A Bronx man has been charged with a 2018 murder during which he also allegedly shot the victim’s five-year-old son.
In a recent press release from the U.S. Department of Justice; Damian Williams, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York; Michael J. Driscoll, deputy director in charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Keechant L. Sewell, New York City police commissioner; announced that Joshua Rodriguez, also known as "Suave," was charged with the murder of Jaquan Millien on Oct. 23, 2018, with reference to a drug trafficking crime.
Rodriguez allegedly shot and killed Millien at the Webster Houses apartments in the Bronx, N.Y. As the shooting took place, the defendant allegedly shot Millien's 5-year-old son, who was spending time with his father on that occasion. Fortunately, Millien's son survived the shooting.
“Rodriguez allegedly murdered Jaquan Millien with his five-year-old son at his side," Williams said in the release. "His callous actions not only took Millien’s life, but also put Millien’s son’s life in jeopardy too when he shot him during the murder. We hope that today’s charges bring some measure of comfort to the family of Jaquan Millien and make clear that this Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of anyone who takes another person’s life.”
Sewell also commented and praised the officers for the arrest.
“Joshua Rodriguez, by his alleged actions, was willing to shoot and kill a rival drug trafficker and to do so without regard for the victim’s innocent five-year-old son, who was wounded by the gunfire," Sewell said in the release. "This kind of criminality, and the violence it breeds, remains a focus of the NYPD. We commend our detectives, our F.B.I. partners, and the federal prosecutors of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York for working together to achieve a measure of justice with today’s arrest.”
Driscoll noted the potential punishment that could be handed down in the case.
“Allegedly murdering a man, and nearly murdering his five-year-old child, didn't solve the rivalry between Rodriguez and his victim," Driscoll said in the release. "Now multiple lives are shattered, and Rodriguez faces life in federal prison for his alleged criminal actions. This type of senseless violence puts everyone in the community at risk, and it will not be tolerated.”
Rodriguez was arrested on June 9 and presented that afternoon in the federal court in Manhattan. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
