Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said on December 4, at approximately 6:45 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department arrested a Jersey City man in connection with the April 1, 2020 shooting death of 17-year-old Stephanie Jacques and the attempted murder of an 18-year-old man in Jersey City.
According to Suarez, Mr. Jeremy Perez, 22, of Jersey City, was arrested in the area of Danforth Avenue and Old Bergen Road in Jersey City.
He is the third Jersey City man arrested and charged in this shooting incident.
Perez has been charged by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit with Murder, Attempted Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Possession of a Weapon (firearm) for an Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (firearm) and Receiving Stolen Property in Violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7a, a third-degree crime.
Police say on April 1, shortly before 8:00 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Martin Luther King Drive and Forrest Street in Jersey City.
Responding officers found an 18-year-old male victim who had sustained gunshot wound(s) to the lower body and was transported to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was treated.
The second victim, a 17-year-old female, later identified as Stephanie Jacques, was located on the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Oak Street.
Jacques also sustained a gunshot wound to her lower body. She was transported to Jersey City Medical Center for treatment and was later released.
She was re-transported to Jersey City Medical Center on the morning of April 2, 2020, and pronounced dead at 10:57 a.m. The cause of death was a gunshot wound and the manner of death was homicide.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit previously arrested and charged Jersey City residents Darby Shirden, age 20, and Shaquan Rush, age 20, in connection with the shooting.
Shirden was arrested on April 7, 2020, just after 11:00 p.m. without incident at 116 Old Bergen Road, with the Jersey City Police Department Street Crimes Unit's assistance. Rush was arrested without incident on April 8, 2020, just after 9:00 a.m. at 17 Bayside Place.
Shirden and Rush were charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Receiving Stolen Property.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department for the investigation and arrests.