Four Newark teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal shooting after a public motorcycle festival on Mother’s Day, prosecutors said Friday.
Al-Shakeen Woodson, 15, was among the attendees at the Newark Knights’ annual “Mother’s Day Bike Blessing” last Sunday. Woodson was hit after shots rang out at around 7:45 p.m. He died later at University Hospital.
Three other adult males were transported to hospitals with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, according to the Essex County prosecutor’s office.
Jaqeuce Spinks, 19, has been charged with murder, prosecutors said. Both Spinks and Marquise Cephus, 18, have been charged with possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Two juveniles, aged 16 and 17, also were arrested. They have been charged with murder and weapons offenses, including possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, authorities said.
‘”The senseless killing of Al-Shakeen Woodson on Mother’s Day and the wounding of three others sparked outrage here in Newark. Gun violence has taken the life of a young man destined for better,” said Newark Police Director Eugene Venable. “This is the beginning of justice for the victims as their families continue on a long and arduous road through the healing process.”
A preliminary investigation determined that the shooting was a result of a long-running feud between Cephus and the 17-year-old against Spinks and the 16-year-old, prosecutors said.
Woodson is believed to have been an innocent bystander, according to investigators.
Spinks and Cephus are being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility and are expected to appear in court on May 19.
The two juveniles are being held at the Essex County Youth Detention Center. It is unclear whether any of those charged have retained legal counsel.
Officials of the Newark Knights Motorcycle Club, which runs the annual motorcycle festival, could not be reached for comment. The group calls itself “the foremost organization of bikers in the city of Newark.”
Their Mother’s Day Bike Blessing is the group’s biggest event of the year, according to a post on the organization’s Facebook page.