A 41-year-old man has been charged in connection with the murder of a 16-year-old girl who was shot in her home in New Jersey, authorities said.
Cruz Martinez, Jr. was charged late Saturday with first-degree murder in the death of Alisha Colon. Colon was found Thursday in the bedroom of her second-floor apartment on Belgrove Drive in Kearny with a gunshot wound to her head, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said.
"She was a really sweet girl ," said Colon's friend and neighbor Jazzmera Lawson. "She doesn't really get into trouble."
Police had responded earlier in the day to a report of a fight involving some of the victim’s relatives in front of her building. Colon was not involved in the fight, prosecutors said. Police are still investigating whether the earlier fight and Colon’s death were at all connected.
Martinez was arrested in Pennsylvania on Saturday on an unrelated open warrant. He was later charged with Colon's murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of firearm for an unlawful purpose. Authorities did not say how they connected Martinez to the girl's murder or disclose a motive.
Bail for Martinez was set at $10,000,000 cash. He is currently being held in a Pennsylvania jail awaiting extradition.
