A Bronx man entered a not guilty plea Thursday afternoon to felony murder in connection with the death of a Perth Amboy man who was punched and robbed last month in the city.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- A Bronx man entered a not guilty plea Thursday afternoon to felony murder in connection with the death of a Perth Amboy man who was punched and robbed last month in the city.
Lashawn Jones, 41, entered his plea during his first court appearance on the charge before Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves in New Brunswick.
Pascual Luna-Grande, 37, on Sept. 18 about 2 a.m. on Madison Avenue, punching him to the ground and taking his cell phone and an undisclosed amount of cash.
RELATED: Robbery victim dies from assailant's punch, authorities say
Police found Luna-Grande unconscious on the sidewalk at 4:30 a.m. and he was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he died several days later.
Jones was arrested in New York several hours after the attack and charged with aggravated assault and robbery. The charges were upgraded to include felony murder when Luna-Grande died.
Luna-Grande's family was in the courtroom for Jones' hearing, but left quickly after it ended.
Jones was remanded to the Middlesex County jail in lieu of $650,000 bail.
Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.