A Hudson County man has been criminally charged in connection with a fatal shooting that took place in Elizabeth earlier this summer, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo announced Friday.
Police say Mr. Anthony Figueroa, 24, of Jersey City is charged with first-degree murder and three related weapons offenses in connection with the death of 19-year-old Carlos Rodriguez of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Police Department patrol units responding to a report of shots being fired on the 500 block of East Jersey Street shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 6, 2019 found Rodriguez on a sidewalk at that location, having sustained a gunshot wound, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Armando Suarez, who is prosecuting the case. Rodriguez was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead the next day, Suarez said.
An investigation involving the Union County Homicide Task Force, Elizabeth Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, and Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit, assisted by the Vermont State Police and Jersey City Police Department, resulted in Figueroa being identified as a suspect in the case, and he was served with the aforementioned criminal charges earlier this week while incarcerated in Vermont on an unrelated matter.
Figueroa is expected to remain in custody there pending extradition to New Jersey, where he will have a first appearance and a detention hearing in Superior Court.
Anyone with information about this matter is still being urged to contact Task Force Detective Sonia Rodriguez at 908-341-3380, Sgt. Johnny Ho at 908-403-8271, or Elizabeth Police Department Detective Carrie Scharpnick at 908-558-2069.
Convictions on criminal charges of this nature are commonly punishable by terms of 30 years to life in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.