North Plainfield Man Pleads Guilty in Shooting That Wounded Boy

NEW JERSEY 101.5

Prosecutors say a street gang member has pleaded guilty to attempted murder charges stemming from a northern New Jersey street shooting that left a 5-year-old boy seriously injured earlier this year.

Eighteen-year-old Jose Rodriguez of North Plainfield faces a 16-year state prison term when he's sentenced in January. Rodriguez entered the plea Monday in state Superior Court It was made public on Tuesday.

Rodriguez was walking with friends in January when they encountered members of a rival gang. Rodriguez pulled out a .22-caliber handgun and fired several shots.

None of the other gang members was struck, but a stray bullet hit the boy as he walked home from school with his mother. The bullet lodged in the boy's spine, and he was hospitalized for several weeks.

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