A man accused of murdering two men during a crime spree rejected a plea deal on Friday.

Randy Kareem Washington is set to face trial in June for the murder of 64-year-old Silas Johnson. It is alleged that Washington was gunned down Johnson near the intersection of Market Street and the Route 1 overpass on the morning of Oct. 29, 2014.

Randy Kareem Washington

The terms of the plea deal offered to 35-year-old Randy Washington would have him serving 30 years on each of the murders. Those sentences would run consecutively for a 60 year prison sentence. Friday's rejection could set Washington up for a life sentence if convicted.

Washington is accused in a litany of offenses that occurred from July to October of 2014. Included in those offenses is the Oct. 29 slaying of Silas Johnson and the July 30 shooting death of George Jamison, 43. He is also facing charges in five robberies that occurred in the city during the crime spree.

On Friday Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds outlined some of the evidence that will be presented at trial including text messages from Washington to his girlfriend, eyewitness testimony and a bloody sweatshirt found at Silas Johnson murder scene. In 2014 Geurds referred to Washington as a "terror" and cited his criminal record indicating five prior convictions, including ones for second-degree aggravated assault and making threats of violence, prosecutors said.

His current attorney Diane Lyons said at Friday's hearing she intended to file suppression motions with regard to a warrantless search, and a search where a warrant was obtained in a bid to exclude evidence at trial.

Jury selection is set to begin on June 6.

A former Bloods gangster who pleaded guilty in 2014 for his role in a large-scale racketeering case testified Thursday at Masiyah Howard’s murder trial, saying the alleged killer had talked to him at the county jail about having shot someone.

When Kenneth Williams was incarcerated in the same jail pod with Howard three years ago, “He asked me for a suit,” Williams said Thursday on the witness stand. “He said he was in there shooting somebody and he’s basically trying to fight the case. … He didn’t tell me who he shot.”

Howard, 21, of Trenton, is accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Louis Bryan Alvarez in the city’s Chambersburg neighborhood on Feb. 26, 2013. Police arrested him days later on unrelated robbery charges and then gained probable cause to charge him with murder and weapons offenses.

Louis Bryan Alvarez

Authorities say Howard went to Alvarez’s Fulton Street residence to confront him and then fired a shot through a glass window after the victim had slammed the door shut about 9:50 p.m. Trenton cops arrived on scene to find Alvarez unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso. Medics rushed Alvarez to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he died about an hour later that evening.

Howard was 17 at the time of his arrest but is being tried as an adult.

Williams has decided to come forward and testify against Howard, but he struggled on Thursday to give a clear explanation on why, exactly, he is cooperating with the authorities in the murder case.

Ex-gangster’s testimony

Williams, 25, of Trenton, was one of 20 defendants indicted in 2014 on racketeering and gang criminality charges in connection with an alleged criminal enterprise involving Bloods gang members who sought to gain money and power for the enterprise.

In June 2014, Williams took a plea deal in the Operation Checkmate racketeering case that allowed him to plead guilty to one count of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The deal called for him to serve a minimum of three years but no more than seven years in prison and required him to cooperate against some of his co-defendants in the racketeering case.

Shortly after reaching the plea deal, Williams was conditionally released from the Mercer County Correction Center with an electronic-monitoring device placed on his ankle pending sentencing. While out on bail, he was re-arrested on several additional occasions but remains free pending sentencing for his crime of possessing a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

Steven Lember, Howard’s defense attorney, during cross-examination on Thursday questioned Williams about his criminal history and asked him if he had cleaned up his act.

“Yes, sir,” Williams responded shortly after acknowledging he had pleaded guilty in 2012 to lying to a police officer.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Hadley on Thursday asked Williams about his 2014 jail interaction with Howard, who was known by the nickname Chicken.

“He said he shot him,” Williams said of Howard. “I don’t know where he said he shot him at, but he said he shot him. He didn’t give no description, but I know it was over some type of Xbox and I know some other dude was there, so I don’t really know who did what. You feel me? He said dude got shot.”

“Did he say he shot the man?” Hadley asked.

“Yeah,” Williams responded.

Howard has pleaded not guilty to all counts. His murder trial is scheduled to resume 11 a.m. next Tuesday before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson.

William "Bill Bill" Mitchell

One of the city men accused of murdering 23-year-old Daquan Dowling in a brazen 2012 drive-by shooting along Route 29 is about to be retried in a court of law.

William Mitchell’s second murder trial is scheduled to begin Thursday before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi. His initial trial ended last October in a hung jury.

Dowling was driving on Route 29 near the War Memorial in Trenton when perpetrators drove alongside him and fired a shot that struck him in the head, killing him instantly on Jan. 30, 2012.

Mitchell, 29, is one of the five people to be indicted in connection with the slaying of Dowling. Another defendant in the case, Andre Romero, 25, was found not guilty last October of all charges.

Co-defendant Anthony Marks, 28, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a handgun in 2015; co-defendant Jamar Square, 24, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a handgun in 2013; and co-defendant Louis Alvardo, 26, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in 2014.

In the initial trial, Marks and Square testified as cooperating witnesses against Mitchell and Romero. Marks and Square have not yet been sentenced for their guilt in the case, while Alvardo received a four-year prison sentence for admitting he had received the stolen Chrysler Sebring that was later connected to the drive-by shooting.

As Mitchell awaits retrial, he remains incarcerated at the Mercer County Correction Center on $1 million cash bail. Defense attorney Mark Fury is representing Mitchell; Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott is trying the case on behalf of the state.

The alleged gunman who shot and killed Emilio Lopez during a 2012 robbery in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood is gearing up for a post-indictment arraignment.

Emmanuel Cruz, 29, of Hamilton, is scheduled to appear in court 9 a.m. next Monday before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta. A grand jury indicted him last month on six counts, including murder, robbery and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose on allegations he fatally gunned down Lopez on the night of Nov. 16, 2012, near the intersection of Kent and Division streets. 

Emmanuel Cruz

Surveillance video of the slaying showed Lopez, 34, walking down the street and getting shot while four robbers surrounded him, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Lopez was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center but died from his mortal wounds.

While Cruz maintains his innocence, three other defendants in the case — a trio of cousins who got arrested less than 48 hours after the murder — have all pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and are accusing Cruz of being the killer.

Jose Rivera, 24, of Trenton, pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 2016; Roberto Cruz, 36, of Trenton, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2016; and Kenneth C. Rivera, 24, of Trenton, pleaded guilty March 13. All three self-confessed robbers are cooperating witnesses in Emmanuel Cruz’s murder case, which appears to be heading to trial.

Police arrested Emmanuel Cruz last December in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, more than four years after the grisly robbery-turned-murder. He is Roberto Cruz’s brother and is being held on $500,000 cash bail.

Roberto Cruz was set to get hammered with a prison sentence last Friday, but the hearing has been postponed to July 28 while Jose Rivera and Kenneth Rivera are scheduled to be sentenced next month for their roles in robbing Emilio Lopez on the night he was shot and killed.

However, there is a good chance the three self-confessed robbers will not be sentenced until after Emmanuel Cruz’s murder case is resolved with an acquittal, conviction, plea deal or dismissal of all charges, because the three of them have all chosen to become cooperating witnesses in the murder case.

Emmanuel Cruz in 2012 pleaded guilty to fourth-degree aggravated assault with a firearm and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. Court records show he is currently being represented by defense attorney David Schroth.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott is handling the murder case on behalf of the state.

Defendant Masiyah Howard listens to closing arguments in Mercer County Superior Court on Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
(Gregg Slaboda Photo)

Going to trial without any eyewitness reports or direct evidence, the state’s murder case against Masiyah “Chicken” Howard relies primarily upon the sworn testimony of three so-called 793 Bloods street gang members.

Howard, 21, of Trenton, is accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Louis Bryan Alvarez over a $20 dispute involving an Xbox video game system.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Hadley on Wednesday conceded the state does not have any surveillance video, eyewitness accounts or direct evidence linking Howard to the February 2013 murder of Alvarez in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood, but she said the state can prove Howard committed the brazen murder by assessing his alleged words of self-incrimination.

After authorities busted an alleged racketeering operation in Trenton that resulted in 20 members of the 793 Bloods set getting indicted in 2014, Howard allegedly told three of those gangbangers that he was in jail for shooting someone.

Those three hardened criminals — Kenneth Williams, Hector Maldonado and Joel Flowers — all took to the witness stand and testified under oath that Howard had talked to them about the slaying back when they were all housed together as inmates at the Mercer County Correction Center.

“They weren’t the best characters we could find,” Hadley said of the three gangsters-turned-snitches. But she said they are all credible witnesses, adding, “There would be no witnesses if the defendant didn’t tell his story.”

A snitch is a person who tells someone in authority about something wrong that someone has done. The Bloods gangsters became snitches against Howard, and Hadley suggested that Howard never saw that coming because, she said, Howard was conditioned to believe that gang members live by a street code that prohibits snitching.

Defense counters

Steven Lember, Howard’s defense attorney, chastised the state for relying upon the testimony of three gangsters who are seeking prison-sentence leniency for their guilt in other crimes. He accused the state of engaging in “confirmation bias” of believing in the flattery of non-credible snitches simply because their statements had confirmed the prosecution’s belief that Howard is the gunman responsible for Alvarez’s death.

“They all have motive to lie,” Lember said of Williams, Maldonado and Flowers, all of whom could have received 50-year prison sentences if convicted on their racketeering and gang criminality charges. The three gang members have each become state cooperating witnesses and all reached plea agreements in hopes of receiving lenient sentences.

Lember in his closing arguments on Wednesday further attacked the credibility of the three gangsters.

He said Maldonado is a “serial snitch” who had testified that Howard used a revolver in the slaying while evidence in the case shows that a weapon that discharges shells was used in the shooting. A revolver does not eject shell casings.

The defense attorney said Flowers, a reputed Bloods gang general, is “your perfect wolf in sheep’s clothing” and “a liar” who falsely testified to being Howard’s cellmate. Inmate records show the two were never cellmates, Lember said.

Then Lember mentioned the fact that Williams has been re-arrested on other charges ever since he became a state cooperating witness who had secured release from the county jail on condition of electronic monitoring pending sentencing. Williams previously pleaded guilty in 2012 to lying to a police officer.

Adult charges

Howard was 17 at the time of his arrest but is being tried as an adult. He has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a handgun in connection with the slaying of Alvarez.

Louis Bryan Alvarez

The victim suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest inside his Trenton home on the night of Feb. 26, 2013. The shot was fired from outside the Fulton Street residence and shattered through a front glass window before striking Alvarez.

Speaking to the jurors, Lember said, “I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty on all counts in the indictment.”

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Thursday.

After deliberating for several days, a 12-member jury on Tuesday unanimously found Trenton gunman Masiyah “Chicken” Howard guilty of unlawful possession of a handgun but could not reach a verdict on whether he was guilty of murder or manslaughter.

Defendant Masiyah Howard listens to closing arguments in Mercer County Superior Court on Wenesday, May 3, 2017.
(Gregg Slaboda Photo)

The jurors unanimously agreed that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Howard possessed a firearm without a permit to carry, but they could not all agree on whether Howard used that gun for the purpose of committing murder.

Prosecutors have accused Howard, 21, of shooting and killing 25-year-old Louis Bryan Alvarez over a $20 dispute involving an Xbox video game system. The victim suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest inside his Chambersburg home on the night of Feb. 26, 2013. The lethal shot was fired from outside the Fulton Street residence and shattered through a front glass window before striking Alvarez. 

Howard has been incarcerated in jail ever since being arrested in March 2013 at the age of 17. Being tried as an adult, Howard pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons offenses, but the jury was firmly convinced he unlawfully possessed a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry.

With the jury convicting Howard of the second-degree weapons offense, he could potentially be sentenced up to 10 years in state prison. But the state will have to decide whether it will retry Howard on the unresolved charges of murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, because the trial ended Tuesday with the jury being hung on those two counts.

Mixed outcome

“It’s obviously not the result we were looking for,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Hadley said Tuesday after the jury failed to convict Howard on the more serious charges in the indictment. “We believe we’ve got the right person.”

Hadley further said she was “disappointed” with the outcome but appreciated that “at least we have a conviction on one of the counts.”

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office will have to “sit back and assess what we are going to do with the other counts,” Hadley said, adding she intends to meet with the victim’s family in the near future before making a decision on how to proceed on the unresolved charges.

The indictment charged Howard with first-degree murder, but the jurors were instructed to consider the lesser homicide charges of manslaughter if they could not reach a verdict on murder.

“The jury could not reach a verdict on either the murder or manslaughter counts; they were hung,” said Steven Lember, Howard’s defense attorney. “We don’t know how they were leaning.”

Lember said “we won’t know for a while” on whether the state will retry the case on the unresolved charges.

Little evidence

The state did not have any surveillance video, eyewitness accounts or direct evidence linking Howard to the February 2013 murder of Alvarez, but prosecutors did have three cooperating witnesses — a trio of legally troubled Trenton gang members from the 793 Bloods set — who testified under oath that Howard had previously talked to them about being in jail for shooting someone.

Louis Bryan Alvarez

The lack of direct evidence in the case and the state’s reliance upon criminal cooperating witnesses seeking lenient prison sentences may have been the issue that made the jury unable to unanimously decide whether Howard was guilty of murder or manslaughter and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

After the trial ended Tuesday afternoon, Trenton Homicide Watch asked the jurors whether they wanted to comment on their deliberations, but all of them respectfully declined.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson presided over the trial and told the jurors it was regrettable they could not reach a verdict on all counts but that “you’ve given it your best shot. I know you have. Thank you.”

A city man with a history of sexual assault snapped when he saw police at his doorstep, leading to a standoff that left an innocent bystander dead.

As of press time Wednesday night, the suspect — identified as 35-year-old Tyleeb Reese — was still barricaded in a Centre Street home with police surrounding the building.

Officials say members of the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force served a sexual assault warrant at Reese’s home in the 300 block of Centre Street around 6:45 a.m. Police say officers entered the home and were engaged in gunfire by the suspect. Law enforcement then retreated while ducking fire and Reese retreated back into the house, where he remained barricaded until at least 10 p.m. Wednesday.

While Reese was in the house he exchanged gunfire with police and shot and killed an innocent bystander who was crawling to a safe place for cover behind a car near the cops.

Three Mercer County Sheriff’s Officers were also struck by gunfire. All three officers were treated and released after being treated for injuries. Witnesses at the scene said Reese used a shotgun, or possibly a long gun, but police would not confirm that detail.

It’s unclear whether Reese was also hit by gunfire during the shootout.

The Centre Street home where the shooting happened is owned by Reese’s relatives, property records show.

Officials actively tried to negotiate with Reese throughout the day. Police allowed several of Reese’s relatives to call him in an attempt to negotiate a peaceful surrender. Police also used a bullhorn on several occasions trying to convince him to exit the house.

Sources said Resse wanted to come out of the house but was afraid he’s was going to be shot.

Police do not know if there is anyone in the house with Reese, or the layout of the property, which is why they did not breach the home immediately.

Police used a sniper to watch Reese through a window.

New Jersey State Police TEAMS unit officers are seen moving the body of a man killed during a shootout with police. The alleged shooter barricaded himself inside after a shootout with police on May 10, 2017. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

Officials would not confirm the identity of the deceased victim, who lied in the middle of the street at the corner of Federal and Centre until 1:20 p.m., when police removed his body using a SWAT vehicle as cover.

“This whole street is a powder keg. There’s always something going on in these alleys and back streets,” a witness said.

Around 8:30 a.m., police knocked on doors and forced residents of the 400 block of Centre Street to evacuate their homes. Meanwhile, some residents in the 300 block remained trapped inside their house until just before dark when cops helped some of them exit their property safely.

During the day, SWAT team members were seen running through the streets with rifles looking for a safe vantage point. At one point, a couple streets over, a school bus picked up kids, prompting residents to question why schools in the area were not shut down.

Police tossed tear gas into the Centre Street twice, but it was not clear if the gas had any impact on Reese.

After visiting the scene Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Eric Jackson described the standoff as an “unfortunate scenario for all involved.”

“I am pleased that our law enforcement community, from the U.S. Marshals Office, to the Sheriff’s Office, Prosecutor’s Office and Trenton PD, are working collectively to try to resolve this as best they can given the circumstances that confront them,” the mayor said. “So I’m hopeful for the best possible outcome that can happen at this point.”

Neighbors who were sitting on their stoops near the crime scene said Reese was a “good guy” who just snapped.

“He’s very friendly and has a good character,” said one woman, who just got off the phone with the suspect’s ex-girlfriend. “We’re just as shocked as everyone else.”

Neighbors know Reese by his nickname “T” and said he just broke up with his girlfriend a few weeks ago.

“A lot is probably going on in his head stemming from the breakup,” one acquaintance said. “But I don’t think that would be a reason to do all this. He doesn’t seem like the type of person to do this over a girl. It has to be something bigger.”

Reese has a criminal record, which includes convictions of criminal sexual contact, failure to register on Megan’s Law and resisting arrest.

Standoffs in Trenton are nothing new.

The last deadly standoff occurred four years ago.

In May 2013, 38-year-old Gerald Murphy was shot and killed by police during a 37-hour standoff in a Grand Street home after he killed his girlfriend, her 13-year-old son, and held the woman’s three other children hostage at gunpoint.

It was a long ordeal that was carried out over three days and gained national media attention after police discovered the mother’s decomposed body in the home during a welfare check. When Murphy pulled a gun, officers retreated from the house and began the long standoff.

Police eventually raided the home following a loud explosion in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, May 12 and shot Murphy dead.

The affair forced neighbors out of their homes and kept an entire city on edge.

Then on Christmas Eve in 2013, another standoff occurred inside an apartment on the 200 block of Coolidge Avenue involving a hostage situation.

Kevin Robinson eventually surrendered peacefully four hours later after he held his 19-year-old daughter and her two children captive at gunpoint.

Dating back to 2013, there have been at least one police-involved shooting in the capital city each year, including the Murphy standoff.

In August 2013, Eric McNeil, 23, was justifiably shot and killed by police after he ambushed two detectives as they were escorting a domestic violence victim back to her Hobart Avenue home.

In November 2014, 31-year-old Darnell Stafford was shot and killed by cops after he fired gunshots through the windshield of their police cruiser on Wilson Street.

The following year, police shot 23-year-old Jeremiah Sanchez in the neck and arm after he allegedly hit an officer with his car while fleeing from the first block of Chestnut Avenue. Sanchez survived the shooting.

In August 2016, 34-year-old Alfred Toe was shot and killed by an off-duty Trenton police officer after he allegedly tried to wrestle a handgun away from the cop.

Police guard the body of a homicide victim as the suspect is barricaded inside of a home on the 300 block of Centre St. in Trenton. (Penny Ray — The Trentonian)

Police respond to a suspect barricaded inside of a home on the 300 block of Centre St. in Trenton.
Penny Ray — The Trentonian

More than 24 hours after a triggerman engaged U.S. Marshals in a gunfight that left a civilian dead and three officers wounded, the suspect as of 12:30 p.m. Thursday remained barricaded inside a South Trenton home with police still attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

With 35-year-old Tyleeb Reese still holed up inside the house and a large police presence surrounding the neighborhood, one resident urged police to hurry up and end the standoff, saying, “They are taking too long.”

The standoff began about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday when members of a U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force served a sexual assault warrant at Reese’s home on the 300 block of Centre Street. Police say officers entered the home and were engaged in gunfire by the suspect.

While Reese was in the house he allegedly exchanged gunfire with police and shot and killed an innocent bystander who was crawling to a safe place for cover behind a car near the cops. Officials have identified the deceased victim as Robert Powell Jr., 56, of Lamberton Street.

“He was an honest guy but was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” city man Angel Rivera, 40, said Thursday morning of Powell. Rivera said he did not know Powell too well but knew him to be a gentleman who “helped out a lot” in the neighborhood.

Three Mercer County Sheriff’s Officers were also struck by gunfire in the gunfight with the suspect. All three officers were treated and released after being treated for injuries. Witnesses at the scene said Reese used a shotgun, or possibly a long gun, but police would not confirm that detail.

Press update

At a press briefing about 11 a.m. Thursday, Capt. Brian Polite of the New Jersey State Police said tactical assets personnel were engaged in ongoing negotiations with Reese.

Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson said the city on Wednesday served more than 450 meals to residents in the South Trenton neighborhood and said the city’s senior center on South Broad Street was being used as a shelter site for any residents who had to evacuate their homes as a result of the standoff.

“We are hoping to bring this matter to a resolve as quickly and as effectively as we can,” Jackson said. “I can assure you, though, that law-enforcement assets of all that are involved have been working tirelessly and working with professionalism to resolve this matter, and I urge the residents of our city to stay calm to continue to give the law-enforcement officers and agencies the opportunity to do their job to bring a peaceful resolution to this matter.”

Police scanners reported that shots were fired Wednesday night and that the barricaded suspect may have suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.

Trenton Homicide Watch is trying to confirm whether Reese is related to a Mercer County corrections officer.

Action continues

During Day 2 of the standoff, several patrons bought sandwiches from the La Caribena Grocery store at 418 Centre St. late Thursday morning. They had to enter the establishment from the rear.

“I feel bad,” La Caribena owner Sergio Azcona said, “because I’m losing money. I have to pay money, taxes and everything. It’s crazy.”

At one point during the standoff, a police officer entered the La Caribena business Thursday morning and asked Azcona if he could use the restroom. The business owner happily obliged.

Among the few people who patronized the business on Thursday was Angel Rivera, who bought a cheesesteak. He said his girlfriend works with Reese’s mother at a welfare office and said the talk of the workplace was that Reese told his mom he will not surrender to police.

“He’s not going back to jail. That’s what his exact words were,” Rivera said. Calling the incident “sad,” Rivera said he believed that Reese may have mental health issues.

Mayor Jackson said he has been in contact with the suspect’s mother and said “she’s in good spirits as best as she can be at this time.”

Reese has a history of sexual assault, but area residents on Thursday continued to describe him as “a good guy.”

Directing off-site

Notably absent from the scene was Trenton Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr., who was participating in the annual police unity tour as he has in the last two years.

Trenton Police Detective Lt. Stephen Varn confirmed Parrey’s participation in the unity tour and said the police director “is in continuous contact with the command staff of the department and receiving constant updates of not only the incident on Centre Street but also other department matters.”

The primary purpose of the Police Unity Tour is to raise awareness of law-enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

The secondary purpose is to raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum, according to the unity tour's website.

The 2017 ride left North Jersey on Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., on Friday. The candlelight vigil will take place Saturday at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, and Parrey and the other participants in the Police Unity Tour are scheduled to check out Sunday morning.

Varn also said anyone who has been displaced as a direct result of the 30-plus-hour standoff can take shelter and receive services at the senior center at 870 S. Broad St. or call (609) 989-3837.

Alleged killer Isiah Greene is scheduled to be retried this summer on murder charges.

Greene, 23, of Trenton, is accused of shooting and killing 24-year-old city man Quaadir “Ace” Gurley in the early morning hours of July 21, 2013. The slaying occurred at Trenton’s Donnelly Homes housing complex.

Isiah Greene

The upcoming murder trial is slated to begin with jury selection on July 17. It will be the third time prosecutors seek to win a conviction against Greene, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case. The first trial in October 2015 and the second trial in January 2017 each ended with a hung jury. 

Greene, who has been held in custody since police arrested him Nov. 18, 2013, appeared in court Monday wearing his orange Mercer County Correction Center jumpsuit. Rukiya Blackwell represented him on behalf of defense attorney Mark Fury.

At the brief hearing, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi set Greene’s new trial date.

For the third time, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott will again handle the prosecution of Greene at the murder retrial.

Tyleeb Reese

Tyleeb Reese, the alleged gunman who barricaded himself inside a Centre Street home for 35 hours last week during a deadly standoff with police, originally became wanted for arrest due to his prior failure to appear in court.

Reese, 35, of Trenton, again failed to appear in court Tuesday for his arraignment on murder and attempted murder charges.

A sex offender already in hot water for failing to register, Reese on Tuesday afternoon opted to stay behind bars rather than appear in court to face heavy charges in connection with last week’s fatal gunfight that left one civilian dead and three sheriff’s officers wounded.

As an inmate at the Mercer County Correction Center, Reese could have easily attended his first appearance hearing but nevertheless declined to come in the jail’s video conference room.

With the video conferencing system activated and Reese nowhere to be seen, “He is not here, your honor,” public defender Thomas Belsky told the judge about his client. “Mr. Reese declined to come in the video conference room.”

Reese, who has been charged with the murder of 56-year-old Robert Powell Jr. and the attempted murder of five law enforcement officials, surrendered to police last Thursday to bring a peaceful resolution to what had been a violent confrontation.

Since Jan. 1, new defendants normally get arraigned within 48 hours of arrest. But Reese’s Central Judicial Processing or CJP hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday — five days after his arrest — due to him requiring medical evaluation after he complained of chest pains.

The public defender provided no explanation for why Reese declined to appear at his CJP hearing. If he attended, the judge likely would have asked Reese if he understood the charges against him and if he spoke with his attorney about his legal rights.

With Reese being a no-show, Belsky urged the judge to proceed with scheduling a detention hearing. The state has filed a motion seeking to place Reese on pretrial detention. If that motion is granted, Reese would continue to be held at the county jail without bail for up to two years while his case plays out in court.

A U.S. Marshals regional task force came after Reese about 6:20 a.m. last Wednesday to serve an arrest warrant due to Reese’s prior failure to appear in court for running afoul of Megan’s Law. Officers made entry into Reese’s home, and then a gunfight and 35-hour standoff ensued, authorities say. Reese’s mother helped persuade him to stand down and surrender.

Reese’s detention hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse.

The Newark boy accused of stabbing 27-year-old Carlos Leiva-Oviedo to death last year is now incarcerated on pretrial detention and facing murder charges as an adult.

Danny Saad, who recently turned 16, has been charged with murder, armed robbery, murder during commission of a crime, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the Chambersburg stabbing death of Leiva-Oviedo.

Carlos Leiva-Oviedo

During the early morning hours of June 14, 2016, Trenton Police responded to the intersection of Hudson and Genesee streets and found Leiva-Oviedo sprawled out on the street near his car, which was parked on Hudson. He suffered multiple stab wounds and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died four hours later. 

Detective Roberto Reyes of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from other agencies, arrested Saad  at a relative’s house in Newark on July 6, 2016. He was charged April 28 as an adult, and Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw ordered the teenager to pretrial detention on May 4. Saad was 15 at the time of his arrest and turned 16 earlier this month.

Leiva-Oviedo was an immigrant from Honduras who moved to Trenton circa 2014 to earn money for his family, most of whom still live in Honduras. Leiva-Oviedo was the father of a toddler child and worked as a roofer.

“He called his daughter every week,” his girlfriend Lesvia Liliana Caballero previously told The Trentonian. “He was a very responsible person. He worked a lot and he paid for his daughter’s life. He sent her money every week.”

Saad is scheduled to appear in court 11 a.m. May 25 for a pre-indictment conference before Judge Warshaw. He was being represented by defense attorney Harley D. Breite.

Staff writer Penny Ray contributed to this report.

A high-ranking New Jersey State Police trooper testified Wednesday that no fingerprints of accused killer William Mitchell were found inside the vehicle that was allegedly used in the 2012 drive-by shooting that killed 23-year-old Daquan Dowling.

When questioned under cross-examination on whether any of Mitchell’s fingerprints were found inside the stolen black Chrysler Sebring, Lt. Michael McCormick said, “No, sir.”

Mitchell, 29, is one of the five people to be indicted in connection with the slaying of Dowling. Another defendant in the case, Andre Romero, 25, was found not guilty last October of all charges. 

Co-defendant Anthony Marks, 28, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a handgun in 2015; co-defendant Jamar Square, 24, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a handgun in 2013; and co-defendant Louis Alvardo, 26, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in 2014.

Mitchell is being retried on murder charges and weapons offenses because his initial trial last year ended in a hung jury. In that initial trial, Marks and Square testified as cooperating witnesses against Mitchell and Romero.

William "Bill Bill" Mitchell

Marks and Square have not yet been sentenced for their guilt in the case, while Alvardo received a four-year prison sentence for admitting he had received the stolen Chrysler Sebring that was later connected to the drive-by shooting.

In his testimony on Wednesday, McCormick said police found Alvardo’s fingerprints on the trunk area of the Chrysler.

Dowling was driving a white Ford Taurus on Route 29 northbound near the War Memorial in Trenton when perpetrators drove alongside him and fired a shot that struck him in the head, killing him instantly on Jan. 30, 2012. The crime scene was so large that police had to take aerial photos from a helicopter.

Mitchell’s murder retrial is scheduled to resume Thursday before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi.

A scheduled detention hearing for the alleged triggerman who wounded three sheriff’s officers and killed a civilian during a 35-hour standoff last week has been postponed.

Tyleeb Reese, 35, of Trenton, is now scheduled to appear in court 1:30 p.m. May 23 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw.

Originally scheduled for Thursday, Reese’s upcoming detention hearing next Tuesday will settle the legal issue of whether he will be placed on pretrial detention or released from the county jail on certain conditions. If Warshaw orders Reese to be detained, he will be incarcerated at the Mercer County Correction Center for up to two years while his murder case plays out in court.

Tyleeb Reese

Reese has been charged with the murder of 56-year-old Robert Powell Jr. and the attempted murder of five law enforcement officials. He surrendered to police last Thursday to bring a peaceful resolution to what had been a violent confrontation. 

The standoff began about 6:20 a.m. last Wednesday when a U.S. Marshals regional task force came under fire upon entering Reese’s house on the 300 block of Centre Street. The officers were attempting to arrest Reese that morning because he had previously failed to appear in court regarding a Megan’s Law violation. Reese is a convicted sex offender who must register his status with the proper law-enforcement authorities.

Five days after surrendering, Reese on Tuesday failed to appear in court for his arraignment on murder and attempted murder charges. The heavy charges against Reese also include weapons offenses and five counts of aggravated assault with the intent to cause serious bodily injury.

Reese is being represented by the New Jersey Public Defender’s Office and prosecuted by Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor John Boyle.

Robert Smith

A city man with a low IQ has pleaded guilty to the 2013 slaying of Sidique Richardson-Howlen and received a seven-year prison sentence.

Robert Smith, 23, will only have to serve about three years in the slammer because he received credit on Thursday for having already served four years. Indeed, Smith has been in custody ever since his arrest in April 2013. He was originally charged as an accomplice to murder.

“He certainly did not act alone,” Trenton Police Lt. Mark Kieffer said of Smith at the time.

The victim, 22-year-old Sidique Richardson-Howlen, died from a gunshot wound to the head as armed perpetrators fired shots from a vehicle driven by Smith on the 100 block of Home Avenue in Trenton on April 5, 2013.

Although police initially charged Smith with being an accomplice to murder, a grand jury indicted him in December 2013 as if he was the principal gunman responsible for Richardson-Howlen’s death.

Sidique Richardson-Howlen

That indictment was effectively dismissed this year due to Smith pleading guilty in January to second-degree reckless manslaughter. If Smith went to trial, acquittal was not guaranteed and a conviction could have resulted in him getting 30 years to life in prison.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw on Thursday sentenced Smith to seven years of incarceration for reckless manslaughter while Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor John Boyle disposed of Smith’s heavier charges of murder, aggravated assault, and weapons offenses.

Heartbroken lawyer

Smith’s attorney, public defender Caroline Turner, has been representing him since May 2013 and said the resolution of the case represents “an indictment on the justice system.”

Smith cooperated with police and told them Semier Vincent, 23, was the alleged gunman who fired the shot that killed Richardson-Howlen, according to Turner. Vincent, however, was never arrested or charged in connection with the homicide.

Vincent is well-known to police and pleaded guilty to another violent crime — a brazen shooting at Trenton’s Galilee Baptist Church that wounded three people on April 22, 2014 — and is now serving a five-year prison sentence at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.

Smith was 19 when police arrested him four years ago. His attorney described him as “a 19-year-old intellectually diminished individual” and “sweet kid” who “wouldn’t harm anyone.”

“It’s a case that’s broken my heart,” Turner said, adding she fought for Smith in the courts for the last four years, arguing for his $1  million bail to be reduced to $300,000 but never able to get more favorable terms for her client who sat in jail that whole time.

Turner on Thursday said justice was not served in regards to the slaying of Sidique Richardson-Howlen.

“Everyone knew Robert wasn’t responsible for this,” she said. “When he took the guilty plea, I was in tears, because I fought for this guy.”

Tyleeb Reese

Tyleeb Reese commanded international attention during a 35-hour deadly standoff with police earlier this month but has been unwilling to make one court appearance since his surrender.

Reese, 35, of Trenton, failed to appear at his arraignment on May 16 and on Monday failed to appear at his detention hearing.

Public defender Nicole Carlo represented Reese in his absence on Monday, saying she has spoken with Reese and his family and that “he is waiving his right to appear” and that she has concerns about Reese’s mental health and physical health.

Reese has been charged with murder on allegations he shot and killed a civilian, 56-year-old Robert Powell Jr., during the early hours of the standoff on May 10. The standoff ended about 5 p.m. May 11 with Reese surrendering peacefully.

The standoff began about 6:20 a.m. May 10 when a U.S. Marshals regional task force came under fire upon entering Reese’s house on the 300 block of Centre Street. The officers were attempting to arrest Reese that morning because he had previously failed to appear in court regarding a Megan’s Law violation. Reese is a convicted sex offender who must register his status with the proper law-enforcement authorities.

Law enforcement officers at the scene of a standoff on Centre Street in Trenton that ended Thursday, May 11, 2017, after 35 hours with suspect Tyleeb Reese surrendering. (John Berry - The Trentonian)

In the deadly standoff, Reese barricaded himself inside his home and is accused of firing at police in a gunfight that killed Powell and left three Mercer County Sheriff’s officers wounded with non-life-threatening injuries. In addition to murder, Reese has also been charged with the attempted murder of five law enforcement officials, weapons offenses and five counts of aggravated assault with the intent to cause serious bodily injury.

Robert Powell Jr. (right)

Carlo on Monday entered a not guilty plea on Reese’s behalf and consented to the state’s detention motion. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion seeking to detain Reese at the county jail without bail for up to two years while his murder case plays out in the courts.

With Reese’s attorney consenting to the detention motion, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw signed the detention order and scheduled Reese’s pre-indictment conference for June 19.

“We have concerns not only about his mental health but his physical health,” Carlo said about Reese at Monday’s hasty detention hearing. “Mr. Reese was in the hospital for a few days and then taken back right after he was released. After meeting with him, again not only by myself but with my investigator and also meeting with his family, I think for the purposes of his health it is best to waive his appearance.”

Reese’s detention hearing was originally scheduled to be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday but was instead rushed ahead of schedule and held Monday morning about 9:20 a.m.

Carlo said she has represented Reese twice in the past and reiterated that she has “concerns about his current mental state, and again, that is tied in with his physical health as well.”

A woman was killed and two men were injured in a drive-by shooting in Trenton. May 25, 2017 (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

The crime scene was so fresh, detectives hadn't yet had the chance to place evidence placards throughout the area.

But the number of bullet holes in the driver's side of a Nissan minivan provided enough proof that tragedy had once again struck the capital city.

A female was killed Thursday afternoon and two men were injured in what appears to be a drive-by shooting. The victims were sitting in the minivan at the time of the incident.

Sources say the woman was shot at least once in the head. One male suffered a gunshot wound to his neck and the other male victim was struck in the buttocks. The severity of the males' injuries are not known at this time.

"It's absolutely insane when you actually hear the shots and the people screaming and crying saying, 'She's dead, she's dead,'" a resident posted on Facebook after news of the shooting spread throughout the city. "It's an unbelievable feeling."

Sources say approximately 10 to 15 rounds were fired from a vehicle as it drove through the 100 block of North Hermitage Avenue around 1:45 p.m.

The aforementioned minivan was parked at the corner of North Hermitage and Boudinot Street while police processed the crime scene; the driver's side window was shattered, presumably by gunfire.

A handicapped placard hung from the minivan's rear view mirror. A cane lied on the ground in a pile of shattered glass next to the vehicle.

“It’s very difficult for us because we’re patrolling so many different areas,” Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr. said at the crime scene as detectives snapped photos of the havoc behind him. “If I had a crystal ball, I'd know where to be at every moment. But we're just trying to stay ahead of the violence with our directed patrols and the assistance we receive from outside agencies. We're trying to keep things manageable.”

The silence throughout the neighborhood after the shooting was a stark contrast to what one witness described as a rapid succession of gunfire. Dozens of residents watched police process the scene Thursday, but the majority of them declined to speak to press or cops in front of others who may have been watching out for “snitches.”

Director Parrey said it takes a village to rein crime in the city’s neighborhoods.

“When they see something, they need to let us know,” Parrey said. “We rely on the community. We don't want to put them in harm’s way. So, any information they may have can be sent to us via My Block, which they can use anonymously.”

This is a developing story.

Briann Lindsey

The city woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death earlier this year inside their Brookville Commons apartment has been indicted on murder charges.

A grand jury on Thursday handed up an indictment charging Briann Lindsey, 25, of Clearfield Avenue, with one count of first-degree murder, one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Lindsey remains in custody.

Lindsey, who has a history of mental health issues, is alleged to have stabbed fatally stabbed 35-year-old Christopher Johnson about 4:15 p.m. March 6 inside their Island neighborhood apartment on the 300 block of Clearfield Avenue in Trenton’s West Ward. Lindsey tried to clean up the crime scene prior to police arrival, prosecutors allege.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds presented the case to the grand jury for indictment. The murder charges are a result of an investigation led by Mercer County Homicide Task Force Detective Jessica Senese of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

A public defender who represented Lindsey in March said her client has a history of mental health issues and noted Lindsey was placed on suicide watch at the county jail.

The victim who died in the Thursday afternoon wild West Ward drive-by shooting was pregnant.

Manei Glover (submitted photo)

Manei Glover, 22, was pronounced dead at Capital Health Regional Medical Center shortly after the grisly 1:40 p.m. shooting on the 100 block of North Hermitage Avenue.  An autopsy performed on Friday confirmed Glover was pregnant at the time of her death, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

In addition to killing Glover, the shooting incident also wounded two men ages 48 and 74, authorities said. The preliminary police investigation revealed four individuals were sitting inside a minivan with a fifth individual standing near the driver’s side door when another vehicle pulled alongside the minivan and began firing multiple gunshots, according to the prosecutor’s office. 

The 48-year-old victim suffered a gunshot wound to his hip; the 74-year-old victim suffered a gunshot wound to his neck, and both of them were being treated at the trauma center, officials said on Friday.

Sources say Glover was shot at least once to her head. The prosecutor’s office confirmed her death is not being investigated as a double homicide case.

New Jersey does not have a fetal homicide law on the books. In many states across America, killing a pregnant woman would be considered a double homicide.

Police as of Friday afternoon have not made any arrests in connection with Thursday’s fatal drive-by shooting but have recovered a possible suspect vehicle. Officials did not disclose any automotive details about the possible suspect vehicle but said it was reported stolen.

Ironically, Glover in December 2014 was arrested and charged with unlawful taking of an automobile and issued a summons for having a suspended driver’s license.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406 or the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at (609) 278-8477.

Defendant Masiyah Howard listens to closing arguments in Mercer County Superior Court on Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
(Gregg Slaboda Photo)

Going to trial without any eyewitness reports or direct evidence, the state’s murder case against Masiyah “Chicken” Howard relies primarily upon the sworn testimony of three so-called 793 Bloods street gang members.

Howard, 21, of Trenton, is accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Louis Bryan Alvarez over a $20 dispute involving an Xbox video game system.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Hadley on Wednesday conceded the state does not have any surveillance video, eyewitness accounts or direct evidence linking Howard to the February 2013 murder of Alvarez in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood, but she said the state can prove Howard committed the brazen murder by assessing his alleged words of self-incrimination.

After authorities busted an alleged racketeering operation in Trenton that resulted in 20 members of the 793 Bloods set getting indicted in 2014, Howard allegedly told three of those gangbangers that he was in jail for shooting someone.

Those three hardened criminals — Kenneth Williams, Hector Maldonado and Joel Flowers — all took to the witness stand and testified under oath that Howard had talked to them about the slaying back when they were all housed together as inmates at the Mercer County Correction Center.

“They weren’t the best characters we could find,” Hadley said of the three gangsters-turned-snitches. But she said they are all credible witnesses, adding, “There would be no witnesses if the defendant didn’t tell his story.”

A snitch is a person who tells someone in authority about something wrong that someone has done. The Bloods gangsters became snitches against Howard, and Hadley suggested that Howard never saw that coming because, she said, Howard was conditioned to believe that gang members live by a street code that prohibits snitching.

Defense counters

Steven Lember, Howard’s defense attorney, chastised the state for relying upon the testimony of three gangsters who are seeking prison-sentence leniency for their guilt in other crimes. He accused the state of engaging in “confirmation bias” of believing in the flattery of non-credible snitches simply because their statements had confirmed the prosecution’s belief that Howard is the gunman responsible for Alvarez’s death.

“They all have motive to lie,” Lember said of Williams, Maldonado and Flowers, all of whom could have received 50-year prison sentences if convicted on their racketeering and gang criminality charges. The three gang members have each become state cooperating witnesses and all reached plea agreements in hopes of receiving lenient sentences.

Lember in his closing arguments on Wednesday further attacked the credibility of the three gangsters.

He said Maldonado is a “serial snitch” who had testified that Howard used a revolver in the slaying while evidence in the case shows that a weapon that discharges shells was used in the shooting. A revolver does not eject shell casings.

The defense attorney said Flowers, a reputed Bloods gang general, is “your perfect wolf in sheep’s clothing” and “a liar” who falsely testified to being Howard’s cellmate. Inmate records show the two were never cellmates, Lember said.

Then Lember mentioned the fact that Williams has been re-arrested on other charges ever since he became a state cooperating witness who had secured release from the county jail on condition of electronic monitoring pending sentencing. Williams previously pleaded guilty in 2012 to lying to a police officer.

Adult charges

Howard was 17 at the time of his arrest but is being tried as an adult. He has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a handgun in connection with the slaying of Alvarez.

Louis Bryan Alvarez

The victim suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest inside his Trenton home on the night of Feb. 26, 2013. The shot was fired from outside the Fulton Street residence and shattered through a front glass window before striking Alvarez.

Speaking to the jurors, Lember said, “I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty on all counts in the indictment.”

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Thursday.

After deliberating for several days, a 12-member jury on Tuesday unanimously found Trenton gunman Masiyah “Chicken” Howard guilty of unlawful possession of a handgun but could not reach a verdict on whether he was guilty of murder or manslaughter.

Defendant Masiyah Howard listens to closing arguments in Mercer County Superior Court on Wenesday, May 3, 2017.
(Gregg Slaboda Photo)

The jurors unanimously agreed that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Howard possessed a firearm without a permit to carry, but they could not all agree on whether Howard used that gun for the purpose of committing murder.

Prosecutors have accused Howard, 21, of shooting and killing 25-year-old Louis Bryan Alvarez over a $20 dispute involving an Xbox video game system. The victim suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest inside his Chambersburg home on the night of Feb. 26, 2013. The lethal shot was fired from outside the Fulton Street residence and shattered through a front glass window before striking Alvarez. 

Howard has been incarcerated in jail ever since being arrested in March 2013 at the age of 17. Being tried as an adult, Howard pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons offenses, but the jury was firmly convinced he unlawfully possessed a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry.

With the jury convicting Howard of the second-degree weapons offense, he could potentially be sentenced up to 10 years in state prison. But the state will have to decide whether it will retry Howard on the unresolved charges of murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, because the trial ended Tuesday with the jury being hung on those two counts.

Mixed outcome

“It’s obviously not the result we were looking for,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Hadley said Tuesday after the jury failed to convict Howard on the more serious charges in the indictment. “We believe we’ve got the right person.”

Hadley further said she was “disappointed” with the outcome but appreciated that “at least we have a conviction on one of the counts.”

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office will have to “sit back and assess what we are going to do with the other counts,” Hadley said, adding she intends to meet with the victim’s family in the near future before making a decision on how to proceed on the unresolved charges.

The indictment charged Howard with first-degree murder, but the jurors were instructed to consider the lesser homicide charges of manslaughter if they could not reach a verdict on murder.

“The jury could not reach a verdict on either the murder or manslaughter counts; they were hung,” said Steven Lember, Howard’s defense attorney. “We don’t know how they were leaning.”

Lember said “we won’t know for a while” on whether the state will retry the case on the unresolved charges.

Little evidence

The state did not have any surveillance video, eyewitness accounts or direct evidence linking Howard to the February 2013 murder of Alvarez, but prosecutors did have three cooperating witnesses — a trio of legally troubled Trenton gang members from the 793 Bloods set — who testified under oath that Howard had previously talked to them about being in jail for shooting someone.

Louis Bryan Alvarez

The lack of direct evidence in the case and the state’s reliance upon criminal cooperating witnesses seeking lenient prison sentences may have been the issue that made the jury unable to unanimously decide whether Howard was guilty of murder or manslaughter and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

After the trial ended Tuesday afternoon, Trenton Homicide Watch asked the jurors whether they wanted to comment on their deliberations, but all of them respectfully declined.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson presided over the trial and told the jurors it was regrettable they could not reach a verdict on all counts but that “you’ve given it your best shot. I know you have. Thank you.”