4 charged after North Arlington double killing, including 2 men accused of murder
⚠️ Police arrested four people in connection with the fatal July 19 shooting of two cousins in North Arlington.
➡️ Prosecutors charged two men with murder and two others with crimes tied to leaving the victims and fleeing with young children.
🔴 The alleged shooter was arrested Monday in Newark after investigators tracked him down.
About two weeks after a pair of cousins were shot and killed in downtown North Arlington, law enforcement have rounded up three men and one woman accused of being involved in the deadly confrontation.
On Monday, accused shooter, 26-year-old Linden resident Leibys A. Mercedes was tracked down and arrested in Newark.
Leibys Mercedes was the final of four arrests made in the case — along with 24-year-old Linden resident Lydell M. Mercedes, 33-year-old Altray K. Brown of Irvington, and 30-year-old Yolanda K. Montgomery, of Newark.
The victims, 28-year-old Brian Dominick Lockett, of North Arlington, and 29-year-old Ezequiel Aquino, of Newark, were found by police on July 19 around 8:37 p.m., near the intersection of Ridge Road and Belleville Turnpike.
The spot is at the border of North Arlington and Kearny, and is where Ridge Road becomes Kearny Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Both cousins, as they were mourned in online fundraisers for their families, were pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark.
Read More: North Arlington double shooting kills two NJ men
Investigators say fight led to deadly North Arlington shooting
Investigators said that all four defendants were involved in a fight between two small groups of people, including the victims, before the shots were fired.
After the gunfire, Leibys A. Mercedes and Lydell M. Mercedes drove off in a rented U--Haul van, according to affidavits filed by investigators.
Brown and Montgomery fled together in a different vehicle — but were joined by two children younger than 5 — and neither child was in a car seat, Musella said.
Police said that none of the defendants reported the incident to law enforcement — leaving both victims dying of gunshot wounds on the street.
On July 22, Plainfield Police helped carry out a search warrant at a home where Brown and Montgomery were arrested and each charged with two counts of third-degree endangering an injured victim.
They were each also charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child — Montgomery in the second-degree, while Brown faced third-degree offenses.
On Thursday, Brown and Montgomery had their first appearances in Bergen County Superior Court and were ordered released, pending further court action.
Two murder suspects were captured after days as fugitives
For several days, Leibys A. Mercedes and Lydell M. Mercedes were both fugitives as they dodged active warrants for their arrests.
Both are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as second-degree counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a handgun.
Leibys A. Mercedes is additionally charged with second-degree certain persons not to
possess firearms.
On Friday, Lydell Mercedes was pulled over by East Brunswick police for a routine traffic stop.
Following a warrant check, he was arrested and turned over to detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and North Arlington Police.
After Leibys Mercedes was arrested in Newark, both men remained in Bergen County Jail, pending first appearances in Superior Court.
Prosecutors did not immediately confirm whether any of the defendants were related.
Leibys and Lydell Mercedes do live in the same residence, court records show.
These 31 convicted killers were pardoned by Gov. Murphy
Gallery Credit: Rick Rickman
Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom
