The accused killer in a Paterson gang shooting will remain in jail. This is why
PATERSON — The combatants went their separate ways after a fatal shootout involving alleged members of the Trinitarios street gang unfolded at an auto glass tinting business in Paterson last month, according to police.
One shooter escaped and has been described by police simply as “an unknown male.” Another suspected gunman — who police say fired 18 shots during the battle — ended up getting arrested at a hospital where he was being treated for gunshot wounds to his arm and leg, according to authorities.
The third alleged shooter, the one facing a murder charge, was apprehended later that same day by gang unit detectives while he was hanging out after dark in a park in the nearby city of Passaic.
The murder suspect, Erlyn Nunez, reportedly was wearing a distinctive shirt — one with a money sign on the left front chest and the image of someone wearing a mask on the back — when police say he was arrested in Passaic with members of the Trinitarios gang. Nunez allegedly was wearing that same shirt hours earlier when police say he fired numerous bullets from an AK-47-style rifle that killed 22-year-old Francis Pena-Reynoso.
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Authorities have cited video recordings from security cameras inside and outside the auto business as evidence in the case, one in which new details were made public on Tuesday in court documents detailing the probable cause against Nunez.
Nunez, who turned 21 on June 1, goes by the nickname “Enano,” or "midget" in English, police said. On Tuesday, Nunez had a virtual court hearing in which he opted not to fight the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office’s request that he remain in jail while the charges are pending against him.
Just two months ago, before the fatal shooting, Nunez was arrested on gun possession charges but was released days afterward.
Authorities on Tuesday revealed that criminal charges have been filed in the case against two other men: Luis Rivera and Jose Vasquez.
Vasquez has been charged with assault for allegedly punching Pena-Reynoso and knocking him out at the beginning of the battle and then hitting in the face the person described in court documents as “the unknown male.”
After being punched by Vasquez, the unknown male then pulled a gun and fired the shots that inflicted nonfatal wounds to Rivera and Vasquez, the court records said. Rivera was knocked to the floor by his wounds, before he pulled a gun and returned fire with 18 shots, the records said.
At that same time, Pena-Reynoso had regained consciousness after Vasquez’s punch and was crawling into the business’s parking lot, the criminal charges said. Nunez ran towards Pena-Reynoso, who got up and tried to run away, the charges said.
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But Nunez fired a volley of shots that caused Pena-Reynoso to collapse, and then Nunez continued shooting while his target was on the ground, according to the court records.
Vasquez was at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center being treated for his gunshot wound when he was arrested for allegedly punching Pena-Reynoso and the unknown man, police said.
“It was evident that Mr. Vasquez initiated this incident when he punched the two individuals which led to a chain of events,” said the charging documents. “Those events ultimately resulted in the death of Mr. Pena, who succumbed to his shooting injuries.”
Rivera, who faces multiple gun charges in the May 21 incident, was released from New Jersey state prison in November after spending 45 months incarcerated on convictions stemming from a 2017 street shooting in Paterson.
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.
Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: Accused shooter in gang death to remain in jail
