Trial begins for Elizabeth man accused of gunning down teen in 2007

Middle schooler, 13-year-old Elijah Henderson, was killed while riding on the back of a bicycle peddled by a friend along an Elizabeth street at about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 12, after the boys had sneaked out of the house during a sleepover.

Another friend on a second bike, Isaiah Davis, 13, was shot three times and survived.

If you’re from New Jersey, you would remember this story as being one of the biggest talked about moments in 2007.

Elizabeth man on trial for shooting

Today the trial began for an Elizabeth man accused of fatally shooting Elijah and injuring his friend, both which were cases of mistaken identity.

NJ.com reports:
Edariel “Riddick” Melendez, who authorities say belongs to the notorious Crips gang, was 19 years old when he allegedly shot middle schooler Elijah Henderson to death in 2007.

Now 16 years old and more than 6 feet tall, Isaiah took the witness stand today before a silent row of his relatives and Elijah’s mother, who watched from the court’s gallery.

He said he recalls taking a random turn in the dark down Fulton Street and being shot “like a dream.”

“Did you see what happened to Elijah?” the assistant prosecutor asked.

“Do I got to answer that question?” Isaiah said. After a pause, he spoke.

“I looked at him. I couldn’t cry because it hurt so bad. But I wanted to.”

Isaiah said he was hit in the arm, the thigh and the calf. Before limping off to get help, he saw Elijah on the ground, bleeding profusely from his head.

Melendez, now 22 and dressed in a black suit, watched without expression from the defense table. His brother and several other young men who sat in the gallery behind him were sternly warned by Superior Court Judge Joseph Perfilio not to speak to jurors or witnesses.

Melendez also stands accused of killing 54-year-old Celso Pedra two days after Elijah’s death. The shootings happened just blocks apart, authorities said.

They believe the two homicides were retribution for the Nov. 11 killing of Rahshad Thomas, a member of the Crips known as “Twin,” Assistant Prosecutor Bruce Holmes said. He said Melendez mistakenly believed Pedra, a construction worker, and the three eighth graders on bikes were members of the rival Bloods gang.

But defense attorney Fredric Pearson argued the state’s case is faulty at best.

“It’s a word on the street case, it’s a rumor case, it’s a reputation case,” he told the jury today.