‘Witness Tampering’ May Get Essex County Shooter 7 Years In Jail

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A 20-year-old Essex County man who wounded a 15-year-old female teen and another man during a shooting spree last month attempted to tamper with a witness in the case, netting himself a possible seven additional years in jail, authorities say.

Kyon Coleman, 20, of Newark, pleaded guilty to one count of witness tampering and two counts of second degree aggravated assault on Thursday, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office stated.

On Oct. 25, Coleman shot a 15-year-old female teen on Eagles Parkway in Newark. The teen was in the company of another 15-year-old female, who wasn’t injured in the encounter, prosecutors said.

After shooting the teen, Coleman shot another male victim and also attempted to shoot another man on Lincoln Street, prosecutors said.

Both victims were hospitalized and survived their injuries. Police charged Coleman with four counts of aggravated assault; he pleaded guilty to two of the counts.

Prosecutors said that Coleman then tried to tamper with witnesses who had given statements identifying him as the shooter.

“We received information he was planning to harm witnesses,” a spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told Patch. She declined to comment further on the nature of the threat.

Prosecutors said that under the terms of the plea agreement, Coleman is expected to be sentenced to seven years for witness tampering and five years for aggravated assault on Jan. 5, 2018. Under the No Early Release Act, Coleman must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. When he is released from custody, he will also be on parole supervision for another three years.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: Shutterstock