Phantom Blooper
07-22-07, 04:05 PM
The Record
Saturday, July 21, 2007
By JASON TSAI and JAMES YOO
STAFF WRITERS
Newark police search for men suspected of killing security guard
The Boonton community that Nestor De La Rosa promised to protect was mourning his death on Friday after the security guard was shot dead in a robbery outside a Newark check cashing store.
De La Rosa, 47, of Paterson, was delivering cash to Town Check Cashing when he was approached by two men around 9 a.m., police said. The ex-Marine reached for his gun but was shot in the head, police said. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark an hour later.
Police had not made any arrests by Friday evening, Newark city spokesman Lupe Todd said. Authorities did not immediately say how much money -- if any -- was taken from De La Rosa.
"We believe at this point it was a planned operation," Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy said.
De La Rosa worked nights as a security guard for a Boonton apartment complex and became close with township police. He has a 10-year-old daughter with his current wife, township police Sgt. Royce Stafford said, and the couple also raised two children from their previous relationships.
"I talked to the guy almost every night," Stafford said. " really took to him, almost as one of our own."
<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->[B]The Colombia native attended high school in Paterson and served in the Marines during the 1980s, spending most of his time in Beirut, Lebanon, Stafford said.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->
"I celebrated many of my life milestones with him," Stafford said. "He really was a special guy and a true friend."
De La Rosa had been recently employed by Internal Intelligence Services, a Newark firm that specializes in uniformed security for public and private business. He was not working for the company Friday morning, but may have been working for the check cashing company or another security company, said Gerald Gregory, Internal Intelligence's president.
Mark Bizzarro, deputy assistant manager for the Boonton Housing Authority, called De La Rosa one of his best employees and one who "got no recognition for the job he did here."
Indeed, many within the field called De La Rosa's job as a firearms-carrying guard a noble occupation with high risk and low pay.
"The turnover and stress of the job is quite high," said Mike Tamzoke, president of Essential Security of South Plainfield. "And companies don't pay that much -- maybe between $11 and $15 an hour."
At Riverview Apartments, a high-rise off Main Street in Boonton, many residents expressed shock and grief over the death of the person they described as the humble and personable mainstay of their complex.
"He really kept us out of trouble," said 15-year-old Shakil Griffin. "He was here to tell us to stay in the house, to stop hanging out with bad kids."
Whenever 63-year-old Nancy Ramer cooked chicken fried steak, she would bring some down for De La Rosa, she said.
"That was his favorite," Ramer said.
Residents will remember De La Rosa in a candlelight vigil Sunday at 7 p.m. at the apartment building where he had worked for a decade.
This article contains material from The Associated Press. Staff Writers Michael J. Feeney and Louisa Valentin-Melendez contributed to this report. <!--EZCODE IMAGE START-->
Saturday, July 21, 2007
By JASON TSAI and JAMES YOO
STAFF WRITERS
Newark police search for men suspected of killing security guard
The Boonton community that Nestor De La Rosa promised to protect was mourning his death on Friday after the security guard was shot dead in a robbery outside a Newark check cashing store.
De La Rosa, 47, of Paterson, was delivering cash to Town Check Cashing when he was approached by two men around 9 a.m., police said. The ex-Marine reached for his gun but was shot in the head, police said. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark an hour later.
Police had not made any arrests by Friday evening, Newark city spokesman Lupe Todd said. Authorities did not immediately say how much money -- if any -- was taken from De La Rosa.
"We believe at this point it was a planned operation," Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy said.
De La Rosa worked nights as a security guard for a Boonton apartment complex and became close with township police. He has a 10-year-old daughter with his current wife, township police Sgt. Royce Stafford said, and the couple also raised two children from their previous relationships.
"I talked to the guy almost every night," Stafford said. " really took to him, almost as one of our own."
<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->[B]The Colombia native attended high school in Paterson and served in the Marines during the 1980s, spending most of his time in Beirut, Lebanon, Stafford said.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->
"I celebrated many of my life milestones with him," Stafford said. "He really was a special guy and a true friend."
De La Rosa had been recently employed by Internal Intelligence Services, a Newark firm that specializes in uniformed security for public and private business. He was not working for the company Friday morning, but may have been working for the check cashing company or another security company, said Gerald Gregory, Internal Intelligence's president.
Mark Bizzarro, deputy assistant manager for the Boonton Housing Authority, called De La Rosa one of his best employees and one who "got no recognition for the job he did here."
Indeed, many within the field called De La Rosa's job as a firearms-carrying guard a noble occupation with high risk and low pay.
"The turnover and stress of the job is quite high," said Mike Tamzoke, president of Essential Security of South Plainfield. "And companies don't pay that much -- maybe between $11 and $15 an hour."
At Riverview Apartments, a high-rise off Main Street in Boonton, many residents expressed shock and grief over the death of the person they described as the humble and personable mainstay of their complex.
"He really kept us out of trouble," said 15-year-old Shakil Griffin. "He was here to tell us to stay in the house, to stop hanging out with bad kids."
Whenever 63-year-old Nancy Ramer cooked chicken fried steak, she would bring some down for De La Rosa, she said.
"That was his favorite," Ramer said.
Residents will remember De La Rosa in a candlelight vigil Sunday at 7 p.m. at the apartment building where he had worked for a decade.
This article contains material from The Associated Press. Staff Writers Michael J. Feeney and Louisa Valentin-Melendez contributed to this report. <!--EZCODE IMAGE START-->