Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has announced the conviction of a West New York man who shot and killed a North Bergen man nearly three years ago during a mass shooting. Three other people were seriously injured during the North Bergen incident.
Prosecutor Suarez says On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, Jonathan Haughey-Morales, 30, of West New York, was convicted on all charges relating to a shooting in North Bergen on May 5, 2019, that killed Carlos Garcia and seriously injured three others.
A jury convicted Haughey-Morales of murder, a crime of he first degree, three counts of aggravated assault, crimes of the second degree, unlawful possession of a weapon, a crime of the third degree, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, a crime of the second degree. The verdict was delivered before the Honorable Patrick J. Arre, J.S.C. following a two week trial.
Suarez detailed the incident as follows: On Sunday, May 5, 2019, at approximately 3:30 a.m., the North Bergen Police Department responded to a report of shots fired at 2033 46th Street in North Bergen. Responding officers found four individuals, including an unresponsive male with an apparent gunshot wound to his torso, shot inside the home. The male, later identified as Carlos Garcia, age 40, and the additional victims — two males and one female — were all transported by Emergency Medical Services to Jersey City Medical Center.
Garcia was pronounced dead at approximately 4:25 a.m. Haughey-Morales was identified as the suspect wanted in connection with the shooting. He was apprehended in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, the following day. Haughey-Morales is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, May 6, 2022.
The State was represented at trial by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Najma Rana.