New Jersey Teen Acquitted Of First-Degree Murder Charge
A Somerset County jury has acquitted a North Plainfield teenager of first degree murder, robbery and felony murder. According to an article in the Star-Ledger, 19-year-old Dionys Rivas was accused of robbing and killing 60-year-old Maximo Castro on April 27, 2005. Jurors however convicted Rivas of second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery and third-degree theft for stealing a cell phone from 60-year-old Honorio Delgado.
Rivas was 16 years old at the time of the incident when prosecutors say he and another 13-year-old boy collaborated to rob Delgado. During the robbery, the other teen and Rivas hit Castro three times with a wooden bat, officials said. The case started in a New Jersey juvenile court, but ended in adult court. Rivas faces up to 10 years in prison for the second-degree murder conviction and up to five years for the theft.
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