Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Fatal Shooting: BCPO

A 28-year-old Burlington County man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of fatally shooting a 22-year-old man in 2016, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced.

Darius Bridges, of Beverly City, must serve 69 years in state prison before becoming eligible for parole. In New Jersey, a life sentence is equivalent to 75 years.

He was previously convicted by a jury on one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of second-degree certain persons not to have weapons.

The life sentence was for the murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose charges. Bridges was also sentenced to a 7-year consecutive term for violating the certain persons not to have weapons law.

A jury found Bridges guilty of firing several shots near the intersection of East Federal and York streets in Burlington City on Friday night, Nov. 26, 2016. Howard G. Young, Jr., 22, whose address of record is Burlington Township, was struck by one of those bullets while he stood outside on the 100 block of East Federal Street, police said.

He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined the manner of death to be homicide and the cause to be a gunshot to the back.

Bridges was served with a warrant for murder in the first degree on Jan. 17 at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly, where he had been lodged on unrelated charges. He was indicted on the murder charge and additional charges in April of last year. He has remained incarcerated since his arrest.

In administering the sentence, the Hon. Charles A. Delehey, J.S.C., noted that Bridges has had contact with law enforcement authorities 42 times in his life, including 14 incidents as a juvenile.

“We cannot allow the streets of Burlington County to become hunting grounds where personal scores are settled with flying bullets,” Coffina said. “This sentence reflects the seriousness with which such criminal activity should be met.”

The attached image of Darius Bridges was provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office