Hackensack Criminal Defense AttorneysTwo men convicted earlier this year of killing Nazerah Bugg on a Paterson New Jersey street appeared in Bergen County Superior Court, located in Hackensack, and were sentenced to decades in NJ State Prison.

The suspects are 19-year-old Jeavonte Dennis and 22-year-old Nyje Johnson, both of whom are from Paterson, NJ. The two suspects were arrested, along with others, and charged in connection with the fatal shooting of the 14-year-old teen victim.

According to Bergen County prosecutors, the suspects participated in what has been called a “gang shooting” in Paterson NJ in September 2014. The victim was 14-year-old Nazerah Bugg, a girl who was exiting Mom’s Friend Chicken on Clinton Street when she was hit by an errant bullet from one of the suspect’s guns. Another teen also sustained a gunshot wound but survived.

The suspects were going to face criminal charges in Passaic County Superior Court, but one of the victim’s relatives is employed by the Passaic County courts system. This prompted prosecutors to transfer the case to Bergen County, New Jersey.

At the end of a criminal trial in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack NJ, a jury found Dennis guilty of first degree murder and Johnson guilty of first degree aggravated manslaughter. The jury also found the two suspects guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, as well as criminal weapons charges for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and illegal possession of a handgun.

The two suspects recently returned to Bergen County Superior Court for a formal sentencing hearing. The superior court judge ordered that Dennis be sentenced to 45 years in NJ State Prison and that Johnson be sentenced to 22 years in NJ State Prison.

The suspects committed violent criminal offenses that are covered by the NJ No-Early Release Act (NERA), so they must serve a minimum of 85 percent of their sentences before they become eligible for possible release on parole.

To learn more about this case, read the NJ.com article, “2 Men in Nazerah Bugg Case Sentenced to Decades in Prison.”