New Brunswick Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder in Connection to Easton Ave. Shooting

NEW BRUNSWICK – A city man has pled guilty to a first-degree attempted murder charge in connection with a shooting incident that left a Rutgers student hospitalized after being hit by a stray bullet.

Christian Farmer, 20, also pled guilty to second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, according to a press release from Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Vincent Sabo of the New Brunswick Police Department.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

Farmer, who pled before Judge Craig C. Corson on Wednesday, July 24, is facing a sentence of 10 years in a state prison pursuant to the No Early Release Act for the charge of attempted murder and five years in state prison with 42 months of parole ineligibility pursuant to the Graves Act, according to authorities.

Farmer is scheduled to be sentenced by Corson on Sept. 30.

The sound of gunfire erupted on Easton Avenue at about 2 a.m. on April 5.

Video captured by security cameras at nearby businesses showed that a fight had proceeded the shooting.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

By the next morning, a 22-year-old Rutgers student whose identity has not been released by authorities was facing multiple surgeries, and evidence of the shooting could be seen in and around 66 Easton Ave.

A window of a residence above the Golden Rail bar had been apparently cracked by a bullet. The front window at a nearby Indian restaurant, Nirvanis, was shattered by a bullet.

Police who responded to the scene said they also found a man who had been shot. He and the Rutgers student were transported to Robert Wood Johnson University for treatment.

An investigation led by Detective Sean Freeman of the New Brunswick Police Department determined that the woman was struck with gunfire that came from a vehicle.

Farmer was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, two counts of first-degree attempted murder, and one count of second-degree aggravated assault.

Walter Rodriguez-Cardenas, 21, of Plainfield, was charged with third-degree armed riot for engaging in a course of disorderly conduct with four or more others where a participant used a firearm and third-degree hindering the apprehension of another for driving the suspected shooter from the scene of the shooting.

Ryan Nasi, 21, of Hillsborough, and Sayyid Acosta, 21, of Plainfield, were charged with third-degree armed riot.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net