Mother of slain Jersey City teen tells killer in court, 'You shot us all'

Published: Friday, September 30, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

ALEXANDRA CARABALLO, the mother of Pedro Roman Jr., reads her statement in court yesterday during the sentencing of Tashawn Holmes, left, for the 2009 killing of her son in Triangle Park in Jersey City.

A 21-year-old Clifton man was sentenced to 19 years in prison yesterday for fatally shooting a Jersey City teenager in the head while firing into a crowd at a Greenville park two years ago.

Tashawn Holmes, 21, gunned down Pedro Roman Jr., 17, on April 21, 2009, in Triangle Park after a dispute, and Holmes was originally charged with murder. In June, he pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and a weapons offense.

Roman?s mother spoke at the sentencing, saying, ?My son was 17 years old at the time of the crime. l will never see my child graduate, go to college, get married or have a grandchild for me. When you shot and killed my baby you took a part of me and his father. You shot us all.?

At the sentencing hearing, Holmes apologized to Roman?s family members in the courtroom.

?What?s done is already done, but I want them to know I would never wish the death of another man and I would not be the cause of it,? Holmes said. ?I made a mistake. I acted without thinking. Everything happened so fast and I didn?t know the intentions of anyone else. I take full responsibility for what I did.?

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Alvaro Iglesias sentenced Holmes to 14 years on the manslaughter charge and he will serve nearly a dozen years of the term before becoming eligible for parole. Iglesias sentenced him to five years on the weapons offense and he must serve three years of that term before becoming eligible for parole.

The prison terms will run consecutively, and Holmes has also been ordered to pay about $5,000 to cover the cost of Roman?s funeral.

The judge noted that Holmes had no prior adult criminal record but had 10 prior adjudications in juvenile court including possession of a sawed-off firearm.

?I hope that in some way the sentence today will start a closure and will help you recover from the great sadness you feel,? Iglesias told Roman?s parents.

Triangle Park suspect surrenders

Thursday, June 04, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The 18-year-old Jersey City man who police think disposed of the gun used to kill a 17-year-old boy in Triangle Park in April surrendered to homicide investigators yesterday morning, officials said.

"We believe that he took control of the weapon right after the shooting took place," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said of Antwan Farrior, who turned himself in on Duncan Avenue.

Investigators believe Farrior was at the Greenville park when Pedro Roman Jr. was gunned down on April 21, DeFazio said, adding that Tashawn Holmes, 18, of Clifton, has been charged with murdering Roman with a semiautomatic weapon.

Christopher Grant, 18, of Carteret Avenue, has been arrested and charged with providing the gun to Holmes.

"We are gratified that the defendant (Farrior) made the decision to surrender," DeFazio said. "We can only hope that this will help our case."

On the day Roman died he was involved in a brief confrontation and verbal exchange with Holmes, DeFazio said.

Holmes took out a gun and fired a half-dozen rounds toward the group Roman was with, hitting Roman once in the head, DeFazio said.

Police believe Holmes was the only shooter. The gun has not been recovered, DeFazio said.

Farrior was with his attorney, Alfonso Robinson of Jersey City, when he turned himself in.

It is like something out of the wire: Non-snitching "witness arrested on a parole violation after investigators turned up the heat on him so they could talk to him about the killing"

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Arrest witness to the Triangle Park killing

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City man believed to have witnessed the murder of a 17-year-old boy in Triangle Park was arrested last night on a parole violation after investigators turned up the heat on him so they could talk to him about the killing, reports said.

Markell "Sayboy" Brown, 20, whose last known address was on Van Wagenen Street, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. by a Jersey City Police Department Street Crime Unit and was taken to the East District Police Station, officials said.

In a story in Saturday's Jersey Journal, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio appealed to Brown to come in on his own to speak to investigators about the April 22 murder of Pedro Roman Jr., of Bartholdi Avenue. Brown was charged with a parole violation.

Clifton resident Tashawn Holmes, 18, has been arrested and charged with murdering Roman at the park at Danforth and Cator avenues.

DeFazio said Christopher Grant, 18, of Carteret Avenue, who has been arrested on weapons charges, handed Holmes the handgun a short time before Holmes got into a verbal confrontation with a group including the victim. Holmes fired a half-dozen rounds, hitting Roman in the head, DeFazio said.

The prosecutor said Brown was with Roman at the time.

Brown was convicted last year of making terroristic threats and drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, officials said. He was released into an intensive supervision program, but since then a warrant for his arrest had been issued for a violation of the program, DeFazio said.

Update: Fatal shooting of Jalil Spears this morning related to recent shootings, prosecutor says

by The Jersey Journal
Sunday April 26, 2009, 1:34 PM

The body of Jalil Spears is taken away this morning after the 22-year-old was shot to death on Fremont Street in Jersey City.

Without being specific, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said this morning's fatal shooting of 22-year-old Jalil Spears is "inter-related" to a number of recent shootings in Jersey City.

"We have had nine homicides in Jersey City this year so far, eight of them involved handguns," DeFazio said. "A number of them are inter-related."

Spears was found shot to death this morning on Fremont Street in the Booker T. Washington public housing complex in Jersey City.

Spears, a suspect in the murder of a drug dealer, was acquitted last year, the Star-Ledger reports.

He was shot in the face shortly after 1 a.m. by a lone gunman on foot, DeFazio said.

The killing comes on the heels of the shooting death Tuesday of 17-year-old Pedro Roman Jr.

Roman was gunned down in broad daylight at Triangle Park, in the city's Greenville section.

Two arrests have been made in the case -- the alleged shooter and the man accused of providing the semiautomatic weapon -- and cops are seeking help finding a man wanted on warrants who is believed to have witnessed the crime.

Say he handed 'killer' gun
2nd bust in teen's murder

Friday, April 24, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City man arrested on weapons charges yesterday is believed to have handed a Clifton man the .380 semiautomatic handgun that was used to fatally shoot a 17-year-old boy in a Greenville park this week, officials said.

Christopher Grant, 18, of Carteret Avenue, was picked up early yesterday and was formally charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

While a .38-caliber revolver was recovered yesterday in Grant's possession, the semiautomatic weapon used in the murder has not yet been found, DeFazio said.

Police said Tashawn Holmes, 18, used the semiautomatic to gun down Pedro Roman Jr., 17, of Bartholdi Avenue, in a burst of shots at about 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Triangle Park, located at Danforth and Cator avenues.

"We believe the semiautomatic pistol was in fact the weapon used in the homicide of Mr. Roman," DeFazio said. "Mr. Holmes didn't have it when he was arrested and Mr. Grant didn't have it when he was arrested, but we believe it will be found due to the ongoing investigation."

DeFazio said Grant handed Holmes the handgun a short time before Holmes became involved in a verbal confrontation at the park with a group that included the victim. Holmes pulled out the gun and fired a half-dozen rounds at the group, hitting Roman in the head, DeFazio said.

A bullet passed through a vehicle but did not hit the driver, DeFazio said. Another round slammed into a nearby door frame. Police believe Holmes was the only shooter.

There were numerous witnesses to the shooting and the Clifton resident was identified and arrested early Wednesday at a relative's home on Bergen Avenue, officials said. Police think the motive for the shooting was a previous beef.

Holmes is being held on a $1 million cash-only bail. Grant's bail was set at $50,000 cash or bond yesterday afternoon by Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

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I think seven or eight.

Anybody have any idea how many homicides so far this year?

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Damn judges and juvie prosecuters HAVE to stop giving these repeat offender skumbags second, third and fourth chances.

Thankfully, this a-hole will never see the outside of a prison again.

UPDATE: Man accused of killing teen in park yesterday cries in court today

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
Wednesday April 22, 2009, 7:09 PM



Tashawn Holmes of Clifton, formerly of Jersey City, starts to cry in state Superior Court this afternoon where he made his first appearance on the charge of murdering 17-year-old Pedro Roman Jr. in Triangle Park yesterday.

A former Jersey City man cried in court today while making his first appearance on charges he killed a 17-year-old boy with a bullet to the head during broad daylight at busy Triangle Park in the city's Greenville section yesterday afternoon.

Tashawn Holmes, 18, had long dreadlocks and wore a sleeveless undershirt, long blue shorts and black laceless sneakers when he appeared before state Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan and was told he would be held on a $1 million cash-only bail.

Holmes, who now lives in Clifton, was arrested at a relative's home on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City early this morning and charged with murdering Pedro Roman Jr., 17, of Bartholdi Avenue, at about 3 p.m. yesterday at the park bordered by Old Bergen Road and Danforth, Cator and Rose avenues.

In court, Hudson County Prosecutor Michael D'Andrea called Holmes a flight risk because he has no connection to the community and because he has a juvenile record that includes weapons offenses.

Sources said the victim also had numerous run-ins with police.

When asked by the judge if he understood everything, Homes said, "Yes sir."

The suspect wiped his tears on his shoulder because his hands were cuffed behind his back.

Attorney Daniel Welsh entered a not guilty plea on Holmes' behalf.

DeFazio said there was a brief confrontation and verbal exchange between Roman and Holmes who were at some distance from each other. Holmes took out a gun and fired a half dozen rounds toward the group Roman was with, hitting him once in the head, DeFazio said.

Police say they believe Holmes was the only shooter.

One bullet passed through a vehicle but did not hit the driver, DeFazio said, adding that she made one of the first 911 calls.

Last month, three teens were shot in Triangle Park last month.

"Numerous people at or near the scene of the incident who were spoken to by the Jersey City Police Department and Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Squad led to issuing of a warrant for Mr. Holmes," DeFazio said, adding that a number of people were taken to the police station after the shooting but all were later released without charges.

Homicide detectives allowed Holmes to have a visit from his mother before he appeared in court.

The investigation is ongoing and police would like to speak to a man with Holmes at the time of the shooting and those who were with the victim.

Yesterday, Roman was identified as a Lincoln High School student, but today, a school board spokeswoman said Roman transferred out of the school in and was not in the public school system since then.

Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

Another murdah near MLK?! No way! I bet the brand new affordable housing there will drastically improve things. I wish someone could invent one of those wheel thingies like they have on lost. Then we could turn it and move the "MLK initiative" back to the 80's...back when most of us didn't have to live here.

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No, it is a block from the last block of MLK. It is between Danforth and Cator. Arlington Park is a couple blocks from Communipaw. Triangle Park is not really even a park it just a couple patches of grass, trees and a bench or two in the middle of a few streets that intersect.

Is this what's also known as Arlington Park, bordered by Grand, Arlington and Bramhall?

Every freaking day!

AFTERSCHOOL KILLING
Teen dies in barrage of bullets near park

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
CHARLES HACK

A 17-year old boy was fatally shot in Triangle Park yesterday in the Greenville section of Jersey City - a month after three teens were shot in the park but survived.

Pedro Roman Jr., of Bartholdi Street, was shot dead at about 3 p.m., authorities and family members said.

A student at Lincoln High School, Roman was approached by two boys on the street and after a brief argument was shot and killed in a hail of gunfire - one of the bullets piercing his skull, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

Roman's mother reached the scene to see her son's body draped in a bloodied white sheet.

"Why? Why?" she screamed as she was held by family members and law enforcement officers. After identifying her son's body, the mother collapsed and was taken away in an ambulance.

Triangle Park was the location of a March 26 triple shooting during a bloody week long period of shootings in the area.

The motive for yesterday's shooting was clearly not robbery, DeFazio said, adding it may be related to a shooting in another part of the city that occurred prior to the violence in the area of the park.

Police, who reached the scene quickly, chased down two teenage boys who may be connected to the shooting, DeFazio said, adding that investigators are interviewing several witnesses.

"He was the only son I've got," said Pedro Roman Sr., who made his way to the park later in the day.