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Damien I. Flores was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson for treatment of a gunshot wound on Friday, July 26, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Flores told police that he'd been struck by gunfire during a drive-by shooting near Belmont Park in Garfield, according to Musella.
Accordingly, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad was notified, responded, and investigated alongside Garfield police.
The investigation ultimately found that there was never a drive-by shooting, rather, Flores had accidentally shot himself inside of a vehicle owned by Samantha Delacruz, of Elmwood Park.
As a result of the investigation, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad and the Garfield Police Department arrested Flores and Delacruz.
Flores was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree false report to law enforcement and remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court. Delacruz was charged with third-degree hindering and fourth-degree false report to law enforcement. She was released pending a first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court.
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