A Newark man pled guilty this morning for his role in the 2008 murder of a Jersey City man in Elizabeth, said Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.
Jose Rodriguez DOB: 6/30/1976 will be sentenced to 21 years in prison. Rodriguez was charged in connection with the shooting death of Maron Washington, 31, on the corner of Pine Street and First Street, said Assistant Prosecutor Michael Henn who prosecuted the case.
According to the investigation, Washington and several friends exited a bar around 2:40 a.m. when they were approached by a group of men who demanded money. A struggle ensued and Washington was shot several times, said Henn.
Several weeks after the homicide, authorities arrested another Newark man, Michael Turner, DOB: 4/10/1985 and charged him charged with felony murder and one count of 1st degree robbery. His trial is scheduled to begin on July 11.
During the struggle Turner was stabbed several times by Washington and was transported to Beth Israel Hospital where he spent several days undergoing treatment for non-life threatening wounds, said Henn.
Turner was released from the hospital a few days later and investigators, with help from the biology unit of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Forensic Laboratory, were able to identify Turner as a suspect.
Turner was arrested without incident at an apartment in Newark and is being held on $500,000 bail. He faces up to life in prison.