Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has announced that on Thursday, March 31, James Crawford, 24, of Jersey City, was convicted of Murder for his role in the shooting death of Eric Crocker, 23, of Bayonne, in Jersey City on September 4, 2018.
According to Prosecutor Suarez, the jury convicted Crawford of Murder, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
Prosecutor Suarez said that the jury was hung on the Conspiracy to Commit Murder charge against Crawford and could not reach a unanimous decision on the Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder charges brought against codefendant Alexander Harris, 33, of Jersey City.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office intends to have Harris retried on the charges.
According to Prosecutor Suarez, a third codefendant, Jahmir Thomas, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Assault on Friday, April 23, 2021. He is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, April 4, before the Honorable Mitzy Galis-Menendez.
Prosecutor Suarez said that on Tuesday, September 4, 2018, at approximately 5:55 p.m., the Jersey City Police Department received a report of gunshots in the area of Lembeck Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Jersey City.
Officials said that upon arrival, responding officers found a male victim, later identified as Eric Crocker, 23, of Bayonne, with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso.
He was pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center at approximately 6:30 p.m.
The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the Cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and the Manner of death to be Homicide.