68°
Bruce A. Loo, 20, followed the victim as he took a bus from the Garden State Plaza to Teaneck in broad daylight last July 9, then rushed him after he flagged down a car carrying his girlfriend, another man, and her 2-year-old toddler just off Route 4, prosecutors said.
There, co-defendant Jarrell C. Stone drew a gun and fired at least five shots, they said.
The two Pomona, N.Y. men began following the victim around the mall and into a Radio Shack store, where he alerted security officers, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Nicholas Ostuni said.
Jarrell C. Stone (MUGSHOTS: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE)
The pair accused the victim of “stealing something” from a kiosk they ran selling sneaker-cleaning materials, Ostuni said. The victim denied it, however, and the officers said they didn’t find him carrying any stolen goods.
When the man got off the bus in Teaneck a short time later, the prosecutor said, Loo and Stone were following him.
He took a pedestrian overpass to the other side of the highway, where he got into the car. But Loo and Stone approached and the driver got out to try and reason with them, Ostuni said.
That’s when Stone pulled out a stolen Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun and fired several shots, he said.
Several witnesses are prepared to testify if either defendant goes to trial, Ostuni said yesterday.
As Presiding Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi explained, Loo faces the same counts as Stone — four for attempted murder and aggravated assault counts, plus hindering and weapons possession — under the state accomplice liability law.
“Twelve years is a gift,” the judge told defense attorney James Alfano.
DeAvila-Silebi set a June 16 cutoff for a plea bargain. If no agreement is reached by then, she said, a trial will begin June 30.
Stone, who was not in court today but has the same trial date as Loo, was charged with what is known as a “certain persons” offense — meaning that, as a convicted felon, he cannot purchase or possess weapons or obtain permits.
Stone remained held on $230,000 bail, and Loo on $250,000, in the Bergen County Jail.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates.
