Camden

Man Charged in Fatal Shooting of Apparent Kidnapping Victim in NJ

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A man has been charged with felony murder in the shooting death of another man who may have been kidnapped in southern New Jersey last weekend, authorities said.

Police responded to a Camden neighborhood around 11 p.m. Saturday after witnesses reported that Pedro Fernandez, 30, of Pine Hill, had been forced into a pickup truck driven by an unknown man who then drove off, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. The truck was spotted about two hours later and the driver was identified as Michael Branon, 32, of Camden.

Fernandez’s body was found around 2 p.m. Sunday in an alleyway in Camden. He had been shot multiple times, authorities said, but a cause of death has not yet been determined.

A motive for the shooting has not been disclosed, and authorities have not said if Branon is believed to be the man who forced Fernandez into the pickup truck. Branon remained jailed Tuesday, and it wasn't known if he's retained an attorney.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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