A Mercer County grand jury returned a five-count indictment on Friday charging a Newark teen with the stabbing death of Carlos Leiva-Oviedo, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri reported
Danny Saad, age 16, of Orange Street, Newark, was indicted on one count of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree felony murder, one count of first-degree robbery, one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
Saad was waived to adult court in April. He remains in the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.
According to officials, at approximately 3 a.m. on June 14, 2016, Trenton police responded to the intersection of Hudson and Genesee streets on a report of a male bleeding. They located the victim, later identified as 27-year-old Leiva-Ovieda, collapsed near his car on Hudson Street suffering from multiple stab wounds. Leiva-Oviedo was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.
A surveillance video and still image released to the media by police in July 2016 helped investigators identify Saad. He was taken into custody at a relative’s house in Newark by members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force several days later.
At that time, Onofri said, “This is a case that would not have been solved without all of the pieces: methodical, perseverant police work, help from the media, and the public doing their part by contacting the authorities with information. When we work together, justice is served.”
Despite having been indicted, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.