Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, Paterson Police Department Deputy Chief Heriberto Rodriguez and Paterson Police Department Director Jerry Speziale announce that medics pronounced Kayson Scott, 31, of Paterson dead at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, after police found him stabbed in the chest while on the porch of a North 7th Street residence in Paterson in the city at approximately 6:45 a.m. yesterday (Saturday).
Police said after an investigation by the Paterson Police Department and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, authorities charged Shaquana Bradley, 27, of Paterson, with Aggravated Manslaughter, a first-degree offense, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, a third-degree offense, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, a fourth-degree offense.
According to authorities, the investigation reveals that Ms. Bradley was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with the decedent’s uncle, a 40-years-old male, also of Paterson, with whom she had a dating relationship.
The altercation is alleged to have taken place on the porch of the home that they both shared, located at 66 North 7th Street in Paterson.
Authorities said Ms. Bradley is alleged to have threatened the Scott and his uncle with a small kitchen knife and is further alleged to have then stabbed Scott in the chest with the knife when he tried to diffuse the situation by attempting to take the knife away from Ms. Bradley.
Police have recovered the knife, allegedly used in the stabbing, from the crime scene.
If convicted, Ms. Bradley faces a sentence of up to thirty years in prison with an eighty-five percent parole disqualifier on the Aggravated Manslaughter charge; up to five years of imprisonment on the Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose charge; and up to 18 months of imprisonment for the Unlawful Possession of a Weapon charge authorities said.
A criminal charge is not evidence of guilt.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until criminal charges are proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ms. Bradley’s is to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. on May 8, 2017, before the Honorable John F. Meola, P.J.M.C., in Courtroom 411 of the New Courthouse in Paterson.
Anyone with additional information may also contact the Paterson Police Detective Bureau at 973-321-1120.