Donqua Thomas
Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes announces that Donqua Thomas, 32, of Paterson,
was found guilty of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an
unlawful purpose, and certain persons not to possess firearms after a jury trial before the
Honorable Justine A. Niccollai., J.S.C. this afternoon.
The State presented evidence that on Thursday, October 29, 2020, at approximately 1:37 p.m.,
the defendant, Donqua Thomas, shot the victim, Remy Lee four times in the parking lot outside 5
Christina Place, Paterson, New Jersey. The victim was nine-months pregnant with the
defendant’s child. People in the area went to victim’s side after she was shot, including the
victim’s mother, and heard the victim identify the defendant as the person who shot her. The
victim was then transported to Saint Joseph’s University Medical Center where she eventually
succumbed to her injuries and died. Her child; however, was successfully delivered and survived.
The subsequent police investigation revealed that the defendant parked his vehicle in the parking
lot outside the victim’s apartment and waited for over an hour and a half before the victim
arrived. When the victim exited her vehicle, the defendant shot at her from inside the car and
then fled the area. Thomas surrendered himself without incident at Paterson Police headquarters
two days after the shooting.
The crime of Murder has a sentencing range from a minimum of 30 years up to life
imprisonment. The crimes of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful
Possession of a Weapon, and Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons have a sentencing range of 5
to 10 years in prison. The sentencing is scheduled for September 22, 2023, before the Honorable
Justine A. Niccollai, J.S.C.
The State was represented by Chief Assistant Prosecutor Allan P. Nawrocki. Mr. Thomas was
represented by Thomas McQuillan, Esq. and Samantha Montalbano, Esq.
