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Newark schoolyard
slayings suspect
sentenced to 8 years
in unrelated brawl
Nj.com
May 12, 2008
A
Peruvian national
who is charged in
the slayings of
three college
students in a Newark
schoolyard was
sentenced to eight
years in prison
today for an
unrelated bar brawl
in West Orange.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini took the
unusual step of sentencing Jose Lachira Carranza to consecutive
four-year sentences for each of the two victims hit over the head
with beer bottles in the October 2006 fracas at Huguito's
restaurant.
The result was a heavier penalty than usually
meted out in Essex County for the crime of third-degree aggravated
assault, which Cassini said was justified by the facts in the case
and Carranza's lack of remorse.
"He has not shown remorse whatsoever in this,"
Cassini said. "There is no hint of an apology."
Naazneen Khan, the assistant Essex County
prosecutor who handled the case, asked for the stiff sentence
based on what she described as Carranza's violent nature.
"This defendant is dangerous, he is violent,
the citizens of Essex County deserve to be protected from him,"
Khan said.
The sentencing came after the 28-year-old
defendant declared in court that he would not longer cooperate
with his attorney, Felix Lopez-Montalvo.
Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, he told
Cassini he wanted a new attorney to handle the appeal of the
assault conviction and his defense in two pending cases - the
schoolyard homicides and an unrelated sex assault charge.
Free to kill
Illegal-Alien Newark
Fiend on Bail -
Twice
By
Austin Fenner, Jeane
MacIntosh and Eric
Lenkowitz
August 11, 2007
He shouldn't have been
free.
New
Jersey authorities twice
allowed a suspected
child rapist to slip out
of custody with minimal
bail without reporting
his illegal immigrant
status to the feds -
leaving him free to
allegedly massacre three
college students in a
Newark schoolyard.
"This
is one that slipped
through the cracks. He's
an illegal alien," said
outraged dad James
Harvey, whose son Dashon
was murdered last
Saturday, along with
Terrance Aeriel and
Iofemi Hightower.
While
28-year-old day laborer
Jose Larchire Carranza
was behind bars
yesterday, prosecutors
arrested a third suspect,
who is 15 years old, in
Morristown, and charged
him with felony murder.
Another 15-year-old has
also been charged.
Harvey said that
Carranza, the alleged
ringleader, "should
never have been out in
the first place."
"He's
got child abuse charges.
He's got a weapon. It's
an outrage to the
justice system and the
community that he's
out."
At a
press conference at the
scene of the crime last
night, Newark Mayor Cory
Booker echoed that
sentiment.
"You
can obviously say that
the system is not
working," said Booker. "We
have a problem."
He
also said there still
seemed to be no motive
in the triple slay.
"That
is the chilling part.
This is a pure
manifestation of evil
action," said Booker.
Carranza, who arrived in
New Jersey from Peru in
1991, was first arrested
last October after a bar
fight in West Orange,
where he and two others
used bottles and chairs
to cause "significant
bodily injuries" to one
of the four victims,
court papers say.
He
was charged with felony
aggravated assault. A
municipal court judge
set Carranza's bail at
$50,000. It was later
reduced to $20,000. He
posted 10 percent and
walked free.
That
allowed Carranza to
return to what
prosecutors said was
four years of sexual
torment he inflicted on
a child that began in
2003 when she was just
5.
Orange police arrested
Carranza again in
January, and Judge John
Kennedy set the initial
bail at $150,000, which
he posted by bond.
He
was re-arrested a month
later in Newark on the
same sex charges and a
second bail was set at
$300,000, a court
official said.
But
Essex County Judge
Thomas Vena agreed to
consolidate the charges,
and allowed Carranza to
go free based on the
bond he posted in the
original case.
"Essex
County prosecutors never
consented to lowering
the bail or
consolidating the bail,"
a spokesman said.
Months later, an Essex
County grand jury
indicted him on 31
counts on those
allegations of child
rape.
Still
free, prosecutors said
that last Saturday
Carranza and at least
two others forced four
victims at a Newark
schoolyard to their
knees and shot them all
in the head execution-style,
killing three.
"He
should have been off the
street," Essex County
Sheriff Armando
Fontoura.
But
the Essex County
Prosecutor's Office
never alerted the
Department of
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement that
Carranza was an illegal
alien and out on the
streets, as recommended
by federal guidelines.
After
being led into court in
shackles yesterday under
the penetrating glare of
his victims' relatives,
Carranza pleaded not
guilty before Judge
Michael Casale. The $1
million bail, which
prosecutors asked for
Thursday, was continued.
Man
accused of killing three
college students, wounding
one pleads not guilty
Aug. 10,
2007
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A man accused in the killings
of three college students
and the wounding of another
pleaded not guilty Friday in
a crime that has outraged a
city fed up with continued
violence.
Speaking
through a Spanish
interpreter, Jose Carranza
said he understood the
charges against him. It was
his first court appearance
since he surrendered
Thursday to Mayor Cory A.
Booker.
Carranza,
28, was being held on $1
million bail. His lawyer,
Felix Lopez Montalvo,
declined to comment after
the 11-minute hearing.
A second
suspect, a 15-year-old boy,
pleaded not guilty Thursday
and remains in custody,
prosecutor Thomas McTigue
said Friday. Authorities are
seeking to have the boy
tried as an adult. His name
was not released because of
his age.
Both have
been charged with first-degree
murder, attempted murder and
related charges.
The
shootings ratcheted up anger
in New Jersey's largest city,
where overall crime has
declined but where killings
continued at last year's
pace with 60 homicides so
far this year. The killings
have prompted billboards in
the downtown area that
scream, "HELP WANTED: Stop
the Killings in Newark Now!"
Essex
County Prosecutor Paula Dow
has said authorities hoped
to arrest others they
believe were involved in the
killings.
The four
victims, friends aged 18 to
20, were shot while visiting
in a schoolyard near their
homes Saturday night.
Authorities have said
robbery appeared to be the
motive.
Terrance
Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey,
20, and Iofemi Hightower,
20, were forced to kneel
against a wall and were shot
at close range. The fourth
victim, 19-year-old Natasha
Aeriel, Terrance Aeriel's
sister, survived a wound to
her head and is hospitalized.
All four planned to attend
Delaware State University
this fall.
Officials
said fingerprints on a
bottle found at the shooting
scene and ballistics
evidence tied Carranza to
the crime. Natasha Aeriel
has also helped identify the
suspects.
Authorities do not believe
the four victims knew the
suspects.
Residents
and law enforcement
organizations donated
$150,000 to aid the victims'
families and to a reward
fund for information on the
case.
3rd
suspect
arrested
in N.J.
shootings
Janet
Frankston
Lorin -
Associated
Press
Writer
August
10, 2007
NEWARK,
N.J. —
A
third
suspect
was
charged
Friday
in the
execution-style
killings
of three
college
students,
hours
after a
man
pleaded
not
guilty
in a
crime
that
shocked
this
violence-weary
city.
The
suspect
was
identified
as 15-year-old
boy
during a
news
conference
held
Friday
night by
the
Essex
County
prosecutor's
office.
The teen
faces
three
counts
of
felony
murder,
among
other
charges,
said
Paul
Loriquet,
a
spokesman
for the
office.
He would
not
provide
other
details.
The
latest
arrest
was
announced
several
hours
after
Jose
Carranza,
28,
pleaded
not
guilty
to three
charges
of first-degree
murder,
attempted
murder
and
robbery.
Victims'
relatives
questioned
why the
illegal
immigrant
from
Peru had
been
granted
bail
this
year on
assault
and
child
rape
charges.
"I
believe
in a
higher
power,
but I
can't
help but
think
that had
(authorities)
done
their
job in
the
beginning,
this
might
not have
happened,"
said
Latasia
Harvey,
22, a
cousin
of
victim
Dashon
Harvey.
A 15-year-old
boy
pleaded
not
guilty
to the
same
charges
Thursday
and
remains
in
custody,
Assistant
Essex
County
Prosecutor
Thomas
McTigue
said.
Authorities
are
seeking
to have
him
tried as
an adult.
Authorities
said
they
were
still
looking
for
others
involved
in the
shootings,
which
have
ratcheted
up anger
in New
Jersey's
largest
city.
The
overall
crime
rate has
declined,
but the
number
of
killings
to date,
60, is
nearly
even
with
last
year's
pace of
63.
The
killings
have
prompted
billboards
in the
downtown
area
that
scream,
"HELP
WANTED:
Stop the
Killings
in
Newark
Now!"
"We
believe
there
are
other
suspects
out
there,"
Essex
County
Prosecutor
Paula T.
Dow said
after
the
arraignment.
She
called
Carranza
a "significant
suspect"
but
declined
to
elaborate
on his
role in
the
shootings
or
comment
on his
prior
charges.
Carranza
was
indicted
by grand
juries
in New
Jersey
twice
this
year -
in April
on
aggravated
assault
and
weapons
charges;
and in
July on
31
counts
including
aggravated
sexual
assault
of a
child
and
endangering
the
welfare
of a
child he
had a
duty to
supervise.
He was
released
on
$50,000
bail on
the
assault
case,
which
stemmed
from a
barroom
fight,
and
$150,000
bail on
the
sexual
assault
indictment,
which
charged
that the
abuse
began in
2003
when the
girl was
4 years
old and
continued
to this
year.
The
prosecutor
handling
the
fight
case,
Christopher
Y. Iu,
said the
office
did not
check
Carranza's
immigration
status.
A
prosecutor
supervising
the sex
assault
case,
Mark S.
Ali,
said the
office
probably
believed
Carranza
had
legal
immigration
status
because
of his
application
for a
court-appointed
attorney.
Carranza
now has
a
private
lawyer.
Dow
would
not
answer
questions
about
why
Carranza
was
released
on bail
on the
previous
charges
despite
his
immigration
status.
In a
later
interview
on CNN,
Dow said
the "uproar"
over his
immigration
status
is "going
to have
to wait
for
another
day."
"We
realize
that's
an issue
out here
in our
criminal
justice
system,
and we
are
addressing
it," Dow
said.
On
Friday,
Carranza
could
barely
be heard
in the
courtroom
as Mayor
Cory A.
Booker
and
relatives
of the
victims
watched.
State
Superior
Court
Judge
Michael
R.
Casale
continued
the $1
million
bail and
ordered
that
Carranza
be held
apart
from
other
inmates
at the
Essex
County
jail for
his
protection.
Carranza's
lawyer,
Felix
Lopez
Montalvo,
declined
to
comment
after
the
hearing.
Authorities
do not
believe
the four
victims
knew
their
assailants.
Carranza
and the
15-year-old
are not
related,
Dow said.
The
teen's
name was
not
released
because
of his
age.
The four
victims,
friends
ages 18
to 20,
were
shot
while
visiting
in a
school
yard not
far from
their
homes
Saturday
night.
Authorities
have
said
robbery
appeared
to be
the
motive.
Terrance
Aeriel,
18,
Dashon
Harvey,
20, and
Iofemi
Hightower,
20, were
forced
to kneel
against
a wall
and were
shot at
close
range.
The
fourth
victim,
19-year-old
Natasha
Aeriel,
Terrance
Aeriel's
sister,
survived
a wound
to her
head and
is
hospitalized.
Natasha
Aeriel
was able
to help
authorities
identify
the
suspects,
the
mayor
said.
Officials
said
fingerprints
on a
bottle
found at
the
shooting
scene
and
ballistics
evidence
also
tied
Carranza
to the
crime.
All four
victims
were
planning
to
attend
Delaware
State
University
this
fall.
Instead,
three
will be
buried
Saturday.
Suspect in Newark
slayings allegedly had violent past
by Jonathan
Schuppe and Claire Heininger
Thursday August 09, 2007
The man who
surrendered to authorities this
afternoon in connection with the
execution-style slayings of three
college students in a Newark
schoolyard Saturday has a violent
past and was headed to trial on
sexual assault charges, court
records show.
Jose Carranza,
28, also known as Jose Larchire, was
named today as the "principal
suspect" in the slaughter that has
stirred outrage in the city and
beyond its borders. Carranza -- who
surrendered in person to Newark
Mayor Cory Booker -- and a 15-year-old
boy arrested Wednesday night are
charged with murder, robbery and
weapons offenses in the killings.
Authorities are still hunting for
other possible suspects.
Carranza, who was
picked out of a photo lineup by the
attack's lone survivor, is a
Peruvian whose last known address
was in Orange and was free on bail
in two separate cases, according to
court records.
He had been
indicted by Essex County grand
juries twice this year: once in
April on aggravated assault and
weapons charges; and once in July on
31 counts, including aggravated
sexual assault of a child under 13
years old and endangering the
welfare of a child he had a duty to
supervise, court records show.
With plea
negotiations ongoing in the first
case, Carranza was due to appear in
court later this month, court
records show. Instead, he is back in
custody today after his fingerprint
-- contained in a State Police
database -- was matched to one
lifted off a beer bottle found at
the crime scene in Newark's Ivy Hill
section, authorities said.
Accompanied by
his lawyer, Carranza turned himself
in to the mayor without saying a
word, Booker said.
"He said nothing
whatsoever," Booker said. "I put my
hand on the individual, he turned
around and we put him in handcuffs."
Carranza is being
held on $1 million bail. His lawyer,
Felix Lopez Montalvo, declined to
comment, but Carranza's sister said
today he is innocent of the killings.
Police continue
to seek other perpetrators involved
in the case. Garry McCarthy,
Newark's police director, said the
pace of the investigation has
accelerated dramatically today as
leads have snowballed.
"We've been able
to put ourselves in a position now
where we are looking for a number of
individuals on a number of different
levels," McCarthy said.
The 15-year-old
suspect faces charges in Essex
County Family Court. A family court
judge this morning denied a request
from The Star-Ledger to attend the
proceedings, saying that if the name
is made public he could face
retaliation while in custody at the
Essex County Juvenile Detention
Center.
Essex County
Prosecutor Paula Dow said today
authorities hope to prosecute the
15-year-old as an adult. She said
there was no family relationship
between the 15-year-old and
Carranza.
The survivor, 19-year-old
Natasha Aeriel, remains hospitalized
under 24-hour police guard.
The attacks
unfolded around 11:30 Saturday
night, when Aeriel, her brother and
two friends drove to a playground
behind Mount Vernon School in
Newark's Ivy Hill section to drink,
eat and listen to music, authorities
said.
When they arrived,
there were two men at the playground
already. But soon afterward, two or
three additional men showed up, and
the friends started to panic. They
exchanged text messages on their
cell phones saying they ought to
leave, according to police.
But before they
could leave, the men approached the
four friends and announced a robbery,
police said.
Aeriel was shot
first, through the face, and left
near some aluminum bleachers. The
other three -- her brother, Terrance
Aeriel, Iofemi Hightower and Dashon
Harvey -- were walked to a school
wall, forced to kneel and shot in
the back of the head.
The last three,
described by family, friends and
officials as model students or
incoming students at Delaware State
University, were dead by the time
police arrived in response to a 911
call. Their funerals are planned for
Saturday.
Officials
continued to insist today that the
murders -- in which the victims were
black and the suspects, so far, are
Hispanic -- were not related to
racial tensions or gang activity.
"This is a
heinous act, this is a vicious act
... but there is no evidence that it
was a racist crime," Booker said.
The mayor, who
campaigned on promises to quell
Newark's violent street crime, came
under intense criticism in the days
following the killings. Nevertheless,
he remained confident that in the
end the crime would unite -- and not
divide -- the city.
"We will turn a
corner," he said today. "We must
come together."
