FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA—Jonathan Rodriguez, a 21-year-old New Brunswick resident who was charged with the recent murder of Raheem Fuqua, was arrested by a joint task force Friday morning.
According to published reports, Rodriguez was arraigned on a charge of being a fugitive from justice and was taken to Bucks County prison, where he is awaiting extradition. At the time of his arrest, authorities said he was in the company of two Central New Jersey men and large quanitities of heroin
Terrance Young, 24, of Dunellen, N.J., and Gilbert Feneque Jr., 23, of New Brunswick, N.J., were both captured as police moved in.
A car was registered to Young’s girlfriend was also towed from the scene and will be searched, police told LevittownNow.com. Feneque remains in county prison on “a fugitive of justice charge related to a New Jersey warrant for violating conditions of an intensive supervision program,” according to the report.
Rodriguez was held on $1 million bail, with a 10 percent option, by on-call District Judge John Waltman at 1:20 am.
Rodriguez is one of three men charged in a drive-by shooting on Seaman Street that claimed the life of a 30-year-old city man, Raheem Fuqua, and injured an innocent bystander on March 1
Court paperwork related to Rodriguez’s arrest says Fuqua was killed by a shot to the head, according to the report.
Another alleged accomplice, Christian Peguero, was also injured in the shooting and was arrested at Raritan Bay Medical Center, where he had sought treatment.
A third alleged assailant, Steven Perez, remains a fugitive. LevittownNow.com’s Tom Sofield reported that “police said they searched for Perez in the Morrisville area but he was not with Rodriguez at the time of his arrest.”
According to Sofield’s reporting, Rodriguez was caught near a hideout in an apartment that law enforcement said appeared to be a heroin production and sales operation:
Multiple police sources says the apartment where Rodriguez was hiding out in had with drugs and related paraphernalia in it. Lt. Hank Ward said it appeared a “large scale heroin production and sales operation was conducted out of the apartment.”
Court papers say the apartment had material consistent with the process, package and storage of drugs. They also said suspected narcotics were found along with residue on blenders and a scale.
A police evidence receipt obtained by LevittownNow.com shows hundreds of bags of suspected heroin, 11 blue pills, suspected PCP, two handguns, ammunition and various other items were found in the apartment. The find also included a “large amount” of uncut heroin that was not yet ready for sale on the street, authorities said.
Law enforcement received a tip Thursday morning that Rodriguez was in Falls and federal authorities quickly gathered a task force to begin surveillance. After spotting a man they suspected of alerting Rodriguez to their presence at the apartments, members of the task force moved into the C building, court papers say.
Rodriguez, according to court papers, tried to flee on foot but was captured a short distance away from the apartment building by task force members.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
