Police detain 6th suspect in murder of 3 college students in New Jersey

Police arrested a sixth suspect in the execution-style slayings of three college students in a Newark schoolyard.

The 18-year-old suspect, Melvin Jovel, was charged Saturday night and apprehended in Elizabeth at about 3 a.m., Charlotte Smith, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's office, said.

Jovel was charged with murder stemming from the Aug. 4 shootings of Terrance Aeriel, 18; Dashon Harvey, 20, and Iofemi Hightower, 20. Aeriel's sister, Natasha, was shot in the head but survived and has helped police in the investigation.

Bail was set at $2 million (1.49 million EUR) by state Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin. Jovel was expected to be arraigned Monday.

Jovel's arrest occurred about 24 hours after federal authorities in the Washington, D.C. area arrested 24-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant Rodolfo Godinez and 16-year-old Alexander Alfaro, his half-brother.

Godinez was arrested in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and Alfaro was arrested less than an hour later in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Three other suspects - 28-year-old Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, and two juveniles - were already in custody. All are charged with three counts of murder in addition to other counts.

There was no evidence of a familial connection between Jovel and the other suspects, the Essex County Prosecutor's office said Sunday, and Jovel's immigration status was not immediately known.

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Author`s name Angela Antonova
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