Man sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter

NEWARK, NJ — Superior Court Judge Siobhan Teare sentenced Rasoo Scott, 26, of Newark, to 10 years in New Jersey state prison on Friday, Feb. 26, for fatally shooting Daniel Ebron-Berbick, 16, also of Newark.

According to Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Buermann, who handled the case, on Sept. 1, 2012, at around 3 a.m., in the 200 block of Fairmont Avenue in Newark, Ebron-Berbick got into a physical altercation with Scott. Scott had a handgun. A struggle ensued resulting in Ebron-Berbick being fatally shot in the abdomen.

According to the terms of a plea agreement, Scott was sentenced to 10 years for aggravated manslaughter. He must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. He has been in custody since the incident and will receive credit for that time.

“The defendant’s senseless use of a gun in this case elevated a street fight into a fatal confrontation’’ said Buermann on Friday, Feb. 26. “The plea agreement took into account the underlying facts of the case, as well as the fact that the defendant had no prior contact with the criminal justice system as a juvenile or an adult.’’