Newark schoolyard slayings defendant sentenced to 155 years in prison

New Jersey superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin has sentenced Jose Carranza to 155 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of the Newark schoolyard slayings that killed three friends.

Carranza, 32, an undocumented person from Peru, was the fifth to plead guilty to the brutal slayings of Iofemi Hightower, 20, Terrence Ariel, 18, and Dashon Harvey, 20 in August 2007. A sixth defendant is still waiting to be tried.

Authorities say it was the eyewitness account from the survivor, and fingerprints on a beer bottle that helped convict Carranza. He is the only one charged out of the six who never spoke to police.

When the verdict was announced, family members of the victims exalted :

“Today is his judgment day,” Harvey said of Carranza. “That night he executed our kids in the playground. They wanted to be judge and jury that night of our kids, of our good kids. Today, it’s payback and this is where we turned the tables around on him. All the pain, anxiety and fear that our kids felt that night, he felt in the courtroom this afternoon.”

— NJ.COM

Carranza was sentenced to 45 years for each three counts of murder plus 20 years for four counts of robbery. The judge weighed in Carranza’s lack of remorse and high risk of re-offending for the harsh sentence.

Prosecutors say all of those convicted and charged with the crimes were associated with the gang, MS-13.

Iofemi Hightower, Terrence Ariel, Natasha Ariel, and Dashon Harvey were hanging out at the Mount Vernon School in Newark, NJ when they were approached by the men. There would only be one lone survivor, Natasha Ariel, who played a crucial role in bringing the men to justice. All four victims were either attending or planning to attend Delaware State University. Natasha Aeriel, now 23, graduated from the university in May 2010.

The Newark schoolyard slayings was one of the most horrific crimes in the city’s history.

Jose Carranza will not be eligible for parole for at least 107 years.