Matt” immediately after the shooting.

Additionally, surveillance images of the shooting suspect matched Cain’s photo, providing further evidence against him.

Cain was charged on October 17, and authorities alleged that Burks accessed Cain’s arrest report without authorization or a legitimate purpose just two days later.

On Wednesday, an Essex County grand jury indicted both Burks and Cain for their involvement in the incident.

Burks is facing six charges of official misconduct, including failing to report a crime, as well as four charges of hindering, including destruction of evidence and providing false information to the police. He is also accused of violating firearms regulations by providing his co-defendant with a firearm.

As of Friday, both Burks and Cain were being held at the Essex County Jail.

When approached for comments, a spokesperson for the Newark Police Department directed inquiries to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Jeff Weber, the President of the Newark Fraternal Order of Police, stated that the incident did not occur while Burks was performing his police duties. He emphasized that Burks, like anyone else, is entitled to due process and will have the opportunity to explain himself in court. Weber estimated that Burks has been a member of the police department for a few years.

According to online records, Burks’ current salary is listed as £67,976.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

You can reach out to Matt Gray at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.