2005
Media Releases:
CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
VINCENT P. SARUBBI, CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
MEDIA INFORMATION
March 24, 2005
Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi announced that a jury
found Juan Carlos Salas, 19, guilty today of Murdering two men and
the Attempted Murder of a third during a May 2002 shooting spree in
Camden, N.J.
Salas, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, was ordered to stand
trial as an adult. Testimony indicated that he approached the three
victims as they stood at the corner of 6th and Vine streets and began
firing with a semi-automatic handgun just after 9 p.m. on May 16,
2002. The victims were shot as they ran down Vine Street.
Killed were Jabbar R. Lee, 24, and Richard S. Williams, 19, both of
Camden. The third victim, David C. Williams, now 22, suffered a gunshot
wound to the back but survived. The investigation determined that
the shootings stemmed from a drug turf war.
Salas, of the 400 block of North 7th Street in Camden, was arrested
on Oct. 21, 2002. In addition to finding Salas guilty of Murder and
Attempted Murder, the jury issued guilty verdicts for Unlawful Possession
of a Weapon, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Hindering
Apprehension. The defendant faces up to life in prison, including
up to 60 years without parole, when he is sentenced on April 29, 2005,
by Superior Court Judge Samuel D. Natal.
Sarubbi commended Assistant Prosecutor Mary Alison Albright, who represented
the State at trial, and the lead detectives on the case, Senior Investigator
John Greer of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and Camden Police
Detective Frank Ruiz.
"This was the kind of senseless violence, rooted in drug trafficking,
that has terrorized Camden for far too long," Sarubbi said. "This
defendant turned a street corner into a war zone, and that is unacceptable.
That is why he faces a long period of incarceration - perhaps the
remainder of his life."
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