The Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A reputed member of the Bloods street gang who was awaiting trial on racketeering charges was shot to death on a city street, police said.
Rashon Leaks, 22, was a passenger in a car that was fired on at a traffic light Thursday evening, Lt. Derek Glenn said.
The driver, whom police did not identify, was struck in the head and was critically wounded.
Glenn said a police sergeant in the vicinity witnessed the slaying. The sergeant said Leaks’ car was forced onto a sidewalk and into a fire hydrant by a sport utility vehicle. The SUV then pulled beside the car, and a passenger opened fire on Leaks and the driver.
Police pursued the SUV, but its driver managed to elude officers. The vehicle was later found abandoned near Newark Liberty International Airport.
Glenn said investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute but was not directly gang-related.
Leaks was free on bail on racketeering charges brought last year by an Essex County grand jury that indicted two dozen reputed Blood members and gang associates.
The indictment alleged Leaks was a soldier in the 9 Tre Gangster arm of the Bloods, which controlled drug trade in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred.