FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Raymond Worrall

PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737

EMAIL:  rworrall@hcpo.org

DATE: December 11, 2018

JERSEY CITY MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON 

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On Friday, December 7, 2018, Superior Court Judge Mark Nelson sentenced 39-year-old Rolando Morrison of Jersey City, to 15 years in state prison for aggravated assault. The assault occurred on August 31, 2014, outside of Cherry’s Lounge in Jersey City.

During the assault, Morrison struck the victim three times with a handgun and then stepped back and fired a single shot into the victim’s torso and then fled the scene. When members of the Jersey City Police Department confronted him, Morrison attempted to flee and then resisted arrest.

On June 25, 2018, a Hudson County jury found Morrison guilty of Aggravated Assault, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Obstruction, Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. The jury found him not guilty of Attempted Murder. Following the trial, Morrison pleaded guilty to the charge of Certain Persons not to Possess a Firearm.

Morrison was sentenced to five years for the firearm offenses, five years without parole for the Certain Persons offense and 18 months for the Obstruction offense. The sentences will run concurrently and the 15 years will be subject to the No Early Release Act which stipulates that he will have to serve a minimum of 12 years, 9 months before being eligible for parole.

The case was investigated by the Jersey City Police Department. The State was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Roe of the Homicide Unit.