Two Paterson men found guilty in 2021 gang-related killing

Two Paterson men were convicted Friday in connection with a 2021 shooting that left one man dead, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Jaquan Thomas, 33, and Ismael Leon, 21, were found guilty on four counts each in the killing of 21-year-old Jose Figueroa of Newark on May 1, 2021. The decisions were handed down Friday afternoon after a day of jury deliberations, said Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes.

Thomas was convicted of first-degree murder, and Leon was convicted of first-degree aggravated manslaughter. Both men were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, a first-degree crime, as well as possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, both second-degree offenses.

Thomas faces 30 years to life in prison on the murder charge, and Leon's manslaughter charge carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years. Each weapons charge is punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

The evidence shows that on the day of the murder, Thomas planned for members of his gang to shoot at individuals he believed were members of a rival gang in the area of Redwood and Totowa avenues, the Prosecutor's Office said. The plan called for Leon and another gang member to go to a different intersection, at Albion and Totowa avenues, and shoot at the other gang as its members ran away from the initial gunshots.

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Figueroa was struck and killed by the gunfire. The incident marked the second shooting on the same street corner in a six-hour period that day.

Thomas and Leon are scheduled for sentencing Dec. 15 before Judge Sohail Mohammed, who presided over the trial.

Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Barrera represented the state during the case. Thomas and Leon were represented by Laura Sutnick and Matthew Cavaliere, respectively.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ men found guilty in 2021 gang-related killing