On the morning of May 14, 2021, the body of 25-year-old Edward Javier, a male resident of Lawrence, Massachusetts, was discovered in a backyard on Haverhill Street. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Essex District Attorney's Office, in conjunction with Lawrence and state police, immediately launched a homicide investigation into the fatal shooting.
The investigation led to the identification and arrest of three local individuals in
connection with Javier's death. The primary suspect, a 17-year-old named Adrian Corniel De La Cruz, was charged with murder. Two other young men from Lawrence were also implicated. Francisco Jose Tejada Torres, aged 22, faced charges of being an accessory after the fact to the murder, accused of driving the getaway vehicle. The third individual, 18-year-old Jjeremy Mena, was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license and being an accessory both before and after the fact of the murder. Mena also faced additional charges of escape and assault and battery on a police officer after an attempt to flee from the Lawrence Police Station.
In September 2024, Adrian Corniel De La Cruz, then 20 years old, pleaded guilty to the murder of Edward Javier. For this crime, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 19 years. His sentence was extended by an additional three years due to guilty pleas on a host of other charges stemming from violent acts he committed while incarcerated, which included armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a corrections officer.
