JERSEY CITY, NJ – A Jersey City man convicted in a 2021 double fatal shooting was sentenced Wednesday to consecutive life terms in state prison, closing one of the city’s deadliest gun violence cases in recent years, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello.
Superior Court Judge Nesle Rodriguez imposed two consecutive life sentences on 24-year-old Omire Rios-Williams for the murders of two men killed during a late-night shooting that left six people wounded in a residential neighborhood.
Rios-Williams was convicted at trial of two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. In addition to the life sentences, four 18-year terms related to the attempted murder convictions and a five-year weapons sentence will run concurrent to the first life term.
His co-defendant, 25-year-old Cooleone McNeil of Bayonne, was convicted of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 18 years in New Jersey State Prison under the No Early Release Act.
The case stems from a shooting shortly before 11 p.m. on May 21, 2021, when Jersey City police responded to reports of gunfire near Crescent Avenue and Brinkerhoff Street. Officers found six victims suffering from gunshot wounds at the scene.
- Two victims, Jason Crutcher, 26, and Randolph Black Jr., 25, were pronounced dead
- Four additional victims survived with nonfatal injuries
- Shooting occurred near Crescent Avenue and Brinkerhoff Street in 2021
Prosecutors said Rios-Williams was also sentenced to an additional 20 years in New Jersey State Prison under the No Early Release Act after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of Emmanuel Garcia in Jersey City on May 3, 2021.
