The final defendant in a brutal Newark schoolyard attack that killed three college-bound friends and left a fourth seriously wounded was convicted by a jury yesterday.
Gerardo Gomez was among six men and boys charged in the 2007 attack, which shocked the state’s largest city and led to a host of anti-crime measures.
Three of the other defendants were convicted at trial and are serving multiple life sentences, and two others pleaded guilty, one to reduced charges in exchange for his testimony.
Several of the defendants were avowed members of the MS-13 street gang.
Jurors in New Jersey Superior Court convicted Gomez on murder, attempted murder and other counts.Killed were Dashon Harvey, Terrance “T.J.” Aeriel and Iofemi Hightower. A fourth friend was shot and slashed but survived. All were enrolled or planning to enroll at Delaware State University.
Gomez turned 15 on the day of the killings, Aug. 4, 2007, but was tried as an adult. His attorney argued that he was a bystander at the Mount Vernon School playground, but prosecutors contended that he acted as a lookout while the victims were robbed.