Marcus Feliz appeared in court on charges related to the April 10 shooting death of Shani Patel
NEWARK -- A Newark man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges in a double shooting earlier this month that left a Rutgers-Newark student dead.
Marcus Feliz, 25, entered the plea through his attorney, Joseph Rotella, when he was arraigned on murder, felony murder and robbery charges in connection with the April 10 killing of 21-year-old Toms River native Shani Patel.
Another suspect, Fraynned Ramirez, 26, of Hartford, Conn., also has been charged with those offenses and he remains at large, authorities said. Neither Ramirez nor Feliz were Rutgers students, authorities said.
During Tuesday's hearing, Feliz appeared in a green prison uniform with black-rimmed eyeglasses.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler said Feliz's bail amount would remain at $750,000 and he has been required to surrender his passport. Wigler said the matter would be referred to the grand jury.
Rotella said during the hearing that Feliz would cooperate with the state's request to obtain a DNA sample from him. Feliz remains in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility.
The incident occurred at about 10 p.m. in Patel's off-campus Central Avenue apartment, authorities said. His roommate, a 23-year-old Rutgers-Newark alum, also was injured in the shooting.
Police sources have said the incident may have been a targeted, drug-related robbery.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.