Funeral Friday for New Jersey teen stabbed to death

LITTLE FALLS (WABC) -- Friends and family will gather to bid a final farewell to a teenager who was stabbed to death in New Jersey.

A wake was held for 18-year-old Brian Topoleski at Shook's Cedar Grove Funeral Home Thursday. He will be laid to rest Friday morning following a 10 a.m. service at St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church on Pompton Avenue in Cedar Grove.

Police say Topoleski got into a fight with 20-year-old Jonathan Lafontaine late Sunday while the two were riding in separate cars in Little Falls.

Investigators say Lafontaine used two knives to fatally stab the recent Cedar Grove High School graduate.

On Wednesday, Lafontaine pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges, claiming he acted in self-defense.

Passaic County prosecutors have said the stabbing occurred after a case of mistaken identity involving two groups of friends quickly turned violent.

But Lafontaine's lawyer, Douglas Anton, strongly disputed that account. Speaking after the hearing, Anton told reporters that his client was not the aggressor and did not stab Topoleski.

Lafontaine remains jailed on $1.5 million cash bail.

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