NEWARK, N.J. – Prosecutors want three teenage boys who are charged in the execution-style shooting deaths of three New Jersey college students to be tried as adults.
Essex County prosecutors filed papers Friday to try a 16-year-old and two 15-year-olds as adults, said Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
The three are charged in the shooting deaths of three students at a school yard in Newark on Aug. 4. The names of the three underage suspects have been withheld by authorities because of their age.
The victims, Iofemi Hightower, 19, Dashon Harvey, 20, and Terrance Aeriel, 18, were scheduled to attend Delaware State University this fall. A fourth victim, Natasha Aeriel, was also shot but survived and has helped investigators track down the suspects.
Three other men, all adults, have also been arrested.
Before the three juveniles can be tried as adults, hearings must be held to determine whether an adult trial is justified.
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