A Bermudian gang member has been sentenced to eight years behind bars for driving a getaway car after a fatal shooting in New Jersey.

Andre Trott, of Sandys, received his sentence in a Middlesex County, New Jersey Superior Court yesterday.

He must serve 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.

The shooting took place on May 7 last year. Trott and his accomplice injured the passenger of another vehicle as they tried to get away from the Police following the murder.

However, they were caught after they became stuck in traffic on a turn on Route 1, in Edison.

According to the Star Ledger, a newspaper in New Jersey, the shooting happened during a drug deal involving cannabis at the parking lot of an apartment complex in North Brunswick. Trott and Williams then headed north on Route 1 in a Jeep Cherokee, pursued by the Police.

Two days after the shooting, Trott's accomplice Cadre Williams, 31, hanged himself with a bed sheet in Middlesex County Jail, North Brunswick.

Both men were charged with the murder of 31-year-old Shakir McCray, of Roselle, but the charge against Trott was dropped to the lesser count of aggravated assault.

In court yesterday, the 29-year-old told Superior Court Judge Frederick De Vesa that he was "very sorry" for his actions.

He apologised to the family of the Mr. McCray, to the victim whose car he crashed into during the chase before his arrest and to his family.

US newspaper reports stated the authorities have previously identified Trott as "a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang".

The Judge also ordered Trott to pay the car crash victim $7,914 in restitution for the injuries she suffered that needed hospital care and the damage to her car.

Authorities in New Jersey will seek to deport Trott after the sentence which includes three years probation.

The murder charge against Trott was dropped because the authorities had no evidence he conspired with Williams, of Georgia, to commit the murder.