On November 4, 2019, at about 1:01 p.m., 20-year-old Niyam Deloatch of Prospect Park was shot at the intersection of North 1st Street and Haledon Avenue in Paterson. Officers found Deloatch with apparent gunshot wounds; he was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and died a short time later.

Detectives say a vehicle driven by 19-year-old Malachi Oji stopped on Haledon Avenue with three men aboard. All three exited and approached Deloatch; one man was armed and brandished a handgun. One of the three walked away before violence began. The remaining two continued toward Deloatch and the armed man opened fire. Oji and the gunman then fled in Oji’s vehicle, leaving Deloatch at the scene.

On November 8, 2019, Oji surrendered at Paterson Police Headquarters and was arrested. He was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon, and prosecutors moved for his pretrial detention. Did anyone in the area see the vehicle or the three men that afternoon?