In the early hours of a Tuesday morning in Jersey City, the life of 20-year-old Rondell Fairley was tragically cut short. On November 17, 2015, Fairley was found on the ground at the corner of Ocean and Cator Avenues, having sustained a gunshot wound to his upper body. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after police arrived around 1:30 a.m.
This incident marked the 19th homicide in Jersey City that year.
The investigation into Fairley's death culminated in the arrest of another Jersey City man, Markus Hinds, who was 21 at the time. Hinds was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals from the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and detectives from the Hudson County Prosecutor's Homicide Unit. He was apprehended at a residence on Ocean Avenue, not far from where the fatal shooting occurred. Hinds faced serious charges, including murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Following his arrest, a Hudson County grand jury indicted Markus Hinds on the charges related to Rondell Fairley's death. The legal proceedings against Hinds began, bringing the case into the court system. In November 2017, after a trial, a jury found Markus Hinds guilty of reckless manslaughter, but acquitted him of the more severe charge of murder. The jury also convicted him on two weapons possession counts. In January 2018, Hinds was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for manslaughter, with a concurrent five-year sentence for the weapons charges. Under the No Early Release Act, he is required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
