This boarded up, vacant house was set on fire in March. The blaze injured two people, one of which died in the hospital. (Photo taken April 29, 2015 - Penny Ray/Trentonian)

The man who died earlier this month as a result of injuries suffered during an arson fire has been identified as 48-year-old Alberto Moya-Cuevas from Mexico.

Moya-Cuevas is one of two people who were injured March 12 after a boarded up, vacant house was set on fire in the 200 block of Elmer Street. When firefighters arrived on-scene, they found heavy flames venting out of a front bedroom window, and a fire victim was sitting outside of the house. Firefighters later found Moya-Cuevas lying on a mattress in the third-floor attic.

“I only got a quick look at Moya-Cuevas, but it appeared that the majority of the injuries suffered by him was due to heavy smoke,” Chief Michael Welsh said Wednesday morning. “I didn't really see a lot of blistering or bubbling of his skin, but like I said, I didn’t really get a good look at him.”

Both victims were taken to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where Moya-Cuevas passed away on April 12. The Trentonian was unable to confirm the second victim’s condition at press time.

According to Welsh, the fire was ruled an arson because officials found several possible origins of the blaze, suggesting that someone may have set the fire in different locations throughout the house before escaping. Welsh said it appears a fire was ignited in the kitchen, in a rear bedroom, on a stairway and somewhere on the second floor of the home.

“There were several different areas of origin that were not relevant to each other,” Welsh said. “I don’t know if they were set simultaneously or at different times. Samples of wood were sent out for testing to see if an accelerant was used.”

Welsh said the house had been vacant for quite some time and the gas and power was shut off prior to the blaze. He believes the two victims were homeless squatters.

“Whether they were drinking or doing drugs at that location, but living somewhere else, I don't know,” Welsh said. “But they weren't supposed to be in the building.”

When asked whether he believed the second victim, identified as Gustavo Lima, was involved with igniting the blaze, Welsh declined to speculate.

"We don't know his whereabouts at the start of the fire,” Welsh said. “All we know is that he made it out of the building.”

A spokesperson for the county prosecutor’s office said the incident remains under investigation.

Police are still searching for people related to Moya-Cuevas to inform them of his death. Anyone who has information about the location of his next of kin is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406.

Anyone with information about the origin of the fire can call that same number, or use the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663. Tipsters may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tipline at (609) 278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

Convicted gang leader Jose Negrete’s past murder trials were wracked by jury problems. His legal team said in court papers filed this week in Superior Court his fourth trial, dubbed a “trial by transcript” by defense attorney Jack Furlong, was no different.

The Latin Kings leader was awarded a new trial when the appellate court overturned his 2009 conviction, which led to an 80-year sentence, because of jury misconduct. A jury member knew the father of the victim’s children and made statements to panelists that were not a part of evidence at trial.

In this case, Negrete’s attorneys say this jury should not have known this was Negrete’s fourth trial for ordering the murder of gang “queen” Jeri Lynn Dotson and the near-strangulation of gang turncoat Alex Ruiz in August 2004.

But Furlong & Krasny associate Andrew Ferencevych wrote in a motion for new trial that any chance of that was eviscerated once prosecutors introduced transcripts of prior witness testimony from Negrete’s murder trials in 2008 and 2009.

Jurors were told only the transcripts were from prior proceedings as the judge purposely left it vague to try to preserve Negrete’s right to a fair trial. For jurors that didn’t make the leap that the transcripts were from a prior trial, it was done for them after prosecutors’ myriad tongue slips.

“Although great measures were taken in an attempt to redact all references to the prior trials from the transcripts, the state improperly referred to the trial and the jury on many occasions during the transcript reading,” Ferencevych wrote. “These repeated references indicated to the current jury that Negrete had already been tried for these offenses.”

Negrete was convicted for the second time last month of murder, conspiracy and attempted murder for ordering Dotson killed after she witnessed the Aug. 30, 2004 abduction of her roommate Ruiz.

Ruiz, formerly a member of the rival Netas, was targeted by Negete’s henchmen on the Latin King leader’s orders after his defection triggered a war between the factions. Ruiz survived being strangled, stomped and left for dead in a dumpster on Duck Island.

He was one of four witnesses who refused to testify at Negrete’s most recent trial, putting prosecutors in a bind. Witnesses feigned memory problems, said they did not want to revisit the past and wouldn’t testify against Negrete for fear of recriminations.

The state had little leverage over many of Negrete’s coconspirators. Many had been released from state prison after serving their sentences for their involvement in Dotson’s murder and the murder attempt on Ruiz.

Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez elected not to hold any witnesses in contempt for refusing to answers prosecutors’ questions. Ferencevych said in the motion the judge should have punished recalcitrant witnesses.

“The court permitted each witness to indicate that he did not remember certain questions,” he wrote. “The court then permitted the witness to walk out the door without any punishment for actively deciding not to testify.”

Prosecutors attempted to get around the lack of witness cooperation by introducing prior testimony, which Negrete’s defense team said caused additional problems.

Ferencevych pointed out prosecutors were allowed to “cherry pick” past testimony from Negrete’s 2008 or 2009 trials that was most favorable to its case. He said prosecutors should have been forced to choose from one or the other.

Furlong has said he plans to appeal if the new trial motion, set to be heard later this month, fails. He said he is confident his client will win on appeal, which would add yet another chapter to a case that has dragged on for more than a decade.

“All we had was a melodramatic reading of a prior trial that ended in a reversal by the appellate division,” Furlong said. “I have no reasonable doubt that this verdict will be reversed on appeal based on the unusual circumstances that led to the wholesale reading of trial transcripts to this jury. I don’t blame the judge for what happened, but I strongly disagree with how he dealt with the problem.”

John Covington of Trenton was killed in January when he was struck by a car. (Contributed photo)

The man who fatally struck 44-year-old John Covington with a vehicle as he was crossing the street pushing a shopping cart has been charged with vehicular homicide.

“A detective was able to establish enough probable cause to charge Robert McFadden with death by auto,” Lt. Steven Varn said.

McFadden, 22, surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday after learning that he was charged. He was released from jail after posting 10 percent of the $150,000 cash or bond bail.

Robert McFadden

McFadden was previously charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to yield to a pedestrian and improper safety glass in connection with the Jan. 16 incident that left Covington lying in the street with his guts hanging out, two broken legs and a hole in his head.

In an interview with The Trentonian earlier this year, Covington’s family expressed concern that McFadden had not received a more serious charge.

“My brother’s dead and he’s riding around somewhere,” John’s brother Milton Covington said. “I don’t know who the heck let him go, but he should not have been released.”

Milton Covington holds his brother John's boots that he retrieved from the crash scene where his brother was killed. (David Foster - The Trentonian)

The Covington family was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon, but Milton previously said that his brother was pushing a shopping cart carrying a television at the time of the fatal accident. The crash propelled Covington through the vehicle’s windshield and knocked him out of his boots. Milton later found those boots near Gregory Elementary School in the 500 block of Rutherford Avenue where the accident occurred. Tire marks from McFadden’s vehicle were visible for 75 feet, according to the police report.

After hitting Covington, McFadden stopped and waited for law enforcement. McFadden told police that he had no time to react, and that Covington suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the passenger side of the car. A vehicle passenger told detectives that he did not notice anything before it was too late, according to the police report.

The Trentonian will include this death by auto in its yearly homicide count, and will differentiate between vehicular homicides and murders in its end of year review. But TPD and state police do not include vehicular homicides in yearly homicide statistics.

This year’s homicide toll is now seven.

TRENTON >> Defense attorneys usually operate in an arena of reasonable doubt, a high hurdle prosecutors must meet in order to convince a jury to convict someone accused of a crime.

Reasonable doubt should not be confused with doubtless, which is what separates Caroline Turner from most defense attorneys.

During opening statements Thursday in the murder trial of Keith Wells-Holmes,

Keith Wells Holmes

Turner left no doubt in the minds of jurors she is firmly convinced her client is innocent of fatally shooting 35-year-old Andre Corbett in broad daylight Jan. 21, 2013, in front on an apartment complex on Hoffman Avenue and Oakland Street.

“They got the wrong man,” Turner said. She repeated this several times, highlighting what she said are distinct differences in articles of clothing between the shooter and her client. She said the shooter was wearing black pants compared with Wells-Holmes’ blue pants. The shooter’s hoodie, while the same color of Wells-Holmes, was fitted; her client’s was baggy.

The shooter was right-handed; her client is left handed, which she said is supported by a recorded interview with police in which she says Wells-Holmes signs a form waiving his Miranda rights with his left hand.

Despite all this, detectives are convinced they picked up the right man, based on surveillance capturing a black man with a dark-colored hoodie, jeans and gray sneakers pumping multiple rounds into Corbett from a close distance then fleeing in the direction he came. 

Bryan Cottrell, a detective in the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, testified he viewed surveillance of a man he believed to be Wells-Holmes getting in and out of a gold-colored van with temporary plates hours before the murder.

A description of a similar van was broadcast to police within minutes of the shooting, Cottrell said.

Corbett was shot at least five times, hit four, including once in the head. He could be seen on surveillance shown to jurors rolling around on the ground. Another man is seen on the tape stepping over Corbett but he does not offer help. A crowd eventually gathers around Corbett’s lifeless body.

Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo’s opening statement was as firm and succinct as that of his adversary.

“He brazenly shot him more than four times from an arm’s length away,” Grillo said of the Wells-Holmes, who is being tried separately from co-defendant and suspected getaway driver Zihqwan “Woody” Clemens, 24.

Clemens remains the “wild card” in this trial. He is on the witness list, and prosecutors have offered him a plea deal that calls for a 30-year sentence for his role in Corbett’s murder. But it is unclear whether he will accept the deal and testify against Wells-Holmes.

Wells-Holmes, dressed in a brown suit, appeared calm and relaxed on the opening day of his murder trial, sipping from a cup filled with water. That contrasted with his recorded interview with police a day after the murder, which was shown to the jury.

Wells-Holmes initially appeared at ease with detectives, bragging about clothes he had just purchased two days prior, including a pair of flashy Deion Sanders’ Nike sneakers. But he became leery of detectives when they pressed him on his whereabouts the day of Corbett’s murder. 

Detectives asked him when the last time he visited family who lived blocks from the murder. Wells-Holmes initially responded he had visited family Sunday, Jan. 20, the same day he purchased clothes including blue Levi jeans and a dark-colored hoodie – the same clothes he had on during his interview.

Now-retired Trenton Police Detective Edgar Rios shot back.

“We seen you over there yesterday,” he said, referring to Jan. 21, 2013.

Wells-Holmes stammered.

“I don’t really remember,” he said, adding that he had hitched a ride to the area at some point from an acquaintance he knew only as “Woody.” Cottrell testified he immediately recognized the nickname “Woody” as Clemens from past experience.

Turner explained earlier in the day her client “muddled up” his days.

In the video, Wells-Holmes accused detectives of trying to “trick me up” with their questions and subsequently cut off the interview and told detectives he did not want to answer any more questions.

“I don’t have nothing to do with nothing,” Wells-Holmes said.

Keith Wells Holmes

The murder case against Keith Wells-Holmes appears to rely centrally on video surveillance and the word of a Mercer County detective.

Absent a clear-cut motive and the murder weapon, a 9 mm luger which was never recovered, prosecutors could be looking to Wells-Holmes’ alleged getaway driver, Zihqwan “Woody” Clemens, and a jailhouse informant known on the streets as “Murder Mike” to bolster their case against the man they believed killed Trenton graffiti artist Andre Corbett.

The two could testify later this week, prosecutors said as trial wrapped up for the day Monday.

“Murder Mike’s” government name is Michael Barnes, a man with a felonious past who prosecutors say is free these days. It’s unclear how he secured that freedom, but Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said any agreement Barnes’ has with the state regarding his cooperation was turned over to Wells-Holmes’ attorney, Caroline Turner.

Scott also told the court there was an unspecified issue with Barnes’ potential testimony he did not want to address in the presence of Wells-Holmes but he had informed the defendant’s attorney about it. Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier did not inquire further.

Clemens is an unknown in this trial. As recently as last October, he had indicated to the court he wanted to be tried alongside Wells-Holmes. He was severed after the judge ruled having the defendants tried together posed significant legal hurdles.

It’s unclear what he would say or be allowed to say if he took the stand.

Other potential state witnesses include Isiah Greene, who is incarcerated on unrelated murder and attempted murder charges; and Marquise Risher, who is also jailed on drug charges.

Scott said Greene, Risher and Clemens would have to testify at a hearing outside the jury’s presence, tentatively slated for Wednesday, before they took the stand in front of jurors.

Turner’s defense that her client is innocent could come down to pivotal cross examinations of the three men, assuming they testify. She hinted at the state’s reliance on unsavory people in a strong opening statement in contending two of them – Risher and Greene – were inside a gold-colored van linked with the slaying and captured on surveillance frequenting a grocery mart near the murder on the same day Corbett was killed. Since then, she has contended police did not do their due diligence in examining whether one was a more likely suspect and has accused investigators of focusing on her client early on and not following other leads.

Turner spent most of Monday morning cross-examining Bryan Cottrell, a lead detective in the murder case and one of the state’s central witnesses. He is expected to be recalled to the witness stand later this week to provide additional testimony, although it’s unclear what that testimony will focus on this time around.

Now-retired Trenton Police crime detective Robert Paccillo also took the stand and told the jury he recovered five spent shell casings from a 9 mm luger used in Corbett’s murder. Investigators never recovered the handgun, prosecutors said.

The weapon the damage did was put into context by county medical examiner, Dr. Raafat Ahmad, who testified Corbett succumbed to injuries he sustained after he was shot four times.

Jurors were shown graphic autopsy photos depicting gunshot wounds to Corbett’s chest and other areas. A family member stepped out of the courtroom when the photos were put up on an overhead projector.

Ahmad said a spent bullet was recovered in the victim’s clothing during the autopsy. Another struck and fractured Corbett’s jaw, passing through his mouth before exiting behind his left ear. Corbett’s lungs were pierced by rounds, and he choked on his own blood while he lay dying on the blood-stained pavement while another man callously stepped over him and others gathered around his body.

Admitted drug dealer and convicted felon Michael Barnes said on the stand Tuesday he planned to disregard prosecutors’ subpoena to testify in the murder trial of a Trenton man accused of gunning down city graffiti artist Andre Corbett.

He testified that he decided against absconding after friends told him he was mentioned in newspaper articles in which the attorney for defendant Keith Wells-Holmes attacked Barnes’ credibility and referred to him as a “workhouse snitch.”

“I got your memo in the newspaper,” Barnes told defense attorney Caroline Turner. “I was gonna run from the truth. I wasn’t going to come to the subpoena.”

Barnes, apparently anticipating the defense’s unflattering portrayal of him as a man looking to cash in a bargaining chip with prosecutors, added he would spend significant time behind bars if it brought back Corbett, a man he knew for more than a decade.

Turner noted in her cross examination Barnes referred to the victim as a “crackhead,” which she contends is what Barnes really thought of Corbett. Turner said Barnes did not bother to step forward with information about Corbett’s killer until a year after the murder, when he found himself jailed on a litany of criminal charges.

Sometimes derisive and sometimes deadpan, Barnes fought back against Turner’s sardonic wit, which was more biting than an English lemon tart. During one testy exchange, Turner accused the witness of “getting smart” with her; she was immediately cut off and scolded by Judge Robert Billmeier.

Sometimes it was unclear whether the man known as on the streets as “Murder Mike,” from his time in the Sex, Money, Murder sect of the Bloods street gang, was truly oblivious or simply putting on a Broadway-like show for the jury.

For example, when Turner asked him whether he enjoyed his time in jail, Barnes responded that it was “all right.” Turner pressed him up about myriad diseases one could contract behind bars.

“I’m straight,” Barnes responded, pointing out his sexual orientation for jurors.

His richest callout of Turner, however, sounded like a bit of grandstanding considering he claimed he was willing to jeopardize the deal he had cut with prosecutors for probation to resolve charges of aggravated assault, resisting and weapons offenses.

In truth, Barnes wasn’t on the stand to talk about the crimes he has committed over the years. He was there to point the finger, literally, at Wells-Homes for Corbett’s murder.

When Assistant Prosecutor James Scott asked the witness who killed Corbett, Barnes responded emphatically.

“Him,” he said, pointing toward Wells-Holmes. “I’m 100 percent sure.”

Barnes lived at the Oakland Street apartment complex where Corbett was shot. He said he was near a glass-plated door of one of the apartment units staring out at Hoffman Avenue scanning for police because he was dealing drugs at the time of the shooting.

He turned in the direction of the shots and caught a glimpse of the killer’s face, which was obscured by a dark cone-shaped hoodie that was rolled back. He recognized the man as “Zeek’s cousin.” Zeek lived a few doors down from him, Barnes said, and the defendant regularly visited.

Barnes said he and Wells-Holmes had even played Oak, a basketball game similar to 21. Barnes said Wells-Holmes would “go up strong” with his left hand – in contrast with the right-handed shooter -- during the game he described as “every man for himself.”

“That’s what it appears to be here, right?” Turner shot back. “Every man for himself?”

Scott loudly objected to the question, and the attorneys were immediately roped into sidebar by the judge.

Turner spent the bulk of her cross examination of Barnes going over his rap sheet, which includes convictions for theft and an arrest for weapons trafficking.

Barnes was one of several people charged in 2012 as part of Operation Gravedigger, an investigation by state and city police into weapon sales near funeral homes. Barnes admitted selling a handgun.

“I’m no angel,” he said.

TRENTON >> The alleged getaway driver of Keith Wells-Holmes has been

Keith Wells Holmes

granted immunity to testify in Wells-Holmes' murder trial, a rare move that required permission from the state Attorney General's Office, prosecutors said.

Zihqwan Clemens took the stand at a hearing outside the jury’s presence Wednesday morning and repeatedly responded to prosecutors’ questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

Clemens is accused of driving a gold Ford Windstar van on the day of Trenton graffiti artist Andre Corbett was gunned down outside an apartment complex on the corner of Hoffman Avenue and Oakland Street. He has been offered a plea deal calling for a 30-year sentence for his alleged role in the murder, prosecutors have said.

Information relayed to 911 dispatchers was that the shooter got into a similar van with temporary tags, prosecutors have said. The van was registered to Clemens’ girlfriend, according to testimony.

Clemens initially refused to respond to prosecutors’ questions until he was granted immunity. He did respond to certain questions from defense attorney Caroline Turner before immunity was extended to him, and his answers appeared to exonerate Wells-Holmes for the murder.

Turner asked the witness if he realized jurors would likely be played portions of his interview with police two days after Corbett was shot to death.

Clemens implicated his codefendant as the shooter during that five-hour interview with police, prosecutors have said. But Clemens said Wednesday for the first time he had not been truthful with investigators.

He paused and looked at his attorney for guidance when he was asked directly if Wells-Holmes killed Corbett. Turner said she would rephrase her question.

“That you know of did Keith Wells-Holmes kill Andre Corbett?”

“No,” Clemens said.

“You said your statement was lies,” Turner asked.

“Yes,” Clemens responded.

“Do you know for a fact that Keith Wells-Holmes did not kill Andre Corbett?” Turner asked.

“I would like to assert my Fifth Amendment right,” Clemens said.

After Turner finished questioning the witness, Assistant Prosecutor James Scott asked the court to grant Clemens immunity to testify. Judge Robert Billmeier granted immunity, which protects Clemens from being prosecuted for anything he says on the stand.

Clemens is being tried separately from Wells-Holmes, but prosecutors cannot use any of his testimony at his own trial, according to the order. The immunity order does not cover Clemens if prosecutors can prove he perjured himself on the stand or provided false swearing, Scott said.

Immunity is rarely granted, Scott said, and prosecutors needed permission from state Attorney General John Hoffman for the immunity order. Acting Prosecutor Angelo Onofri requested the immunity order on behalf of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Scott said.

The trial resumes this afternoon.

Check back later for an updated version of this story.

TRENTON >> Bleary eyed attorneys walked out of court Wednesday following

Keith Wells Holmes

an exhausting, drama-filled day in the murder trial of Keith Wells-Holmes that required them to work through part of their lunch hour.

Tempers flared as a judge wagged his finger at a defense attorney. Witnesses invoked their constitutional rights to avoid self-incrimination. And Wells-Holmes’ codefendant, who is being tried separately, was granted immunity by a judge to testify against Wells-Holmes but ended up exonerating him for the first time in front of the jury.

An attorney who shall remain nameless apprised by multiple people who participated in and sat in on the trial Wednesday said everyone candidly described the proceedings the same way: “S--t show.”

Most of it happened outside the presence of the jury, which was sequestered away in the deliberation room while attorneys from both sides hammered numerous legal obstacles.

It remains to be seen whether a jury believes alleged getaway driver Zihqwan Clemens’ testimony as attorneys from both sides agree he has credibility issues and repeatedly lied to authorities in a Jan. 23, 2013 interview two days after Trenton graffiti artist Andre Corbett was gunned down outside an apartment complex on the corner of Hoffman Avenue and Oakland Street.

Clemens, who is known as “Woodiey,” initially took the stand at a hearing outside the jury’s presence and repeatedly responded to prosecutors’ questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

Clemens has been offered a plea deal calling for a 30-year sentence for his alleged role in the murder, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors believe he drove Wells-Holmes to and from the murder scene.

After a judge granted Clemens immunity, which protected him from having his

Zihqwan Clemens

testimony used against him at his trial, he testified Wells-Holmes paid him $5 to drive him over to “his people’s house” on Oakland Street sometime on the morning of Jan. 21, 2013. He said Wells-Holmes went into the house, returned after about 10 minutes and he drove him to another part of the city and dropped him off.

Clemens was asked directly if Wells-Holmes killed Corbett and responded that he did not, which conflicted with a prior taped statement he gave to authorities where he identified Wells-Holmes as the shooter. He was not asked whether he knew the true identity of the shooter if it was not Wells-Holmes.

Assistant Prosecutor James Scott focused on Clemens’ interview with authorities on his direct examination.

Clemens acknowledged on the day Corbett was killed he was driving around a gold Ford Windstar authorities say was linked to the murder. But he disputed being anywhere near the murder scene at the time Corbett was shot.

That contradicted with what he told police during his interview, which could be played for jurors later this week. Turner has asked that jurors watch Clemens’ entire five-hour interview so they can get a flavor for his repeated lies, which the defense attorney went over one by one during her cross examination.

Clemens acknowledged he initially lied to authorities when he claimed he did not know the owner of the van. The van was registered to his girlfriend, according to testimony.

Those lies were at the center of a Gross hearing earlier in the day as attorneys were saddled with figuring out how to reconcile Clemens’ testimony with his past statement to law enforcement.

Clemens had previously admitted hearing gunshots and seeing Wells-Holmes run back toward his van, prosecutors said. A detective testified earlier in the trial the van was seen on surveillance parked up the street from where Corbett was shot. Authorities seized the van the same day they arrested Clemens on an outstanding warrant.

Clemens said he had not been truthful with authorities during his interview and agreed with Turner’s assertion that he “threw [Wells-Holmes] under the bus” after detectives told him Wells-Holmes had possibly implicated him as the shooter.

Clemens said he was told at some point in his interview with detectives that they had Wells-Holmes in custody. A Mercer County detective has testified Clemens had called Wells-Holmes while he was in police custody.

Clemens denied under oath ever placing a phone call to Wells-Holmes.

Clemens said detectives brought up his then-3-year-old son and told him that whether he saw him again depended on if he cooperated with their investigation. Clemens said the possibility of not seeing his son again made him “sad,” and he agreed with Turner’s assertion that he gave detectives information he believed they wanted so they could charge Wells-Holmes for the murder.

Clemens’ testimony followed hours of delays in testimony as court officials determined whether witnesses Isiah Greene and Marquise Risher would testify.

Greene and Risher’s DNA was found on cans found inside the gold van.

Greene, who faces unrelated murder and attempted murder charges, invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. Risher testified in front of the jury but nothing substantial came from his testimony.

Turner has hinted that Greene was a more likely suspect in Corbett’s murder and has asked questions of witnesses that make it plausible she will formally accuse Greene of the murder as part of a third-party guilt defense. Turner, however, has declined to reveal her legal strategy. She would not say whether he client will testify.

Getting anyone to testify in this trial has proved a difficult task for prosecutors.

Acting Prosecutor Angelo Onofri had to meet with state Attorney General John Hoffman, who ultimately signed off on prosecutors’ request for immunity for Clemens. Immunity is rarely extended to witnesses, and Scott said he could not remember a time before Wednesday where he had been authorized to make such an offer.

Keith Wells-Holmes

A man known on the streets as Blick was having “beef” with some people two days before Trenton graffiti artist Andre Corbett was murdered in January 2013.

Blick is actually Isiah Greene, according to testimony in the murder trial of Keith Wells-Holmes. Holmes is charged with gunning down Corbett in broad daylight outside an apartment complex on Hoffman Avenue and Oakland Street.

What does Blick’s beef and text messages referencing bullets have to do with the death of Corbett? Everything if you’re defense attorney Caroline Turner, whose theory is premised on a third-party guilt defense that raised the specter Greene killed Corbett.

For prosecutors, the stray pieces of evidence amounted to nothing more than “speculation,” Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said. He dismissively swept aside the fact Greene’s DNA was found on a cup inside a gold van linked with the slaying during his summation Tuesday.

The van belonged to the girlfriend of codefendant Zihqwan “Woodiey” Clemens. Clemens’ girlfriend testified earlier in the trial Greene was known on the streets as Blick; a detective testified he knew Greene by the moniker Blaze.

That was one of the many discrepancies that emerged at trial. Jurors were finally handed the case late Tuesday after a judge charged them on the law. They passed a note to the judge asking for playback of footage of the shooting and for enlarged photos of specific articles of clothing the shooter wore at the time Corbett was gunned down.

Prosecutors are firm any insinuation they have the wrong man and Greene, who was never charged for Corbett’s death but is jailed on unrelated murder and attempted murder charges, was the killer was unsupported by evidence, which points squarely at Wells-Holmes.

Scott also attempted to fill in what Wells-Holmes’ attorney has called glaring holes in the case against her client, suggesting for the first time Wells-Holmes had a reason to kill Corbett.

Scott said the motive came from the defendant’s mouth in an interview with police. Wells-Holmes had told detectives he knew Corbett as someone who cracked jokes and would “talk s---.”

“A lot of people take that stuff seriously,” Wells-Holmes told detectives in a taped interview that was shown to jurors.

Scott said one is left with the impression after viewing silent surveillance footage of the shooting that Wells-Holmes pumped multiple rounds into Corbett at close range after the two allegedly exchange words.

“He decided at that minute he was going to kill Andre Corbett,” Scott said.

Wells-Holmes’ attorney is insistent her client is innocent and has built her defense on the idea that prosecutors got the wrong man. It’s a phrase she invoked once again in her closing argument while pointing to facts she alluded to at the outset of the trial.

She said her left-handed client wore different clothing than the right-handed shooter, was several inches shorter than Greene and had no reason to kill Corbett.

Turner also attacked the credibility of the witnesses who testified against her client.

“Pictures don’t lie,” she said. “People do.”

Turner urged jurors to completely discount the story Clemens gave detectives implicating Wells-Holmes as the shooter. Turner did not even seize on Clemens’ testimony under oath exonerating her client of the murder because she said doing so would be disingenuous.

“I would like to cherry pick a couple of the things he said and call them reliable but that would be dishonest of me,” she said. “False in one, false in all. He lied about everything.”

Turner then turned her sights on Michael Barnes, known as “Murder Mike.”

The convicted felon and admitted drug dealer told jurors he saw Corbett’s killer and was “100 percent” it was a man he recognized as “Zeek’s cousin.” Wells-Holmes had a family member named Zeek who lived on Oakland Street. Barnes said Well-Holmes frequently visited.

Barnes stepped forward with information about the alleged shooter a year after the murder. He cut a deal with prosecutors to resolve charges of aggravated assault, weapons offenses and resisting for probation and truthful testimony.

Turner suggested Barnes was anything but truthful. She said his vantage point was obscured and he would have had a hard time identifying the shooter out of a small glass slit in the window, especially while he was preoccupied looking out for police because he was dealing crack cocaine.

“Are we really going to believe the word of a jailhouse snitch?” she said. “You can’t believe a word that Murder Mike says. The state is actually pretty desperate to get this conviction if it’s using Murder Mike as its star witness.”

TRENTON >> Keith Wells-Holmes embraced his attorney, thanked her for saving his life and promised to attend college moments after a jury acquitted him of gunning down a Trenton man in 2013 in a brazen broad daylight shooting captured by city surveillance cameras outside the apartment complex.

Keith Wells Holmes

A jury deliberated for about six hours over two days before returning the not guilty verdict Wednesday in Mercer County Superior Court to counts of murder and weapons offenses.

Before arriving at their decision, they reviewed footage of Wells-Holmes’ Jan. 21, 2013 visits to a relative’s Oakland Street apartment as well as footage of the shooter unloading multiple rounds on Andre Corbett at point-blank range. Jurors watched several camera angles and asked prosecutors to zoom in on Wells-Holmes and the gunman, looking for discernible differences in their appearance.

After the jury forewoman read the not guilty verdict aloud in court, Wells-Holmes’ attorney, Caroline Turner, asked the court to order her client released immediately.

“I always knew he was innocent,” Turner said following the verdict. “Everything I checked out [about his story] came back exactly like he said.”

As part of a third-party guilt defense, Turner contended Isiah Greene, who was never charged in Corbett’s slaying but faces murder and attempted murder charges in separate unrelated cases, was the real killer.

Greene’s DNA was found on a cup discovered inside a gold van linked with the murder.

Turner pointed to differences in appearance between her client and the shooter. The state relied on a patchwork of surveillance footage and crucial testimony from a Mercer County detective and convicted felon and admitted drug dealer Michael “Murder Mike” Barnes.

Turner attacked Barnes’ credibility, referring to him as a jailhouse snitch and said he could not be trusted after he came forward with information about Corbett’s killer a year later, when he found himself jailed on a litany of charges.

Turner was convinced the case boiled down to the jury’s attentiveness to essential details, such as clothing and the suspect’s dominant hand. Wells-Holmes is left-handed whereas the suspect shot with his right hand.

Jurors did not hear from Wells-Holmes directly as he chose not to testify in his own defense. But they listened to Wells-Holmes’ taped police interview a second time Wednesday. Wells-Holmes denied any involvement in Corbett’s murder but appeared to trip over himself when detectives pressed him about his whereabouts the day of the murder, when he said he had not visited family on Oakland Street for several days.

Wells-Holmes stammered when detectives told him surveillance captured him on Oakland Street the day of the murder. Turner insisted her client was truthful with authorities and simply mixed up his days.

His codefendant, Zihqwan “Woodiey” Clemens, was granted immunity to testify in this murder trial and got on the stand and exonerated Wells-Holmes saying neither was around when Corbett was shot.

It’s unclear how much weight jurors gave to Clemens’ testimony. Most jurors left immediately after the verdict was read and a female juror who was still sitting outside the courthouse steps declined to comment on the verdict.

While the jury ultimately agreed with Turner’s assertion that prosecutors had the wrong man, Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said the evidence pointed at Wells-Holmes.

“I do think we had the right person,” he said. “We have to respect the jury’s verdict.”

Scott said the acquittal would not affect prosecutors’ case against Clemens, who is being tried separately. A trial date has not been set for Clemens, who has been offered a 30-year sentence for allegedly driving the getaway car.

One of two Trenton men accused of gunning down 26-year-old Brandon Nance outside a city bakery in 2013 was offered a plea deal by prosecutors calling for a 28-year sentence.

Dante Alexander

Dante Alexander, 31, was indicted earlier this year on counts of murder and weapons offenses after prosecutors said he fatally shot Nance in broad daylight Aug. 29, 2013 in front of Italian People’s Bakery on Butler Street.

Under terms of the plea deal, Alexander would be required to plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter and an unrelated robbery. He would receive a concurrent 15-year sentence on the robbery charge, which stems from a 2013 armed holdup of two Philadelphia residents on Perry Street.

The proposed deal is contingent on Alexander providing information to prosecutors, Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Korngut said at a status hearing Monday. He was not more specific.

A second gunman remains unidentified and at large, prosecutors said.

Surveillance captured Nance being shot multiple times. He collapsed in front of the bakery and was shot several more times while he lay on the ground. Police recovered 16 .40-caliber shell casings along Butler Street.

Alexander, who was arrested in Virginia last May, remains jailed on $1 million bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for June.

A Trenton man accused of fatally shooting city pharmacist Arjun Reddy Dyapa in 2011 must decide whether he is going to plead guilty to an unrelated gun possession charge or take his case to trial, a judge said Tuesday.

Jamar Meyers, 28, has a backlog of cases, prosecutors said. He faces murder, robbery and felony murder in the shooting death of Dyapa, who was shot inside his pharmacy store in April 2011 after he refused to turn over prescription pills during an armed heist, prosecutors said.

Meyers has been incarcerated for four years while awaiting trial on a myriad of cases. Prosecutors’ plea bargain calls for Meyers to admit guilt to weapon possession for a 5-year sentence. He has enough jail credits for a time served sentence.

If he were to reject that offer, his case would proceed to trial July 14 before Judge Robert Billmeier, prosecutors said.

Meyers’ attorney, Ron Garzio, has insisted authorities found the gun during an illegal vehicle stop. Authorities said the gun was in plain sight.

Regardless, Meyers isn’t getting out of jail any time soon.

The murder case is still pending, and he also faces charges in a robbery of a 7-Eleven in Hamilton that occurred days after the murder as well as aggravated assault for throwing a ready-made meal at a corrections officer, Grillo said.

Myers reportedly confided in friends he killed Dyapa and told one where he hid the gun, which was recovered by police. He is jailed on $1.25 million.

Prosecutors believe a former city drug dealer who had reportedly turned his life around to become a mentor for troubled city youth was killed because of an outstanding drug debt.

The revelation came at a hearing Tuesday in the case of alleged killer, Markquice “Tank” Thomas.

Markquice Thomas

Thomas, 29, is charged with a pair of city murders, including that of 44-year-old Joseph “Power God” Gaines, who was shot to death in March 2014.

Thomas is also accused of kidnapping and killing 22-year-old Jared Littlejohn in September 2012.

Gaines had sent Thomas text messages sometime before he was slain telling Thomas he intended to pay off the debt, prosecutors said.

“This week you’ll have your money,” he wrote. “No B.S.”

Gaines past criminal life was the center of much debate at the hearing, which was scheduled to determine whether Thomas’ attorney, Robin Lord, must withdraw from her client’s case. A judge has not issued a decision on the recusal motion.

Prosecutors argued Lord must recuse herself from the case because she represented Gaines in an unrelated drug case more than a decade ago.

Korngut said it was a conflict of interest for Lord, who would have had access to information about Gaines she could use to help defend Thomas. Prosecutors added Lord is representing Trenton Police Detective Damon Jefferson, who helped investigate Gaines’ death, in a civil matter.

The only away around the conflict, Korngut said, would be if Gaines agreed.

“He can’t give consent because he’s dead,” Korngut said.

Lord fired back, accusing prosecutors of “shooting from the hip” and said her past representation of Gaines was too distant to matter. She said Thomas was in middle school when she took on Gaines’ case.

Lord also said any suggestion that the motive for Gaines’ murder was drug-related was “stupid” because a drug dealer would want to recoup debts not kill a debtor.

“Why kill somebody who owes you money?” she asked.

Jurors will never know slain hip-hop artist Jafar Lewis was allegedly gunned down in 2013 over a drug debt.

Attorneys for both sides agreed to scrub references to a drug debt at the upcoming murder trial of accused killer Wayne Bush. Prosecutors will be allowed to suggest Lewis owed Bush money as a motive for the killing but cannot elaborate beyond that.

Bush, 39, was engaged to a relative of Lewis at the time of the Aug. 23, 2013 murder. He was supposed to go on trial July 6 on charges that he fatally shot Lewis after he believed Lewis stiffed him out of drug proceeds.

Bush rejected a final plea offer of 29 years for aggravated manslaughter.

Judge Robert Billmeier said Wednesday he expects to push back the start of trial but he did not say when it would be rescheduled.

In the meantime, Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Korngut and defense attorney Jack Furlong settled their dispute over testimony suggesting the defendant and Lewis were partners in an illicit trade that went awry.

Lewis’ fiancée, Twanna Robinson, who claims to have witnessed the murder, testified at an evidentiary hearing earlier this month that Lewis was involved in a “business relationship” with Bush, a known heroin dealer.

The men, who were acquainted for years, had a falling out after Lewis was provided 80 bricks of heroin to sell and was supposed to return the profits to Bush.

Robinson recalled being in a vehicle with Bush and Lewis about a week before the murder, when Bush allegedly unloaded 80 bricks of heroin in the back seat.

Robinson said she unloaded the bricks from her vehicle and placed them into the basement of the home the couple shared. Later, Lewis drove with her to a remote wooded part of Ewing and buried the heroin.

Billmeier previously said he was inclined to issue a written opinion that would have effectively “sanitized” Robinson’s testimony because it was prejudicial to Bush, once a close friend of the Lewis family who was engaged to Lewis’ cousin, Ghadah.

Prosecutors must find a way around drug references contained in evidence, which includes numerous text messages and private Facebook messages between Lewis and Ghadah the day of the murder.

Furlong objected to Robinson’s testimony about the drug venture because it did not appear in prior statements she gave police. She came forward with the information last month.

This boarded up, vacant house was set on fire in March. The blaze injured two people, one of which died in the hospital. (Photo taken April 29, 2015 - Penny Ray/Trentonian)

The man who died earlier this month as a result of injuries suffered during an arson fire has been identified as 48-year-old Alberto Moya-Cuevas from Mexico.

Moya-Cuevas is one of two people who were injured March 12 after a boarded up, vacant house was set on fire in the 200 block of Elmer Street. When firefighters arrived on-scene, they found heavy flames venting out of a front bedroom window, and a fire victim was sitting outside of the house. Firefighters later found Moya-Cuevas lying on a mattress in the third-floor attic.

“I only got a quick look at Moya-Cuevas, but it appeared that the majority of the injuries suffered by him was due to heavy smoke,” Chief Michael Welsh said Wednesday morning. “I didn't really see a lot of blistering or bubbling of his skin, but like I said, I didn’t really get a good look at him.”

Both victims were taken to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where Moya-Cuevas passed away on April 12. The Trentonian was unable to confirm the second victim’s condition at press time.

According to Welsh, the fire was ruled an arson because officials found several possible origins of the blaze, suggesting that someone may have set the fire in different locations throughout the house before escaping. Welsh said it appears a fire was ignited in the kitchen, in a rear bedroom, on a stairway and somewhere on the second floor of the home.

“There were several different areas of origin that were not relevant to each other,” Welsh said. “I don’t know if they were set simultaneously or at different times. Samples of wood were sent out for testing to see if an accelerant was used.”

Welsh said the house had been vacant for quite some time and the gas and power was shut off prior to the blaze. He believes the two victims were homeless squatters.

“Whether they were drinking or doing drugs at that location, but living somewhere else, I don't know,” Welsh said. “But they weren't supposed to be in the building.”

When asked whether he believed the second victim, identified as Gustavo Lima, was involved with igniting the blaze, Welsh declined to speculate.

"We don't know his whereabouts at the start of the fire,” Welsh said. “All we know is that he made it out of the building.”

A spokesperson for the county prosecutor’s office said the incident remains under investigation.

Police are still searching for people related to Moya-Cuevas to inform them of his death. Anyone who has information about the location of his next of kin is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406.

Anyone with information about the origin of the fire can call that same number, or use the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663. Tipsters may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tipline at (609) 278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

Convicted gang leader Jose Negrete’s past murder trials were wracked by jury problems. His legal team said in court papers filed this week in Superior Court his fourth trial, dubbed a “trial by transcript” by defense attorney Jack Furlong, was no different.

The Latin Kings leader was awarded a new trial when the appellate court overturned his 2009 conviction, which led to an 80-year sentence, because of jury misconduct. A jury member knew the father of the victim’s children and made statements to panelists that were not a part of evidence at trial.

In this case, Negrete’s attorneys say this jury should not have known this was Negrete’s fourth trial for ordering the murder of gang “queen” Jeri Lynn Dotson and the near-strangulation of gang turncoat Alex Ruiz in August 2004.

But Furlong & Krasny associate Andrew Ferencevych wrote in a motion for new trial that any chance of that was eviscerated once prosecutors introduced transcripts of prior witness testimony from Negrete’s murder trials in 2008 and 2009.

Jurors were told only the transcripts were from prior proceedings as the judge purposely left it vague to try to preserve Negrete’s right to a fair trial. For jurors that didn’t make the leap that the transcripts were from a prior trial, it was done for them after prosecutors’ myriad tongue slips.

“Although great measures were taken in an attempt to redact all references to the prior trials from the transcripts, the state improperly referred to the trial and the jury on many occasions during the transcript reading,” Ferencevych wrote. “These repeated references indicated to the current jury that Negrete had already been tried for these offenses.”

Negrete was convicted for the second time last month of murder, conspiracy and attempted murder for ordering Dotson killed after she witnessed the Aug. 30, 2004 abduction of her roommate Ruiz.

Ruiz, formerly a member of the rival Netas, was targeted by Negete’s henchmen on the Latin King leader’s orders after his defection triggered a war between the factions. Ruiz survived being strangled, stomped and left for dead in a dumpster on Duck Island.

He was one of four witnesses who refused to testify at Negrete’s most recent trial, putting prosecutors in a bind. Witnesses feigned memory problems, said they did not want to revisit the past and wouldn’t testify against Negrete for fear of recriminations.

The state had little leverage over many of Negrete’s coconspirators. Many had been released from state prison after serving their sentences for their involvement in Dotson’s murder and the murder attempt on Ruiz.

Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez elected not to hold any witnesses in contempt for refusing to answers prosecutors’ questions. Ferencevych said in the motion the judge should have punished recalcitrant witnesses.

“The court permitted each witness to indicate that he did not remember certain questions,” he wrote. “The court then permitted the witness to walk out the door without any punishment for actively deciding not to testify.”

Prosecutors attempted to get around the lack of witness cooperation by introducing prior testimony, which Negrete’s defense team said caused additional problems.

Ferencevych pointed out prosecutors were allowed to “cherry pick” past testimony from Negrete’s 2008 or 2009 trials that was most favorable to its case. He said prosecutors should have been forced to choose from one or the other.

Furlong has said he plans to appeal if the new trial motion, set to be heard later this month, fails. He said he is confident his client will win on appeal, which would add yet another chapter to a case that has dragged on for more than a decade.

“All we had was a melodramatic reading of a prior trial that ended in a reversal by the appellate division,” Furlong said. “I have no reasonable doubt that this verdict will be reversed on appeal based on the unusual circumstances that led to the wholesale reading of trial transcripts to this jury. I don’t blame the judge for what happened, but I strongly disagree with how he dealt with the problem.”

John Covington of Trenton was killed in January when he was struck by a car. (Contributed photo)

The man who fatally struck 44-year-old John Covington with a vehicle as he was crossing the street pushing a shopping cart has been charged with vehicular homicide.

“A detective was able to establish enough probable cause to charge Robert McFadden with death by auto,” Lt. Steven Varn said.

McFadden, 22, surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday after learning that he was charged. He was released from jail after posting 10 percent of the $150,000 cash or bond bail.

Robert McFadden

McFadden was previously charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to yield to a pedestrian and improper safety glass in connection with the Jan. 16 incident that left Covington lying in the street with his guts hanging out, two broken legs and a hole in his head.

In an interview with The Trentonian earlier this year, Covington’s family expressed concern that McFadden had not received a more serious charge.

“My brother’s dead and he’s riding around somewhere,” John’s brother Milton Covington said. “I don’t know who the heck let him go, but he should not have been released.”

Milton Covington holds his brother John's boots that he retrieved from the crash scene where his brother was killed. (David Foster - The Trentonian)

The Covington family was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon, but Milton previously said that his brother was pushing a shopping cart carrying a television at the time of the fatal accident. The crash propelled Covington through the vehicle’s windshield and knocked him out of his boots. Milton later found those boots near Gregory Elementary School in the 500 block of Rutherford Avenue where the accident occurred. Tire marks from McFadden’s vehicle were visible for 75 feet, according to the police report.

After hitting Covington, McFadden stopped and waited for law enforcement. McFadden told police that he had no time to react, and that Covington suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the passenger side of the car. A vehicle passenger told detectives that he did not notice anything before it was too late, according to the police report.

The Trentonian will include this death by auto in its yearly homicide count, and will differentiate between vehicular homicides and murders in its end of year review. But TPD and state police do not include vehicular homicides in yearly homicide statistics.

This year’s homicide toll is now seven.

TRENTON >> The murder case against a Trenton man accused of fatally

Prosecutors say this surveillance photo shows Shaheed Brown (left) and Enrico Smalley Jr. minutes before Smalley was gunned down outside of La Guira Bar on July 12, 2014.

shooting Enrico Smalley Jr. outside a violence-riddled city bar last year is headed for trial.

Shaheed Brown, 30, who is accused of gunning down Smalley outside of La Guira Bar in July 2014, said he was “absolutely” rejecting prosecutors’ final plea offer of 45 years for murder.

A repeat offender with convictions for aggravated assault and aggravated arson, Brown was advised by Judge Robert Billmeier that he could be sentenced to up to 75 years in prison if he is found guilty by a jury at trial. He responded firmly that he understood.

The judge did not set a date for trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks. Billmeier said he would have to find a lull in his schedule, which is jam-packed with murder trials.

Billmeier recently presided over the murder trial of Keith Wells-Holmes, who was acquitted earlier this week of murder.

The idea was floated that retired Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson, who is still on recall, could take over Brown’s case to ease Billmeier’s load. A voir dire conference is set for July 30.

Brown’s attorney, Edward Heyburn, had previously asked the court to fast-track his client’s case for trial and asked the court Friday if it would schedule a conference between himself, Smithson and Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley.

Heyburn hopes the court could accommodate a trial date in August. Brown has been incarcerated on $1 million bail on numerous charges since he was arrested for Smalley’s murder in Newark in August 2014.

Brown also faces gun and drug-related charges, but prosecutors expect to drop those charges in July when a codefendant is sentenced.

A judge ordered evidence of the gun suppressed, leaving only drug charges remaining for Brown. His codefendant pleaded guilty in the drug case, admitting drugs belonged to him and exonerating Brown.

Brown’s attorney has also maintained his client’s innocence in the murder case, claiming someone other than Brown killed Smalley.

The attorney released a video to The Trentonian he claimed showed the identity of the gunman, a man known only as “King,” who appears to reach for something tucked into the left side of his waistband moments before Smalley was shot.

Heyburn said police did not attempt to interview the man in order to rule him out as a suspect.

The clip generated much public interest in the case, and a judge issued a gag order on the attorneys and sealed the court file. McCauley said release of the video discouraged a potential witness from cooperating with prosecutors.

Since then, prosecutors have said the murder weapon used to kill Smalley was linked with a separate homicide in Essex County and two shootings in Trenton.

The weapon has not been recovered, but prosecutors said shell casings at those scenes ballistically matched ones recovered from La Guira Bar, which was the scene of a second fatal shooting in December.

Authorities said Patrick Walker was gunned down outside the bar, leading officials from the Alcoholic Beverage Control to inquire about the establishment’s practices.

A 33-year-old city man was stabbed to death in the area of St. Joe's and Sherman Avenues early Sunday morning.

According to Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, Paris France Way was found suffering from stab wounds after police received a call about the stabbing in the area around 1:57 a.m.

Way was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his wounds a short time later, DeBlasio said.

No information regarding a motive or a suspect was available on Sunday afternoon.

The Mercer County Homicide Task Force is investigating. Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call (609) 989-6406. Or use the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663. Tipsters may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tipline at (609) 278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

The best man convicted of killing his close friend, a Trenton drug dealer, in a botched home invasion in 2008 maintained his innocence before he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the slaying, his attorney confirmed.

Nigel Dawson and William Brown were convicted of the 2008 murder of Tracy Crews. (Submitted photos)

William “Paperboy” Brown, 30, and Nigel Joseph Dawson, 31, were each convicted in February of first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery and weapons offenses following a six-week trial before Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson.

The duo faced a life sentence for the murder of Tracy Crews, a convicted drug dealer and Bloods gang member who was shot in the neck inside his Whittaker Avenue residence Sept 12, 2008 so the defendants could make off with $40,000 in drug proceeds. The judge handed down a 50-year sentence instead.

Brown’s attorney, Steven Lember, confirmed each of the defendants’ 50-year prison terms are subject to the No Early Release Act, which means they’ll have to serve 85 percent of their sentences, or more than 42 years, before they’re eligible for parole.

That would put Brown and Dawson in their early 70s before they could be released from state prison. Lember had filed a motion for new trial that was denied Thursday and has vowed to appeal the conviction.

He had expressed confidence his client would be vindicated on appeal based off Smithson’s decision at trial to allow prosecutors to present evidence of a dying declaration from Crews.

The evidence had been excluded by another judge who ruled it was unreliable. But Smithson reversed the ruling because he believed the dying declaration couched some of Crews’ wife’s lies.

Sheena Robinson-Crews, the victim’s widow, had admitted initially lying to police when she said her husband implicated both defendants while he lay dying outside a nearby liquor store. She later said her husband only mentioned Brown.

That was just one twist in a trial that was full of them. The biggest came when the defendants accused Robinson-Crews of conspiring with two other men in his murder as part of a third-party guilt defense.

The defense’s theory was based on comments Robinson-Crews’ made during a phone conversation hours after her husband was shot and testimony from a jailhouse informant who was locked up with Robinson-Crews in Pennsylvania.

Police overheard Robinson-Crews telling someone authorities believed was the killer, “You didn’t have to shoot him,” referring to Crews. Crews’ mother, Barbara Portis, said at trial she had believed her son’s wife was involved in his murder.

But defense attorneys were dealt a critical blow when Smithson ruled Trenton Police Officer Nathan Bolognini was not allowed to testify before the jury because he did not recall reporting to superiors overhearing Crews’ wife phone conversation, even though it appeared in a search warrant.

Both defense attorneys and the judge were incredulous Bolognini could not recall such a specific detail.