ELIZABETH — The gun that killed 13-year-old Elijah Henderson was the same weapon used in another fatal shooting just days later in Elizabeth, a ballistics expert testified today. As the trial in Superior Court in Elizabeth continued for an Elizabeth man accused of both homicides, Det. Sgt. Michael Sandford told the jury that bullets collected from the street where...
Edariel "Riddick" Melendez is an Elizabeth man who was 19-years-old when he allegedly shot middle schooler Elijah Henderson to death in 2007. Melendez appears with his lawyer Fredric Pearson in Union County Superior Court in Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH — The gun that killed 13-year-old Elijah Henderson was the same weapon used in another fatal shooting just days later in Elizabeth, a ballistics expert testified today.
As the trial in Superior Court in Elizabeth continued for an Elizabeth man accused of both homicides, Det. Sgt. Michael Sandford told the jury that bullets collected from the street where the eighth grader was shot on his bike matched the one found in the body of 54-year-old Celso Pedra.
"They were fired from the same one weapon," Sandford said today, lifting the recovered 40-caliber handgun out of a cardboard box.
Edariel "Riddick" Melendez, a 22-year-old alleged member of the Crips, is accused of carrying out both killings on Fulton Street in November 2007.
In each case, the innocent victim was mistaken for a member of the rival Bloods gang, according to Assistant Prosecutor Bruce Holmes.Melendez’s defense attorney, Fredric Pearson, has argued the state’s case is largely based on false street rumors, which wrongly implicate his client — charged with murder and conspiracy — in crimes committed by somebody else.
A second Elizabeth man, Bryant "Smoke" Lee, is charged in both homicides but will be tried separately.
Four women have testified they were present at an Elizabeth house when Melendez showed up to clean and hide the handgun he said was used to shoot the 13-year-old.
Two of those witnesses said they heard Melendez admit he and one of his "homies" were involved in both shootings.
During cross-examination, Melendez’s defense attorney sought to demonstrate his client never said he was the person who fired the gun at the two victims.
Pedra, a construction worker, was killed on Nov. 14, 2007, two days after Elijah. While getting ready for work in his Fulton Street apartment, Pedra heard the doorbell ring, his wife, Laura Monteiro, recounted.
He walked to the front window to see who was there and was immediately struck in the neck by a bullet, she testified.
Authorities believe Pedra’s upstairs neighbor, a reputed Bloods gang member, was the intended victim.
Pedra remained unconscious at University Hospital for more than three weeks before succumbing to his injuries, his wife said.