Yesterday, a judge sentenced Rodolfo Godinez to life in prison for the 2007 murders of three Newark college students and the attempted murder of a fourth. Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin called 27-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant, "a menace" and "manifestation of evil." Natasha Aerial, who was sexually assaulted and shot in the head during the supposed gang initiation as she watched her two friends and older brother shot execution-style, said of Godinez, "I’m angry. That punk over there, I’d whup him. If it was me and you, you would not win." Five other defendants will now be tried for the murders. more ›

Yesterday, Rodolfo Godinez was found guilty of 17 counts, including murder, related to the 2007 Newark schoolyard killings where four college students were shot execution-style; one, miraculously, survived the bullet to her head and testified last month. Prosecutors, who decided to try the six suspect separately said that the killings were for an initiation into the MS-13 gang; Godinez allegedly told the police he was "a recruiter for MS-13 and called the other defendants his 'big homies.'" An Essex County prosecutor said of the upcoming five other trials, "We had a practice run... We have a pattern now." more ›

Early yesterday morning, Newark authorities arrested the sixth and last suspect in the schoolyard shootings of four Newark residents that left three dead. Eighteen -year-old Melvin Jovel was arrested in Elizabeth, NJ at his family's home. He surrendered and is now being held on $2 million bail. Newark Mayor Cory Booker said, "Through collaboration with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, the final suspect in this heinous crime has been arrested and the city is grateful. Now the process of healing must take center stage and the prosecution of the case begins." more ›

Cops followed suspects in the execution-style killings in a Newark schoolyard below the Mason-Dixon line. Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced that two more arrests were made in connection to the triple murder of three young residents and the attempted murder of a fourth in a schoolyard two weeks ago. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person under a train at Prospect Park and Windsor Pl. in Brooklyn, an attempted bank robbery on Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, and a successful bank robbery on East 23rd St. in Manhattan.
• The Fire Dept. is responding to a scaffolding fire that broke out at the Deutsche Bank building, which is being deconstructed on Liberty St. downtown. One firefighter has already been evacuated from the building and being given CPR.
• Nicole Richie and Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte were spotted at Penn Station yesterday, hopping a train bound for Washington, DC's Union Station.
• New York's Peruvian community is worrying and organizing in the wake of a massive earthquake that killed hundreds of people in Peru. NY1 has contact information on how to donate to an earthquake relief fund established to aid survivors.
• A group of Brooklyn parrots have reportedly migrated (probably from Green-Wood Cemetary) to Park Slope's 8th Ave. and 14th St.
• Police arrested 24-year-old Rodolfo Godinez and a teenage companion in suburban Maryland today in connection to the execution-style killings of three young people in Newark, NJ.
• Dept. of Health inspectors are patrolling the Red Hook ballfields this weekend, making sure that food vendors possess the proper permits and checking food preparation methods.
• Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Joe Gould, who died in a Long Island psychiatric facility. The NY Times' remembrance of the man includes a literary spoiler, so we recommend just picking up a copy of Joseph Mitchell's twin anthology of "Professor Sea Gull" and "Joe Gould's Secret" to read the story of two true New Yorkers.

Grieving families buried the three victims of last weekend's execution-style murders in Newark. Authorities also named a fourth suspect in the crimes: Rodolfo Godinez, a 24-year-old who has a record of robbery, assault, and weapons arrests. more ›