Crime & Safety
83-Year-Old Man Charged In Homicide Pleads Not Guilty, Report Says
John C. Wisse, 83, allegedly shot and killed a tenant of his in Hasbrouck Heights Saturday, authorities said.
The 83-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed a tenant in his Hasbrouck Heights home pleaded not guilty in court today to the charges filed against him, a report by Cliffviewpilot.com states.
John C. Wisse was formally charged Monday in Hackensack with aggravated manslaughter and illegal weapons possession in the death of Gerald Velardi Jr., the report states. Wisse was returned to the Bergen County Jail after the hearing Monday on $750,000 bail.
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Velardi Jr., 58, was a tenant in the multi-family home Wisse owns, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli Sunday. Wisse called 911 Saturday just before 6 p.m. and said that a downstairs tenant had been shot, Molinelli said.
A verbal argument took place and Velardi was shot once in the chest, Molinelli said. Velardi’s body was found in the rear of the house. Wisse was found upstairs with a .38-caliber handgun.
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