Genesis Rincon – Innocent Bystander

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Genesis Rincon was killed by a stray bullet in Patterson, NJ - Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Genesis Rincon was killed in Patterson, NJ Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com / CC BY-SA

In July 2014 Genesis Rincon was gunned down in one of the most gang-infested cities in America.  Did someone target this twelve-year-old girl? Was she an innocent bystander killed by a stray bullet? Listen to the story of how one family’s path to justice took a winding road and ended where it all began, in Patterson New Jersey.

Genesis Rincon was killed by a stray bullet in Patterson, NJ
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Shots Fired

On July 5th, 2014, Genesis Rincon was spending the day with her family. They went to her mom’s friend’s house for a BBQ in Paterson NJ, not far from their home. 

Genesis, her sister Golda, and a friend Jordi Perez left the house around 8:30. They walked to a nearby store to pick something up. They had one scooter between them and were passing it back and forth as they walked. When they arrived they realized the store was closed and turned back to return to the party. 

It was on the way back at 35 Rosbrook, only a block from their destination that shots rang out. Twelve-year-old Genesis collapsed immediately. She had been shot in the temple and was brain dead when they arrived at the hospital. On Sunday, July 6th she passed. 

Detectives, Detectives, Detectives

Detective Rico, Detective Alba, Detective Desalvo, Détective Leibson, Detective Seabrooks, and Detective Gilmore quickly arrived on scene. The investigators did not believe Genesis was targeted, they thought she was hit by a stray bullet.

Patterson NJ

Paterson, NJ – as of the 2010 census has a population of 146,199 in 8.704 square miles of space. This makes it the 3rd most densely populated city in America behind New York City and San Francisco. 

In 2014 the violent crime rate in Paterson was over double the national average. In 2010 there were 140 gangs documented in the city. According to former Paterson Detective Javier Castellanos, you can walk from one block to the next and be in another gang’s territory.

Gang Activity

In the are where Genesis was killed, there were two gangs operating. One was the 230 Boys and the other the So Icy Boys. The 230 Boys derived their name from a liquor store on 230 Rosa Parks Blvd.

Testimony from two witnesses stated that two So Icy boys were running down Rosa Parks Blvd after a white van. Authorities believe that Shakeem Ricks, the alleged leader of 230 Boys, was driving the van. They also believe he was the intended target of the shooting. The shooting was retaliation against the 230 Boys for another shooting that had occurred earlier that day.

Murder Charges

On the Tuesday following the shooting hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the city hall demanding justice for the Genesis. Later that day, Jhymiere Moore turned himself in to police after hearing that they were looking for him but said he wasn’t there. Authorities charged him with murder and weapons possession.

Three men were arrested in relation to the murder, all believed to be members of the So Icy Boys. Jeffrey Ellerbee, 21 and Jyhmiere Moore, 19 were the alleged shooters and Marshae Anthony 19 was believed to have supplied the guns. Moore’s bail was set at $3 million, Ellerbee was set at $2 million cash-only, and Anthony’s bail was set at $75,000.

Trial

It took nearly 3 years for this case to go to trial but in October 2016 it began. All 3 men were tried simultaneously.

Forensic evidence

  • the weapons were never recovered
  • 6 shell casings were recovered and the bullets from the .38 were shown to match a shooting that took place April 1st
  • Cell phone towers could show that Jeffery Ellerbee was in the area at the time of the shooting (but he also lived in the area and his location could not be pinpointed) 
  • Two witnesses came forward naming Jhymiere and Jeffery as the shooters

Witnesses

Keshawn “Cokes” Carter was on the corner dealing when he saw Jeffery and Jyhmiere shooting at the van. He is not the most reliable witness given his pending drug charges. 

Caurie Swinger takes the stand. Swinger had recently been given probation for running a dog-fighting racket at an apartment on Van Blarcom Street, where four dogs were found dead in a trash can. The animal cruelty charges, and a heroin distribution charge, were pending against him and would have likely landed him in prison. He was given probation on the condition that he testify. 

He testified that he saw Jeffrey Ellerbee and Jhymiere Moore running down the street firing at a white van from his back porch.

Who is Eli?

While on the stand the judge notices that Caurie is texting. He sees the text come through to Caurie saying, “Eli is here.” He responds “What’s Eli doing there?” This leads the defense to believe that Eli is in fact responsible for the shooting and that pressure is being put on Caurie to give false testimony.

Who is Eli? Eli refers to Eli Hanes. Three months prior to Genesis’s murder one of the two guns believed to be used in her shooting was used in another shooting. Eli was charged with attempted murder and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He served 18 months. 

In closing arguments, the defense points out the reasonable doubt surrounding this case and tries to use the presence of Eli Hanes in court to show that he must be responsible for the crime. 

The prosecutor shows that yes, the witnesses are criminals, but that’s also what you’re going to find in the neighborhood. All the guns used were street guns, passed from person to person, and the rule is don’t get caught with the same gun twice.

Deadlocked

After two days of deliberation, the jury came back deadlocked. There was no way that they were going to make a decision and the judge had no choice but to declare a mistrial. 

Jyhmiere Moore pleaded guilty to the murder of Genesis as well as the 2013 shooting of Ragae Clark. He was sentenced to 20 years and must serve 85% of that sentence. Jeffery Ellerbee pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5 years. 

Marshae Anthony, plead guilty to supplying the weapon and served 27 months (in addition to time served). He was released in July 2019.  He was among nine alleged members of the So Icy Boys street gang named in a drug racketeering indictment 5 months after being released. 

At the sentencing, Genesis’s father stated “I forgive you. I forgive all of you,” Rincon said. “Because it’s just … the streets.”

Shakeem Ricks

On the afternoon of Sept. 20, 2014, members of the 230 gang were in a car when shots rang out. A member of the 230 gang, identified only as Dion, was wounded, and this prompted Ricks to put together a plan for retaliation in the 1st Ward that night.

Four men in a Black BMW opened fire on the sidewalk where no rival gang members were, just innocents from a different part of town. Nazerah Bugg was shot once in the chest, and her 15-year-old friend, Nylijah Albert, was hit in the back as she fled a hail of bullets fired as part of a street gang’s retaliation for an earlier shooting. Bugg died at the scene.

While the shooters were tried and found guilty, Ricks had no repercussions for ordering the shooting. On Feb 18th 2020 that changed. A video, provided to Paterson Press by a private citizen who asked not to be identified, shows Ricks, 25, being gunned down in an apparent ambush as he walked out of a 12th Avenue apartment building at 1:32 a.m.

Ricks was walking toward a black car on the other side of the street when a silver SUV that had been double-parked slowly moved down the street toward him. The video showed flashes of light — apparent gunshots — from the front seat of the SUV as Ricks fell violently backward onto the sidewalk, grabbing at his stomach.

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