Murder may be the most serious of all criminal charges. Not just because of the potential criminal penalties associated with it, but also because a charge of murder could very well destroy the accused's public standing and have a traumatic impact on his or her family and friends. While the accused may be subjected to extremely negative scrutiny as criminal proceedings play out, the emotional toll that the case exacts often extends beyond the families of the victim and the accused to the Bergen County community at large.
A group of four teens was recently arrested for allegedly committing this grave crime in Newark. A shooting left one man dead and another seriously injured. The dead man was believed to have been the target, while the other was apparently an innocent bystander who happened upon the scene of the shooting as it was taking place. Authorities believe that a dispute between the dead man and one of the teens led to the crime. Police response to the shooting was immediate as the teen suspects led them on a brief pursuit which ended with the suspects' car crashing and the four of them trying to escape on foot. All four were soon caught and taken into police custody. A later search of their crashed vehicle turned up four handguns.