After nine homicides in Jersey City this year, not to mention several non-fatal shootings of young people in a park in the Greenville section recently, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio last week said there may be a connection between at least three of the incidents, and that some may have been gang-related and for revenge.
Most recently, residents and politicians gathered at a vigil for Pedro Roman Jr., 17, and other murder victims in Jersey City’s Ferris Triangle Park Monday night, the very place that Roman had been gunned down the week before. Roman was with a group of young men in the park on Cator and Rose avenues in the city’s Greenville section on April 21 when Tashawn Holmes, 18, allegedly shot him to death.
Holmes was arrested the day after the shooting, and his alleged accomplice, Christopher Grant, 18, of Jersey City, was arrested for allegedly providing the gun. The shooting stemmed from a prior dispute, DeFazio said.
Roman’s death came about a month after three separate shootings took place in the same park.
The vigil also served as a reminder of the other eight homicides that have occurred in Jersey City so far this year. This past Saturday around 1 a.m., Jalil Spears, 22, a resident of the Montgomery Gardens housing complex in downtown Jersey City, died on Fremont Street from a gunshot wound to the head. DeFazio said a lone gunman fired at least six shots at Spears from a semi-automatic pistol.
DeFazio said investigators are looking into if the Spears homicide was “retribution” for Spears being acquitted last year in the murder of a drug dealer. In addition, DeFazio said that based on ongoing investigations by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Squad and the Jersey City Police Department, there may be a connection between Spears’ murder and at least two other homicides that took place this year, but they would need “sufficient proof” to be certain that is the case.
DeFazio’s office and Jersey City Police are asking witnesses to step forward if they have any information on Roman’s and Spears’ homicides.
“People don’t have to be the victim; they can help stem violence by helping us get proof of how these homicides happened,” DeFazio said.
Anyone with information should contact the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.
When will the trend stop?
When asked if there was a trend in these homicides, DeFazio said all of the homicides except one have been committed with a gun and most of the victims are young African-American men.
Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey would not elaborate on DeFazio’s comments about the connected homicides, but he did say patrols have increased around Triangle Park and other hotspots in the city in recent weeks.
“Until people feel safe, [the police] are not accomplishing much.” – Thomas Comey
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Comey told the audience at the vigil they can help by writing to their federal elected members to stop the tide of firearms that are being used in the homicides and other crimes in Jersey City.
He said that about 70 percent of the firearms come from a small group of gun dealers in other states where laws regulating sales are less strict.
But Comey after the vigil was adamant that Jersey City was a “very safe city” and that “crime is down.”
“Until people feel safe, [the police] are not accomplishing much,” Comey said. “So our job is to make people feel safe.”
Smith, also a state assemblyman, related to the Roman family’s plight in losing a son at a young age, since his son passed away a few years ago (not by violence).
The Roman family was not able to attend the vigil, according to Smith spokesperson David Cruz, as they were holding a wake for their son at the same time.
“I’m calling you as parents, as a community to stop this,” Smith said. “It’s a hard thing to bury a child before his time.”
Smith, as well as his Ward A City Council running mate Frances Thompson, insisted this vigil was not “political” and that he came out here because “he loves Jersey City.”
Thompson led a prayer service with all who attended.
Rev. Jethro James, pastor of Paradise Baptist Church in Newark, said he has worked with Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Newark police to help them make the streets safer, and suggested using “clergy patrols.”
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.