Custody Dispute Led To Fatal Shooting In Camden: Court Docs
CAMDEN, NJ — A Camden man fatally shot another man during a custody dispute in the city Sunday night, prosecutors said in court documents Patch obtained.
Neftalie Sanabria was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Camden resident Joshua Cruz. A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force arrested Sanabria in the city on Tuesday.
Cruz exited a vehicle parked on the 2500 block of Baird Boulevard while Sanabria exited a nearby home on Sunday night. They got into an altercation over a custody dispute outside, according to an affidavit of probable cause. No other details about the dispute were available in court documents.
A third party — identified in court documents as a witness in the case — separated Cruz and Sanabria. As the witness tried to guide Cruz back to the car, Sanabria shot the victim in his torso, the affidavit says.
Sanabria, 40, got into a vehicle and erratically fled the scene, according to prosecutors.
The witness flagged down patrol officers and informed them of the shooting, which happened at 8:53 p.m., the affidavit says. Cruz, 32, was driven to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:34 p.m.
Through further investigation, detectives identified Sanabria as the suspect. He was charged with first-degree murder and several second-degree weapons offenses.
Evidence in the case includes an audio recording of the altercation and shooting, surveillance footage of Sanabria fleeing the area, and a .9mm shell casing recovered from the scene, the affidavit says.
Sanabria was arrested Tuesday and placed in the Camden County Correctional Facility. He didn't have a listed attorney in online court records on Tuesday.
The alleged shooting came weeks after Camden celebrated its first summer with no reported homicides since the 1970s.
Anyone with information can call Det. Vincent Russomanno of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office at 856-225-8669 and Det. Andrew Mogck of the Camden County Police Department at 609-519-8588. Tips can also be sent to
