By: Richard L. Smith
Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II reported Monday that Joseph Ocasio, 29, of Irvington, has been sentenced to life in prison plus 45 years for a deadly 2022 shooting inside a Bloomfield convenience store.

According to prosecutors, Ocasio was convicted on April 25, 2025, of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
During the trial, Assistant Prosecutors Michele Miller and Melanie Laprade proved that on April 10, 2022, Ocasio entered Nitty Sons Variety Store in Bloomfield and fatally shot Christian Perez, 23, of East Orange.
He also shot Kwame Kemp, 31, of Paterson, in the back, leaving him partially paralyzed, and Rahim Teague, 32, of Irvington, in the hand.
Teague’s three children, ages 7, 9, and 14, were also inside the store at the time of the shooting.
While the children were not physically harmed, Ocasio was convicted of three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.