As hundreds of mourners gathered Friday to grieve the loss of a 12-year-old New Jersey girl who was fatally wounded by a stray bullet over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, three men were charged in the shooting, the Associated Press reports.
The girl, Genesis Rincon, was struck in the head about 8:40 p.m. July 5 as she rode a scooter home to a family gathering in Paterson, N.J., the report says. Left brain-dead after the shooting, she was removed from life support Monday and her organs donated, the report says.
Jhymiere Moore, 19, who turned himself in to police earlier in the week, pleaded not guilty Friday in the shooting, the AP says. Family and friends of the girl packed the courtroom, many wearing “Justice for Genesis” hats and T-shirts.
Later, some of the mourners at a church in Paterson wore the same hats for her viewing, the report says. “Genesis was dressed in a teal dress and tiara, and the casket was decorated with a photo of her wearing jean shorts and a tank top bearing the number 8,” according to the news site.
“Paterson let me down,” Genesis’ father, Alexis Rincon, said at the funeral, according to the AP. “I want all this to stop. We got to stick together.”
Besides Moore, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and weapons charges, prosecutors announced that two other young men had been arrested, the report says. Jeffery Ellerbee, 21, was charged Friday with first-degree murder and weapons offenses, and Marshae Anthony, 19, was charged with weapons offenses, the report says.
An assistant Passaic County prosecutor said hta Moore and Ellerbee fired shots but that Genesis was not the intended target, the news site says.
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