A 17-year-old boy was caught in connection with the Bronx murder of another teenager who was “full of life” and had a high hope to get to the navy, Cops said on Friday.
The younger teenager was accused of murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the 2 February early morning murder on Juan J. Pena, 18, at Park Avenue near East 176th Street in the Tremont-district, Cops said.
The teenager was caught on February 18 and accused as an adult, although his case in the youth area of Bronx Supreme Criminal Court is proceeding.
A judge granted him accompanied release and ordered him to use an electronic monitoring device while the investigation unfolds, officers of justice said.
“We asked that the suspect was placed on the guided release with electronic monitoring pending further research and collecting more evidence,” said a spokeswoman for the Bronx District Attorney office in a statement.
Others may have been involved in the dead, says sources. The NYPD initially released photos of three young men in connection with the deadly shooting.
Researchers initially believed that the shooting came from a spit outside of an after party, sources said at the time.
A black sedan stopped to the location, where someone exchanged words with the victim before he opened fire, according to the sources.
Juan – who was only taken to a local hospital to collapse for his injuries – graduated last summer at the Bronx Leadership Academy High School and was planning to get to the Navy, according to his family.
“I want justice for my son,” said the mother of the killed teenager, Anayeli Pena, the post in Spanish Tuesday.
“They didn’t kill a dog, they killed a son with a future, with a bright future. I don’t want his death to stay unpunished. “
“Justice is the only thing I can ask for,” she added. “What else can I ask for? I want them to pay for what they have done to my son. They didn’t kill a dog. They killed a young boy full of life. They killed him and they also killed me alive. ‘
Juan had two sisters and a brother and lived with his mother’s house.
He was not a troublemaker and had no enemies, according to his aunt, Shery Olivo, 35, a Dominican author.
Olivo remembered the moment that her cousin visited her only three days before his tragic death.
She remembered her cousin told her: ‘Tia, I’m good, I’m going to the navy, I’m happy. I just took an exam. ”
Olivo said she told him: “That is the best thing you could do and I am proud of you and I know you will be a great soldier and a hero.”
