Officials said a Linden man, Mr. Roland Carenard, 24, has been arrested and charged in connection with a drive-by shooting that left two people injured in Roselle last fall, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Roselle Police Chief Brian Barnes jointly announced Friday.
According to Union Country officials, Carenard is charged with two counts apiece of both second- and third-degree aggravated assault, as well as four counts of related second-degree weapons offenses and one count of third-degree receiving stolen property.
Officials said just before 10 p.m. on Monday, November 11, 2019, members of the Roselle Police Department responded to the 1200 block of Morris Street, where a small crowd had gathered for an informal vigil for a local deceased person, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Meghan Tomlinson, who is prosecuting the case.
Near that location, police located two adult shooting victims, a number of shell casings, and a Ford Explorer SUV used in the shooting.
The two victims were transported to Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth for treatment.
A joint investigation involving members of the Prosecutor’s Office’s newly formed Intelligence-Driven Prosecution Unit and the Roselle Police Department was able to identify Carenard as a suspect in the case after physical evidence connecting him to the crime was recovered and analyzed.
He was charged on Tuesday and turned himself in without incident earlier this week.
He was lodged in the Union County Jail pending a first appearance and detention hearing to take place in Union County Superior Court.
In a statement announcing the charges, Ruotolo stated “With this result, the Intelligence-Driven Prosecution Unit has again demonstrated its ability to collaborate closely with our local police agencies in tackling challenging investigations into violent crime.”
Anyone with information about this matter is still being urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Anthony Reimer at 908-347-2991 or Roselle Police Department Detective Ivan Romero at 908-245-9200.
Convictions on second-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by up to 10 years in state prison.