A New Jersey man previously charged with shooting a man at a Morrisville strip club is now being charged with homicide after the victim passed away.

Pedro E. Rodriguez, 28, of Trenton, N.J., was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide, two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, one count each of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and possession of an instrument of crime and 17 counts of recklessly endangering another person.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges on Friday. Rodriguez has been in Bucks County Correctional Facility since his arrest on Aug. 29, hours after the shooting at The Border Gentlemen’s Club, 440 S. Pennsylvania Ave.

At 1:14 a.m. that day, Morrisville Police were dispatched to the strip club for a reported shooting. Police located a 28-year-old victim who had been shot in the back of the head, left thigh, and the torso. He was later identified as Mekhi Norman.

Norman was taken to a Trenton hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 6. The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined his cause of death to be complications from multiple gunshot injuries. His manner of death was ruled a homicide.

During the investigation, detectives learned that an altercation occurred at the doorway of the establishment. The victim was an innocent bystander who attempted to assist the staff when he was shot. He did not know the shooter.

At the time of the incident, 17 patrons/employees were inside of the establishment.

Rodriguez and another man fled after the shooting in an SUV heading north on Route 1 into Trenton. An arrest warrant was filed, and Rodriguez surrendered later that day. The second man, Kevin Perez, 21, of Trenton, N.J., was also charged.

Perez faces five counts each of simple assault, disorderly conduct, and harassment. The investigation found that Perez assaulted the staff at The Border Gentlemen’s Club just before the shooting erupted. His next court date is scheduled for later this month.

This case was investigated by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Morrisville Borough Police Department. Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon and Assistant District Attorney David O’Beirne are assigned to prosecute.

Media Contact: Manuel Gamiz Jr., 215.348.6298, mgamiz@buckscounty.org.

Criminal charges are allegations subject to proof in court. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.