Three Newark men were arrested last week in connection with a body found dumped along eastbound I-80 near the Frelinghuysen-Allamuchy border last year.
New Jersey State Police have charged Nishir Rios-Figueroa, 30; Mustafa Manns, 28; and William Dixon, 24, with murder, kidnapping and other offenses for allegedly shooting and killing the victim and dumping his body near a wooded area off the highway.
The body of Quadree Burch, 27, of Newark, was discovered shortly after noon on Aug. 8, 2022, by a New Jersey Department of Transportation employee who was cutting grass along the shoulder of the roadway, police said.
State police said that during a five-month investigation, detectives from the Major Crime Homicide North Unit developed a timeline of events in which they determined the homicide took place on Aug. 7, 2022.
Burch was reported missing two days later on Aug. 9. Police connected the suspects to the victim and placed them in the vicinity of the crime scene.
They allege that Rios-Figueroa, Manns and Dixon kidnapped Burch and drove him to Warren County, where he was shot and killed on the side of Route 80.
Rios-Figueroa, who had been arrested this past January on unrelated auto theft charges in Westchester County, New York, where he is currently being held, was charged with felony murder, murder, conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping.
On Jan. 19, state police arrested Manns in a home on Lyons Avenue in Newark after an investigation by the Major Crime Homicide North and Fugitive Units. Police said he was taken into custody without incident. Manns was charged with felony murder, murder, weapons offenses, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping and robbery. He is currently being held in the Warren County Correctional Center.
Dixon, who has been lodged in the Essex County Correctional Facility since Aug. 25, 2022, for allegedly threatening associates of the victim, was charged with felony murder, murder, weapons offenses, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping and robbery.
The case is being handled by the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer
Joe was lured out of retirement by the opportunity to be a part of the Ridge View Echo. During a decades-long career in publishing and journalism, he has covered government on many levels from local school boards to the United States Supreme Court.
Along the way, Joe has worked at American Lawyer Magazine, The National Law Journal and The Record among other publications, and as the Press Officer of Columbia Law School. His work has been recognized with several first place awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the New Jersey Press Association.
Being part of the Ridge View Echo brings Joe back to his roots and the kind of news coverage he loves: Telling the stories of people and local communities as well as keeping an eye on how their money is spent by their government officials.
Joe lives in Blairstown with his wife Rose, the founder of Quilting for a Cause, and their two wiener dogs. He is an artist in his spare time.
