A Paterson NJ man has been sentenced to 18 months in NJ State Prison for shooting another man on a street in Paterson.

According to law enforcement, the 27-year-old suspect used a handgun to shoot the victim multiple times on 12th Avenue in Paterson New Jersey on April 1, 2014.

The suspect initially faced charges for attempted murder. However, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office later offered the suspect a deal that allowed him to plead guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault.

The suspect caught a break when the victim refused to testify on behalf of Passaic County prosecutors.

Now the suspect has been formally sentenced to a term of incarceration of 18 months in NJ State Prison. The sentence was handed down by a Passaic County Superior Court judge, who told the suspect that he would not have received such a light sentence if the victim had chosen to testify.

In fact, if the suspect had gone to trial and been convicted of third degree aggravated assault, he could have faced a sentence of 3-5 years in state prison.

The suspect is actually set to be released from prison in a few months because he served 471 days in prison while his charges were pending.

For additional information about this case, see the NorthJersey.com article entitled “Woman Gets 18-Month Sentence for Paterson Shooting.”