New Jersey lawmakers call for hearings on violent crime
By TOM HESTER Jr.
The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey lawmakers want special public hearings to address violent crime and reactivating an anti-gang task force following the execution-style killings of three college students in Newark this month.

Assemblymen Craig Stanley and Jon Bramnick said Thursday that legislative leaders should hear from citizens on violent crime.

And Bramnick wants hearings in Newark.

"People are not always available to come to Trenton, so we should go to them," said Bramnick, R-Union. "On an issue that is this important to the safety of our citizens, we should be willing to make the trip to those areas most affected by this problem."

Stanley is crafting legislation to address issues surrounding the release of Jose Carranza, the illegal immigrant from Peru who was twice able to post bail on assault and child sexual assault charges before being arrested in connection with the Aug. 4 Newark shootings. Authorities said they never checked his immigration status after his two prior arrests.

"Criminals cannot be allowed to slip through the cracks that exist in laws meant to deal with bail issues, protocols on immigration and gang-related crimes," said Stanley, D-Essex.

Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said the Assembly would consider action on the hearings request, but probably not until after November's legislative elections.

"This is not a knee-jerk response or a quick fix," Watson Coleman said. "We need to look at the systems that are in place, the deficiencies, the stages, the contributing factors. We need to approach this with reasonable and responsive initiatives that get at the myriad of concerns and the crisis that we are facing in our communities across the state."

In a related matter, Sen. Ronald L. Rice plans to reconvene a Gangland Security Task Force he has chaired to try to combat street gangs.

"The shooting of these kids should be a rallying point for the rest of the state," said Rice, D-Essex.

The three Delaware State University students were shot execution-style in a Newark schoolyard in what authorities have said was an attempted robbery, while a fourth , Natasha Aeriel, 19, whose brother was among those killed , survived the attack with a bullet wound to the head.

She has since helped authorities in their ongoing investigation.

Carranza and two other suspects have been arrested and charged in the case that has shone a national spotlight on Newark's high murder rate.

The state attorney general is looking into the situation surrounding Carranza's release, while the state Supreme Court chief justice on Thursday announced a retired Superior Court judge will review how Carranza's bail was handled.

August 16, 2007 5:21 PM

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