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Jurors in Paterson needed five days of deliberations to convict a 21-year-old city man of murder and other counts for killing another man by shooting him in the face.
Bullets fired by Tamaj Lennon also struck another victim in the back in the April 2017 assault near the corner of Straight and Montgomery streets after the victims emerged from a nearby bar, prosecutors said.
Lemmon was home when city police said they found him hiding in the boiler room of the building where he lived. He was carrying 38 bags of heroin, with a handgun nearby, they said.
While being taken into custody, Lemmon "assaulted a police officer, causing bruising and swelling to the wrist, and resisted arrest by temporarily fleeing on foot before being re-apprehended," Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said at the time.
Police believe two other city shooting over the following two days were in retaliation for the incident. All of the five men struck in the two subsequent shootings survived, authorities said.
Superior Court Judge Justine Niccollai scheduled sentencing for Sept. 14 on Friday's convictions in Paterson for murder, aggravated assault and three weapons offenses.
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