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Charges Boosted Against Ex-Con In Paterson Deli Shooting Tied To Rapper

PATERSON, N.J. – (UPDATE) A second ex-con has been charged in an incident involving rapper Fetty Wap and his entourage that led to shootings that left three men wounded.

Raheem Thomas

Raheem Thomas

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Passaic County Prosecutor
Sylvester Huffin

Sylvester Huffin

Photo Credit: GoogleMaps

Sylvester Huffin, 34, of Paterson was charged with attempted murder and weapons counts that include being a "certain person" in possession of a firearm (namely: an ex-convict), Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Deputy Paterson Police Chief Troy Oswald said Wednesday afternoon.

"All of the shooting victims are currently in stable condition," they said in a joint release.

Hours earlier, both announced that charges had been upgraded against a member of the rapper's entourage in connection with the shootings.

Ex-con Raheem Thomas, 36 -- already charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses -- was also charged with armed robbery and possession of hollow-point bullets, announced Wednesday morning.

Thomas was freed by a judge based on New Jersey’s bail reform law, authorities said.

Detectives zeroed in on Thomas after an incident involving the rapper’s entourage and another group inside the Montclair Deli in Paterson, they said.

They found him carrying a handgun and hollow point bullets when they arrested him on Sunday, Valdes and Oswald said.

Thomas was involved in a shooting outside the store about an hour later, both said.

He’d been among a group of associates with Wap at the deli on Montclair Avenue near Paxton Street when the incident began around 4 a.m. Sunday, city Police Director Jerry Speziale said.

The groups got into it a short time after Wap -- aka Jerry Maxwell -- arrived, Speziale said.

Thomas drew a gun and hit one of the other men with it, the director said.

The fight spilled into the street, where three victims were struck by gunfire, he said.

One of them, a 34-year-old man, was struck in the lower leg, the director said.

Police found a second victim three blocks away with a gunshot wound to the torso, he said.

Both victims were taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center.

"A short time later, Hackensack University Medical Center reported a gunshot victim arriving at the trauma center by private vehicle," Speziale said.

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office asks anyone with additional information about the incident to contact us on our tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org.

Anyone with additional information may also contact the Paterson Police Detective Bureau at (973) 321-1120

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