Bayonne man Sentenced to 20 years for the shooting death of Jersey City man

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Honorable Vincent J. Militello sentenced Bernard Wilson, 29, to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison for the 2020 shooting death of Abimael Fuentes, 38, in Jersey City.

Wilson, of Bayonne, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11- 4a(1) on Thursday, July 21, 2022. The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act. The State was represented in this matter by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Baginski.

“The State thanks the court for its diligence in this matter to see that this defendant’s sentence will deter him from committing any additional violent crimes in our community,” said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Baginski.

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, just after 10:30 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to shots fired on Brinkerhoff Street between Monticello Avenue and Bergen Avenue. Responding officers found a victim – later identified as Abimael Fuentes, 38, of Jersey City – with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:41 a.m. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the Cause of Death to be a gunshot wound and the Manner of Death to be homicide.