Elizabeth Man Gets 20 Years For Essex County Strip Club Shooting After Plea Deal

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An Essex County judge sentenced an Elizabeth man to 20 years in state prison last week in connection with the 2015 shooting death of a Newark man at a Belleville strip club, prosecutors say.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Yanafi Mojica, 33, of Elizabeth, admitted to fatally shooting Michael Williams II, 28, of Newark, after an argument at the “Wet” bar on Belleville Avenue in Belleville on Oct. 8, 2015.

Prosecutors said that Mojica shot Williams in the back outside the club, and that Williams was running from Mojica when he was shot.

A pair of accomplices - Nathaniel Garcia, 23, and Armand Padron, 30, both of Elizabeth – were in Mojica’s company at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.

Authorities originally charged Mojica, Garcia and Padron with murder and weapons offenses in connection with the shooting.

• See related article: Man Shot Outside Belleville Strip Bar, Cops Charge 3 With Murder

Prosecutors said that Mojica pleaded guilty on Feb. 23, to first-degree aggravated manslaughter. In exchange, the state agreed to recommend a 20-year sentence. Under the No Early Release Act, Mojica has to serve 85 percent of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Assistant Prosecutor Adam Wells said the state agreed to the plea because Mojica did not have a history of violent crime prior to this incident.

Mojica has two prior drug convictions and one eluding conviction as an adult, prosecutors said.

Mojica has been incarcerated at the Essex County Correctional Facility since his arrest on Oct. 22, 2015, and will receive credit for that time, prosecutors said.

Under the terms of the plea Garcia and Padron pleaded guilty to third-degree hindering apprehension. After serving 491 days in jail, Garcia was sentenced to time served and placed on three-years of probation last week.

Padron is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday.

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