Authorities have identified a recent murder victim as a suspect involved in an incident that led to a fatal shooting by police last September.
Law enforcement officials said that the 31-year-old man was killed in March after being shot multiple times. Newark police found the victim in the courtyard of an apartment complex located near the intersection of South 10th Street and Woodland Avenue in Newark’s South Ward.
According to the acting Essex County prosecutor, the victim was present at the scene of another shooting last year. It is alleged that the suspect, along with a 23-year-old man, stole a Nissan Armada and then led police officers on a chase through Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
At some point after allegedly stealing the vehicle, the suspects reportedly stopped and tried to break into a different car in North Arlington, NJ. The vehicle owner spotted the suspects and screamed, prompting them to flee the scene in the stolen Nissan.
Police officers pursued the men through Lyndhurst before the suspects eventually slammed into a guardrail on Route 3.
After the crash, police officers surrounded the Nissan. When the 23-year-old suspect allegedly tried to back the vehicle into a police cruiser, officers opened fire and killed him.
The 31-year-old suspect was not injured in the shooting. He was placed under arrest and charged with a number of criminal offenses, including unlawful possession of a weapon, burglary, and receiving stolen property.
The suspect secured his release from police custody by posting $75,000 bail. Now he has been killed while out on bail and awaiting trial in the theft case.
Newark detectives are actively investigating the recent fatal shooting. At this time, police have not identified any suspects. Anyone with information about the murder should call the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide and Major Crimes Task Force at 877-847-7432.
To learn more about this case, view the NJ.com article entitled “Newark Murder Victim Was Second Suspect in Lyndhurst Fatal Police Shooting.”
