3rd Suspect Held in NJ Slayings

Two more wanted in connection with three execution-style murders

By Caroline Zimmerman, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 10, 2007 4:23 PM CDT

Copied

3rd Suspect Held in NJ Slayings — Newark Mayor Cory Booker, left, with Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow, right, announces at a news conference in Newark, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007 the arrest of an unidentified 15-year-old Newark male in connection with the killings of three college students who were lined up and fatally shot Saturday... (Associated Press)

A teen wanted in connection with the slayings of three college students and the attempted murder of a fourth in Newark was taken into custody today, and authorities are seeking two more suspects implicated in the execution-style homicides. Another suspect, Jose Carranza, pleaded not guilty this morning; the third, a 15-year-old boy, is being held pending a detention hearing.

The suspect picked up today has not been arrested, the Star-Ledger of Newark reports. Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, was charged with a lengthy list of offenses including three counts of murder. Facing the prospect of a jurisdictional tussle with federal immigration authorities, the county prosecutor said, "We have him and he is ours." (Read more homicide stories.)