A Union County jury has returned a guilty verdict against a Jersey City man who shot and killed a 19-year-old Elizabeth man in July of 2019.
Anthony Reciofigueroa, 27, of Jersey City was found guilty Thursday on one count each of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes following a three-week trial before Union County Superior Court Judge John Deitch.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning its verdict, according to Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel.
Shortly after 7 p.m. on July 6, 2019, Elizabeth Police Department patrol units responded to a report of gunshots being fired on the 500 block of East Jersey Street.
When they arrived they found 19-year-old Carlos Rodriguez, of Elizabeth, on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound.
Rodriguez was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead the next day, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutors Jillian Reyes and Sarah Turk who prosecuted the case.
An investigation involving the Union County Homicide Task Force and other agencies was assisted by the Vermont State Police, Jersey City Police Department, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police Department.
The investigation resulted in Reciofigueroa being identified as a suspect in the case, and he was eventually extradited from Vermont while incarcerated there on an unrelated matter.
At trial, it was revealed that Reciofigueroa came to Elizabeth approximately thirty minutes before the shooting, in a black Chevy Malibu with Vermont license plates.
Witnesses, physical evidence and video surveillance in the area –which captured the shooting – presented over the course of the trial were able to definitively pinpoint Reciofigueroa as the killer.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Friday, August 5, 2022 before Judge Deitch, at which time Reciofigueroa can face a sentence of up to life in state prison.
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