New York Man Convicted of Attempted Murder in 2025 Nutley Shooting That Wounded a 19-Year-Old Four Times
An Essex County jury found Armando Villareal Mena, 66, of Newburgh, New York, guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault in the July 4, 2025, attack on Jahniel Perez outside his mother's Nutley home, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said. The shooter has not been identified, and the investigation is ongoing.
A jury has convicted a New York man of attempted murder and related charges in a 2025 shooting outside a Nutley home that left a 19-year-old man wounded four times, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced. Armando Villareal Mena, 66, of Newburgh, New York, was found guilty on Oct. 23, 2026, after a day of deliberations, of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree attempted murder and second-degree aggravated assault, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.
Prosecutors proved that on July 4, 2025, Mena and a co-conspirator drove from Newburgh to the Nutley home of the victim's mother, according to the prosecutor's office. Surveillance video showed the vehicle circling the block before stopping in front of the house; Mena was seen smashing the window of the mother's car to lure Jahniel Perez out of the house, and the co-conspirator fired 12 shots at Perez as Mena drove toward him, the office said. Perez was struck by gunfire four times, and his mother transported him in the damaged vehicle to a local hospital for treatment.
Mena was arrested three days later in Newburgh while driving the suspect vehicle, and after his arrest he told investigators with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force that he was the driver, the office said. The identity of the shooter remains unknown, and the investigation is ongoing. The case was tried by Assistant Prosecutors Christopher Byrnes and Alexander Wukovits before Superior Court Judge Joseph N. Minish.
Mena is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18, 2026, and faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, the prosecutor's office said. Anyone with information about criminal activity is encouraged to contact the office's confidential Tips Line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC (1-877-847-7432).
