IRVINGTON, NJ — Irvington suffered its fifth homicide of the year on Monday, Dec. 4.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino and Irvington Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers announced the Irvington Police Division and Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide-Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the fatal shooting of Marco Angamarca-Yupa, 29, of Irvington.
“Angamarca-Yupa was fatally shot at approximately 11 p.m. in the 800 block of Grove Street,” said Laurino on Tuesday, Dec. 5. “The preliminary investigation indicates that the motive may have been robbery. The investigation is active and ongoing. No arrests have been made.”
Last year, Irvington had four homicides, one in May and three in October. The summer was homicide-free, as it was again in 2017.
“This is all thanks to the extraordinary job that Director (Tracy) Bowers and the Public Safety Division, including former police Director Joseph Santiago, have done,” said Mayor Tony Vauss on Tuesday, Oct. 17. “This was the second summer in a row that we’ve had zero homicides. Nobody has gotten killed during the summer. What it means is that we are doing the right things here in Irvington, keeping our community safe. Last year, we had historic numbers.”
Bowers said the goal is to build on the public safety gains the township has made in the last few years and the department is expecting to get help from a new class of officers, who are due to graduate from police academy soon.
“Last year, we had a record low number of reported crime. Now, we are up against our own success,” said Bowers on Tuesday, Sept. 12. “In November 2017 and January 2018, we are planning to add more police officers to the force to replace officers that have retired, as well as those officers who will be retiring in 2018 and 2019.”
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