19 Years For North Bergen 19-Year-Old In 2019 Slaying In Rockland

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Jayden Rodriguez was 17 when he walked into an apartment building in Spring Valley and shot and killed Emerson Jean-Baptiste.

Now 19, Rodriguez, of North Bergen, was sentenced Wednesday to 19 years in state prison plus five years post-release supervision. He had pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in May.

Jean-Baptiste, 20, was found on the ground by police Sept. 1, 2019 and pronounced dead at Nyack Hospital. Rodriguez was arrested the next day in New Jersey by Spring Valley and North Bergen police, and extradited to New York. Also arrested was 20-year-old Paul Miller of Haverstraw. Rodriguez was charged with murder.

The gun Rodriguez used was recovered in an unrelated matter several days later by the Haverstraw town Police Department, prosecutors said.

"Mr. Rodriguez is being held accountable for committing this senseless act of violence and will be serving a lengthy prison term as punishment," said District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II. "I would like to commend the Spring Valley Police Department, City of North Bergen Police Department, and the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office who worked closely with my office during the prosecution to bring justice to the family of Emerson Jean-Baptiste."

Rodriguez was eligible for designation as a Youthful Offender at the time of his sentencing, which would have resulted in a much shorter period of incarceration. The judge declined to grant that designation based upon the nature of the offense, and sentenced Rodriguez as an adult, Walsh said.