TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a Paterson man was sentenced to state
prison today for committing two robberies
in the city in 2008. A second man was sentenced
to probation for acting as a getaway driver.
According
to Director Taylor, Laverne McDowell, 21,
of Paterson, was sentenced to 10 years in
state prison, including nearly 8 ½
years of parole ineligibility under the
No Early Release Act, by Superior Court
Judge Ernest M. Caposela in Passaic County.
McDowell pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to charges
of first-degree attempted murder, two counts
of first-degree robbery, and two counts
of second-degree conspiracy.
Also
today, Judge Caposela sentenced Eric Rivera,
40, of Paterson, to three years of probation.
Rivera pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to third-degree
conspiracy, admitting that he acted as a
getaway driver for one of the robberies.
A
third man, Christopher North, 25, of Jersey
City, is scheduled to be sentenced on May
14. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to first-degree
robbery and second-degree conspiracy.
The
charges stem from investigations by the
Paterson Police Department, assisted by
the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office.
The defendants were charged in a state grand
jury indictment obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized
Crime Bureau on Feb. 10, 2009.
Deputy
Attorney General Mark Ondris prosecuted
the defendants and represented the Division
of Criminal Justice at the sentencing hearing.
The
investigation revealed that on the night
of March 3, 2008, North and McDowell, both
wearing masks, got out of a car and confronted
a man walking on East 18th Street near 4th
Avenue in Paterson. The men demanded the
victim’s wallet, and when he refused,
one of the men drew a handgun and shot the
victim in the face. The victim survived.
McDowell
also pleaded guilty to a second robbery
on Feb. 28, 2008, in Paterson. McDowell
and another man, Raul Gonzalez, robbed a
man after forcing their way into an apartment
on Paxton Street. Gonzalez pointed a handgun
at the victim and punched him the face,
while McDowell took $40 from the victim’s
wallet. Gonzalez, 41, of Paterson, pleaded
guilty to first-degree robbery and second-degree
conspiracy. He was sentenced on Feb. 22,
to seven years in state prison, including
nearly six years of parole ineligibility.
Rivera
was the getaway driver for the Feb. 28 robbery.
Another defendant, Elsa Saez, 20, of Paterson,
pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and
third-degree conspiracy for acting as the
getaway driver in the March 3 robbery. She
is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7.
Detective
Ador Flores of the Paterson Police Department
led the investigation into the March 3 robbery,
and Detective Jimmy Maldonado of the Paterson
Police Department led the investigation
into the Feb. 28 robbery. They conducted
the investigations with Detective Richard
DeJesus, Detective Sgt. Patrick Murray,
Detective Sgt. Douglas Romary and Detective
Edial Lugo of the Paterson Police Department,
and Cpl. Joseph Zughbi from the Passaic
County Sheriff’s Office. Additional
Paterson police officers provided assistance.
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