Suspect’s Immigration Status in Question
By KAREEM FAHIM and NATE SCHWEBER
Nov 8, 2007

Rodolfo Godinez, one of six suspects in the Aug. 4 shooting deaths of three young people in a Newark schoolyard, will be detained by immigration authorities even if he is able to post $3 million bail, Essex County prosecutors said yesterday.

Mr. Godinez was arraigned in Superior Court on 16 charges, including three counts of first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said the authorities were still trying to determine the immigration status of Mr. Godinez, who is from Nicaragua.

Two of Mr. Godinez’s co-defendants have been charged with sexual assault in the case, although officials would not identify the victim. Officials indicated that there had been “a strong gang elementâ€