PLAINFIELD, NJ – An investigation by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office’s and the Plainfield Police Department has led to arrest of three men after being criminally charged with attempting to shoot and kill a local man last April, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Plainfield Police Director James T. Abney announced Friday.
Raheim Morgan, 19 of Dunellen, Ja’Son Spann, 19 of Plainfield and Demetrius Stephens 19 of Piscataway, were all charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and third-degree receiving stolen property.
On April 26th, at approximately 1:30 in the afternoon, Plainfield Police units responded to the area of Liberty and West 4th Streets after multiple calls of shots fired. Once on scene, officers located numerous shell spent casings and discovered that several homes and vehicles had been struck by gunfire. Detectives soon determined that three gunman, driving in a stolen vehicle, fired a total of thirty-five rounds at their intended victim, a Plainfield man, who was able to take cover during the attack and was unharmed. An exhaustive investigation that followed led to the identification of and arrests of Morgan, Spann and Stevens, all of whom remain in the Essex County Jail pending their next Court appearances.
“I am grateful to all of the Plainfield Detectives who worked on this case for their dedication throughout this investigation,” said Prosecutor Daniel. “Together with our partner law enforcement agencies, our untiring effort to curb violence on our streets and positively impact the communities we serve continues.”
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about this matter or these suspects is urged to contact Plainfield Police Detective Ilyas Muhammad at (908) 753 -3531.
Convictions on first-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by 10 to 20 years, second-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by 5 to 10 years, and third-degree crimes can result in 3 to 5 years.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
