Two men plead guilty to lesser charges in fatal shooting of Fairview man

Two men accused of fatally shooting a Fairview man in his apartment in 2019 during a drug deal gone wrong pleaded guilty on Friday.

Carlos Burgos and Raul Torres, both 23, were originally charged with felony murder but as part of the plea, those charges were amended to aggravated manslaughter. They were just two of five people arrested in the shooting death of David Duque-Soto in June 2019.

Duque-Soto, 23, was found fatally shot in his Fourth Street apartment with two 9 mm shell casings and one .32-caliber casing near his body and with signs of acute blunt force trauma.

The pair had been scheduled to go to trial earlier this month with David Martinez but for unspecified reasons, did not. Martinez was found guilty of felony murder while a fourth defendant, Lexie Burke, pleaded guilty in March 2022, halfway through his trial.

Carlos Burgos, at left, and Raul Torres in Bergen County court March 31, 2023.
Carlos Burgos, at left, and Raul Torres in Bergen County court March 31, 2023.

Burke's sentencing was contingent on his testimony at his co-defendants' trials. Martinez's sentencing is scheduled for April 28.

In addition to pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter, Burgos and Torres pleaded guilty to robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The state agreed to not file any charges regarding potential witness tampering by Torres.

During the plea hearing, Burgos and Torres were questioned by their attorneys, admitting to robbing and killing Duque-Soto.

Burgos and Torres will be sentenced on May 23.

A fifth defendant, Dylan Rodriguez, is still expected to go on trial. Rodriguez testified against Burke during his trial and had been released on weapons charges in Duque Soto's killing. The gun used in the fatal shooting was found in Rodriguez's attic and he had told the court during the trial that he had not participated in the attempted robbery and eventual shooting and that Burgos had given him the gun. Burke's plea came just days after Rodriguez testified.

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However, in July, Rodriguez was charged with perjury and felony murder after the state accused him of providing the gun to the other four men.

Burgos was in Hudson County jail two weeks after the killing and called his mother, telling her the gun used in the shooting was on the roof of their house and he asked her to get rid of it.

During Burke's trial, video evidence showed the defendants showing up at a gas station before visiting Duque-Soto's apartment for Burke to purchase a pound of marijuana from him.

Duque-Soto allegedly pulled a gun on the men that went into his apartment. When they left the apartment, they went to a different gas station, angry about what happened. They began a plan to rob Duque-Soto of the gun and his drugs and just before 7 p.m. on that hot June night, Martinez drove Burke, Torres and Burgos back to the apartment.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fairview NJ homicide case leads to two more guilty pleas