Capture of Murder Suspect Leads to Drug Bust

A man wanted for a murder in New Jersey was among three people arrested by federal, county and local authorities in Falls Township on Thursday.

Jonathan Rodriguez, 21, of New Brunswick, N.J., has been arrested and charged in Bucks County. He was arraigned on a charge of being a fugitive from justice and remanded to Bucks County prison on 10 percent of $1 million bail by on-call District Judge John Waltman at 1:20 a.m. Friday. He is awaiting extradition to New Jersey, where he is wanted on a murder charge.

Rodriguez, who has connections to the Latin Kings gang, was taken into custody as members of the United State Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force executed an arrest warrant for him in the Rock Springs apartment complex on West Trenton Avenue in the Morrisville section of Falls Thursday around 11 a.m.

Multiple police sources says the apartment where Rodriguez was hiding out in had with drugs and related paraphernalia in it. Lt. Hank Ward said it appeared a “large scale heroin production and sales operation was conducted out of the apartment.” Court papers say the apartment had material consistent with the process, package and storage of drugs. They also said suspected narcotics were found along with residue on blenders and a scale.

A police evidence receipt obtained by LevittownNow.com shows hundreds of bags of suspected heroin, 11 blue pills, suspected PCP, two handguns, ammunition and various other items were found in the apartment. The find also included a “large amount” of uncut heroin that was not yet ready for sale on the street, authorities said.

As of late Thursday night, the investigation in the C-building apartment was ongoing. A neighbor said police walked in and out with bags of evidence.

Law enforcement received a tip Thursday morning that Rodriguez was in Falls and federal authorities quickly gathered a task force to begin surveillance. After spotting a man they suspected of alerting Rodriguez to their presence at the apartments, members of the task force moved into the C building, court papers say.

Terrance Young, 24, of Dunellen, N.J., and Gilbert Feneque Jr., 23, of New Brunswick, N.J., were both captured as police moved in.

Rodriguez, according to court papers, tried to flee on foot but was captured a short distance away from the apartment building by task force members.

A car was registered to Young’s girlfriend was also towed from the scene and will be searched, police said.

Rodriguez is connected to the March 1 shooting death of 30-year-old Rahim Fuqua and has an active warrant for murder in connection with the case, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The homicide happened on Seaman Street outside Fuqua’s home in the afternoon. Court paperwork filed in Bucks County says Fuqua was killed by a shot to the head.

“The investigation has determined that Fuqua was the intended target of the shooting, which was not a random act,” a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Two other men are said to be involved in the shooting of Fuqua. Christian A. Peguero, 25, of South Brunswick, was shot in the leg and has been in New Brunswick police custody since shortly after the shooting and 19-year-old Steven Perez is currently on the run. Police said they searched for Perez in the Morrisville area but he was not with Rodriguez at the time of his arrest.

An innocent bystander parked in a minivan at the time of the shooting was also in the shooting, NewBrunswickToday.com reported.

Following the arrest of the three suspects and the discovery of the drugs in the C-building apartment, police secured the scene and awaited search warrants to continue their investigation. The search warrants were issued Thursday evening.

Young was remanded to Bucks County jail on 10 percent of $500,000 on drug charges and Feneque sits in county prison on a fugitive of justice charge related to a New Jersey warrant for violating conditions of an intensive supervision program.

Editor/Publisher Jeff Bohen contributed to this Report 

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.