East Orange Man Sentenced to Life Plus 25 Years for Carjacking in Which He Sexually Assaulted and Shot Victim |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey
January 22, 2010
NEWARK—An East Orange man was sentenced to life plus 25 years today for the 2006 carjacking of a couple in East Orange, in which the defendant pistol-whipped a male victim and sexually assaulted a female victim before critically wounding her with a gunshot to the head, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., also ordered Noah Cuebas, 26, a.k.a. “Rashawn Jones,” to pay $10.455 million in restitution to his victims.
On Oct. 23, 2009, following a six-week trial, a federal jury convicted Cuebas of one count of carjacking and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.
At sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Joseph Gribko and Robert G. Marasco sought the long prison sentence based on the extremely violent nature of the conduct and injuries suffered by the victim.
“We argued for a very long prison sentence because Cuebas is a truly dangerous, remorseless individual who, if ever released from prison, would represent a continuing threat to the public,” said Fishman. “Today’s sentence ensures that Cuebas will never prey upon an innocent victim again.”
“More than anything, we are relieved to know that this man will no longer be in our society where he can cause irreparable pain and suffering to decent people,” said Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cruise. “We thank our law enforcement partners as well as the prosecutors for bringing Mr. Cuevas to justice.”
Cuebas still awaits trial in Essex County Superior Court for a number of other crimes, including two other homicides, that he allegedly committed around the time of the carjacking for which he was convicted.
According to the charges and evidence produced at trial, a male and female were in a parked 2006 Dodge Magnum in East Orange on July 8, 2006. Wearing a hooded green army jacket and blue jeans, Cuebas approached the vehicle and pointed a .45 caliber handgun at the male victim and then pistol-whipped and beat him. Cuebas then ordered the male victim to drive the vehicle to another location in East Orange. Upon arrival at that location, Cuebas ordered the male victim to get out of the vehicle, and told the female victim to drive the vehicle. A short time later, the vehicle was found in Newark with the female victim inside suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
The female victim, who was 22 years old at the time of the attack, testified that, as a result of the attack, she lost brain tissue and a part of her skull and suffered a stroke. She still is in a wheelchair and is paralyzed on one side of her body.
Following his arrest on July 18, 2006, Cuebas gave a detailed confession to police. At trial, he did not contest that he committed the crimes. Cuebas and his defense did not dispute during the trial that he committed the carjackings and sought to have him found not guilty by reason of insanity. They argued that Cuebas suffered mental illness and did not understand the nature and quality or wrongfulness of his acts due to severe abuse as a child and drug abuse.
The government argued that Cuebas fully understood that what he had done was illegal and acknowledged as much from the witness stand. During commission of the crimes, Cuebas concealed his face with a bandana and wore a borrowed jacket, indicating that he knew he was breaking the law.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Joseph Gribko and Robert G. Marasco of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Fishman credited Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin B. Cruise, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino, and the Police Departments of Newark, East Orange, and Rahway, with the investigation leading to the conviction.