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Nearly two dozen family members and friends attended the brief court appearance for Mujahideen Abdullah, 25, and 28-year-old Jomaris Gonzalez, 28, both of Newark.
One woman held up a large photo of Mansilla, a popular Hackensack limousine company owner who was shot on Route 80 in Saddle Brook and later died at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Jomaris Gonzalez, Mujahideen Abdullah (STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)
Abdullah shifted from one foot to the other and twisted his head during the proceeding, while Gonzalez kept her head bowed for the most part. Neither had an attorney and told the judge that they’ll need public defenders.
Mansilla, who planned to be married next month, was chased from a club in Belleville around 2 a.m. June 12 to the spot on eastbound Route 80 where authorities said Abdullah opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon from a silver Infiniti.
Mansilla, 39, was hit in the hip with one of three shots fired through the driver’s side door of his 2013 GMC Yukon near milepost 63.
The bullet passed through him, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the case told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
Mansilla steered off the highway, where a passenger took the wheel and drove him to Hackensack University Medical Center.
He was later pronounced dead at HUMC.
It’s unclear what type of dispute led to the shooting.
Jomaris Gonzalez, Mujahideen Abdullah (STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)
Investigators arrested Abdullah and Gonzalez at their apartment early last Thursday after a six-week investigation.
Superior Court Judge Edward A. Jerejian continued $2 million bail for Abdullah and $250,000 for Gonzalez before Bergen County Sheriff’s officers returned them to the county lockup.
Abdullah is charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, maintaining a drug production facility, possession of heroin and marijuana possession.
Gonzalez is charged with possession of large quantities of both cocaine and heroin with the intent to distribute the drugs, maintaining a drug production facility, and hindering the apprehension of another by interfering with police efforts to arrest Abdullah.
She’s also charged with heroin, cocaine and marijuana possession with the intent to sell the pot.
Mansilla’s loved ones thought they’d exhale when investigators at the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in Paramus told them about the arrests last week.
Yet while there was some sense of relief after six weeks of waiting, it was short-lived, his sister-in-law, Zeina Mansilla, told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
“We thought it was going to make us all feel at ease,” she said.
Now that arrests have been made, the family is moving ahead with a July 24 prayer vigil outside the Bergen County Courthouse, where they intend to share some of their fondest memories. READ MORE….
Loved ones of Jeffrey Mansilla (inset) at today’s court appearance (STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter)
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