A street gang member accused of fatally shooting two men and wounding another has been acquitted of two murder counts and an attempted murder charge.
The Record reports that a Bergen County jury instead convicted 23-year-old Edwin Jimenez on two passion-induced manslaughter counts, aggravated assault and other charges stemming from the February 2012 shooting outside a bodega in Passaic.
He now faces anywhere from 10 to 40 years when he's sentenced April 30.
Prosecutors said the Passaic resident was bent on revenge when he walked up to a group of men and shot three of them at point-blank range.
Two of them — Ishmael Pena, 21, and Stevenson Matos, 20, both of Passaic — were killed, while 18-year-old Danny Velasquez was shot in the face but survived.
Authorities said Jimenez also fired at a fourth man, but missed him.
Jimenez had told authorities the victims had taunted him since high school. He said that they followed, attacked and even shot at him, most recently in the week before the shooting.
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The jury had deliberated for nearly three days before reaching its verdict on Thursday.
