16-YEAR-OLD CHARGED IN FATAL SHOOTING OF 21-YEAR-OLD JERSEY CITY MAN ON WILKINSON AVENUE IN JERSEY CITY

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit has charged a 16-year-old male with the shooting death of 21-year-old Rodney Wallace, who was fatally shot on Wilkinson Avenue in Jersey City on April 13, 2021.

The teen, who has been charged as a juvenile, was arrested inside of a store at 245 Old Bergen Road in Jersey City on Thursday, June 10, 2021 just after 4 p.m. by members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Gang Intelligence/Violent Crimes Unit.

The teen was charged with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3A(1)(2), a crime of the first degree; Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 and 2C:11-3A(1)(2), a crime of the first degree; Aggravated Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1B, a crime of the second degree; Possession of a Weapon (firearm) for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4A(1), a crime of the second degree; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (firearm) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5B(1), a crime of the second degree; and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (shotgun) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5C, a crime of the third degree.

On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, just after 11:00 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in the area of 162 Wilkinson Avenue in Jersey City. Responding officers found a 21-year-old male victim – later identified as Rodney Wallace – who had sustained gunshot wound(s) to the upper body and was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 11:44 p.m. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds and the manner of death to be homicide.

A second victim, a 22-year-old man, also sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting and was treated at the Jersey City Medical Center.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department for the investigation and arrest.

The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests may follow.

The above charges are merely accusations and the juvenile defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).