He’s accused of killing a Newark cop — but he won’t be tried in public and likely won’t even serve out a 20-year sentence if convicted.
That’s because the suspected triggerman is a 14-year-old boy — and in New Jersey, the courts won’t move kids of that age up to criminal court, no matter how heinous their crimes.
“The state statute requires somebody to be 15 years old to treat it as an adult case,” said Laura Sutnick, a criminal defense lawyer and president of the Bergen County Bar Association, to The Post on Sunday.
“But if you’re 14, you can’t be waived to adult court.”
One year in age may not seem like much, but it will make a world of difference for the unidentified teen, who’s been charged with murder for allegedly gunning down 26-year-old Detective Joseph Azcona with an automatic weapon Friday night on a Brick City street corner.
For one thing, a family-court judge will handle the case in secret proceedings, then decide the verdict — no juries allowed, Sutnick said.
The potential sentence would also be very different.
If the alleged shooter was tried as an adult, a jury could slap him with 30 years to life in prison for killing a cop. But as a juvenile, the most a suspect could face is 20 years — and he probably wouldn’t even serve the whole thing since there’s no mandatory minimum for minors, the expert said.
After trial, his case would be sealed, and he wouldn’t have a public criminal record.
“That’s really the most significant piece of having a juvenile case — your records are sealed,” Sutnick said.
“Practically speaking, his case is in the newspaper, and everybody’s gonna know he was charged,” she said. “But if somebody says to him at a job interview, ‘Have you ever been arrested?’ … His case is sealed, so the answer is no.
“It’s really a separate track for the justice system, and it’s designed that way.”
The situation has left cops throughout the Garden State enraged at what they feel is a failure of justice.
“He was old enough to acquire a gun, and he was apparently old enough to engage the police in a shootout, but now you’re going to say he’s not old enough to be the tough guy in court that he was on the street?” a New Jersey cop asked incredulously.
“That’s infuriating! What message does that send to the next wanna-be thug?” the officer said. “He killed a cop — treat him like the cop-killer he is.”
A retired Brooklyn detective raged, “Age should nothing to do with his charges.
“He intentionally shot a great man doing his job protecting innocent people.”
A Bergen County cop added, “It’s massive amounts of bulls–t.
“I get it, they’re 14 years-old, their brains haven’t developed. But if you’re going to charge this kid as a juvenile, you better f–king charge whoever put that gun in his hands with accessory to murder — and then give him the life sentence.
“They assassinated him — this was a coordinated attack,” the officer said. “They knew it was an unmarked vehicle. They were trying to send a message to law enforcement like, ‘Hey, you’re on our turf.’
“All I know is a cop got killed. You better put them away for life.”
Essex County officials have said Azcona — a five-year member of the force who was working a gun probe with federal authorities — didn’t stand a chance during the ambush, which left him mortally wounded after the kiddie shooter allegedly unloaded a stream of 29 bullets.
Azcona and his partner were in Newark’s Broadway section near the Passaic River when the deadly gunfire erupted about 6:30 p.m. by a McDonald’s and White Castle near the intersection of Carteret Street and Broadway, officials said.
“Based on criminal intelligence, the [officers] were investigating the possibility that these individuals had illegal firearms,” Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said at a Saturday morning news conference.
“Shots were exchanged upon the interaction with the police and those individuals, and unfortunately two officers and one suspect were hit by gunfire.”
Both Azcona’s partner and the suspect were shot, but both are expected to survive.
Azcona wasn’t that lucky. He died at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday at University Hospital with his mom, dad and several brothers mourning at his side.
Stephens said Azcona was “shot before he even had the opportunity to leave his police car.
“We need to focus laser-sharp on trying to find the reason why this 14-year-old was in the situation that he was — had a gun, felt he could use it against police,” Stephens said.
“That’s a crazy situation. That’s one that cannot go unchecked.”
Cops recovered the automatic weapon the teen used, the prosecutor added. About five people who were at the scene have also been held for questioning.
“The officers involved are heroes,” Stephens said.
Azcona’s heartbroken family has been left reeling by his sudden loss.
“That was my baby,” mom Martha Vargas, 56, told The Post on Saturday. “He always said he wanted to be a cop when he was little, and when he grew up, he took the test.”
“I thought it was something simple,” she said as she talked about the moment cops called her to the hospital. “[But] they shot him in the head.”
Authorities have also charged her son’s alleged killer with attempted murder for shooting his partner, according to officials and sources.
