Coldhearted killer Mada Eoff, who was convicted last month on first-degree murder charges while also being acquitted of weapons offenses, now faces 30 years to life in state prison after a judge upheld his mixed verdict.

Eoff murdered 19-year-old Lance Beckett during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. to discover the victim lying face down in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue in the capital city.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

One shot struck Beckett in the neck, another shot struck him in the left shoulder and the kill shot entered through his back and exited through his chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. A jury on Jan. 25 found Eoff, 18, to be fully responsible for the murder and handed down a verdict finding him guilty on that count.

But prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Eoff possessed a handgun without a permit and that he possessed it for the purpose to commit murder, so the jury found Eoff not guilty on both of the weapons offense counts. 

Public defender Jessica Lyons argued for the Superior Court to overturn the murder conviction, saying it was “inconsistent” for her client to be convicted of murder while simultaneously being exonerated of the weapons offenses.

“Under case law, mixed verdicts are generally permitted,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward told the court on Jan 25. “As a general rule, they are permitted.”

After three weeks of thoughtful consideration, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier made his decision last Friday. He sided with the prosecution and denied the defense motion that had sought a judgment of acquittal on Eoff’s murder conviction. The defense motioned for a new trial, but Billmeier also shot that request down last Friday, court records show.

The state won a murder conviction in the case against Eoff despite having no DNA evidence, no murder weapon and no fingerprints linking him to the crime. But what the state did have, however, was a co-defendant in the case who testified under oath that Eoff shot and killed Beckett in cold blood.

The testimony of Quashawn Emanuel, 19, who previously pleaded guilty in the case to a downgraded count of second-degree reckless manslaughter, proved to be “very important in the case,” Ward said in an interview following Eoff’s conviction.

Surveillance footage in the area shows Beckett and three other individuals interacting with one another minutes before the grisly murder, according to Ward. Prosecutors said the three culprits were co-defendants Eoff, Emanuel and Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, all of whom have been indicted on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the homicide.

Count one in the indictment charged all three defendants with purposeful murder; count two charged the defendants with unlawful possession of a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry; and count three charged the defendants with possession of a handgun with the purpose to use it unlawfully against the victim.

Police arrested Eoff and Emanuel several days after the September 2016 slaying and arrested Kennedy three weeks later. Eoff was initially prosecuted as a 17-year-old juvenile, but authorities waived him to adult court last April and placed him on pretrial detention. He turned 18 last July.

Emanuel’s plea deal required him to testify against Eoff. In return for his cooperation, the state will dismiss Emanuel’s weapons offenses and ask a judge to sentence him to eight years of incarceration under the No Early Release Act for reckless manslaughter. Emanuel did not pull the trigger but played a role in luring Beckett to the scene to get murdered.

Emanuel and Kennedy both remain locked up at the Mercer County Correction Center on $1 million full bond or cash bail, while the convicted murderer Eoff remains held without bail. Kennedy is represented by pool attorney Steven Lember and is scheduled for a March 5 pretrial conference before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw.

Convicted murderer Eoff is scheduled to be sentenced 2:30 p.m. March 23 before Judge Billmeier.

Self-confessed killer Emanuel is represented by private defense attorney Ross Gigliotti and is scheduled to be sentenced April 20 before Warshaw for reckless manslaughter.

Isiah Greene

Alleged killer Isiah Greene has been convicted of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm but a jury for the third time still could not reach a verdict on whether or not he murdered 24-year-old city man Quaadir “Ace” Gurley.

The jury issued the partial verdict last Thursday, getting hung on two counts — murder and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose — but unanimously finding Greene guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

Greene, 24, is accused of shooting and killing Gurley in the early morning hours of July 21, 2013. The incident occurred at Trenton’s Donnelly Homes housing complex. Gurley, a father of six, suffered numerous gunshot wounds and died from his injuries. 

Mark Fury, the defense attorney who represents Greene, said he intends to file a motion asking the court to dismiss the unresolved counts in the indictment. “I fully expect the most serious charges will be dismissed by motion,” he said Friday in an interview. “The point of the matter is the state has had three bites at the apple and failed each time to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Greene is guilty of murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The state previously tried Greene on murder charges in January 2017 and October 2015 in criminal trials that ended in hung juries on all counts in the indictment. The difference in the third trial is that the jury this month reached a partial verdict, finding Greene guilty of unlawful possession of a weapon.

“What I take it to mean,” Fury said of the partial verdict, “Mr. Greene was present at the scene, but they couldn’t agree as to whether or not he contributed to Mr. Gurley’s death.”

Quaadir Gurley (center) with two of his six children. (Contributed Photo)

Prosecutors had circumstantial evidence — including DNA test results — that linked Greene to the murder scene. One eyewitness, Lalisa Thompson, testified to seeing a dark-skinned man wearing a white tank top and armed with what she believed to be a handgun. She said she did not actually see the gunman firing any shots.

The physical description the eyewitness gave of the suspected gunman “doesn’t fit Mr.  Greene,” Fury said. Greene would generally be considered a light-skinned black male, not dark-skinned.

Greene suffered a gunshot wound to the foot during the shooting that killed Gurley. Greene at the time called 9-1-1 and falsely reported he was shot on Sanhican Drive. Greene eventually testified in his own defense at trial, saying he had lied to the cops about where he was shot to avoid being called as a witness in the shooting that killed Gurley.

Prosecutors said Greene fired 10 shots and that one of the shots accidentally struck himself in the foot and that eight intentionally struck Gurley in the body.

If the Superior Court dismisses the unresolved charges in the case, Greene will still get sentenced to state imprisonment for being convicted on a second-degree weapons offense.

A conviction on a second-degree crime can result in a minimum sentence of five years’ incarceration and a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars, but Fury said his client is not looking at much prison time when factoring in jail credit and Greene’s lack of a prior criminal history.

Greene has been in jail on high monetary bail since members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrested him Nov. 18, 2013. Fury said his client cannot be sentenced to the maximum 10 years of incarceration.

“What he got convicted of, possession of a weapon, is his first conviction of any kind,” Fury said, “so there are no aggravating factors to go to the maximum sentences.”

With Greene having over four years of jail credit, he would serve very little time in state prison if he gets sentenced to the minimum of five years’ imprisonment.

Murder cases

The partial verdict in State v. Isiah Greene is similar to the partial verdict that came down in State v. Masiyah Howard.

A jury on May 9, 2017, found Masiyah “Chicken” Howard guilty of unlawful possession of a handgun but was hung on the counts of murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The jury was firmly convinced that Howard unlawfully possessed a firearm, but the 12 jurors could not unanimously agree on whether Howard was the gunman who had shot 25-year-old Louis Bryan Alvarez to death with a fatal bullet to the chest.

The state declined to retry Howard on murder charges and disregarded the jury’s partial verdict. He ended up serving less than one year in state prison because he had four-plus years of jail credit and got sentenced to five years of incarceration in an unrelated armed robbery case.

Lots of defendants over the last two years have pleaded guilty in Trenton homicide cases, but there are some recent cases where the state lost at trial. For example, a jury last February found Zaire Jackson not guilty of murdering 22-year-old Irvin “Swirv” Jackson, and juries in the last two years found defendants William Mitchell and Andre Romero not guilty of murdering 23-year-old Daquan Dowling.

But the state has also won multiple murder convictions in the last two years:

•  A jury on Jan. 25 found Mada Eoff, 18, to be fully responsible for the murder of 19-year-old Lance Beckett.

• A jury last July found Randy K. Washington guilty of murdering 64-year-old Silas Johnson, and he ultimately received 70 years of incarceration.

• A jury last June found Danuweli Keller guilty of murdering U.S. Army veteran Dardar Paye execution style, and he ended up receiving a 61-year prison sentence.

• A jury last May found Dante Alexander guilty of murdering 26-year-old Brandon Nance, and he consequently received a 50-year prison sentence.

Greene is scheduled to appear in court next Tuesday for a status conference on his murder case. The judge will likely schedule a sentencing date at that conference hearing.

The alleged triggerman who shot and killed 29-year-old Harvey Sharp in June 2015 is maintaining his innocence as his case heads to trial.

Horace Gordon (COURTESY OF SOUTHSIDE REGIONAL JAIL)

A jury will determine whether Horace J. Gordon, 38, of Trenton, is guilty or not guilty of the grisly Chambersburg slaying. He is accused of gunning down Sharp on the first block of Cummings Avenue on June 24, 2015, then fleeing from New Jersey to southern Virginia, where he was later apprehended by a U.S. Marshals regional fugitive task force.

The shooting happened on Sharp’s birthday, and sources say it was the result of a “petty argument.” 

Jury selection for Gordon’s murder trial commenced this week and opening statements are expected to begin next week in Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier’s courtroom.

Harvey Sharp

Gordon since July 2015 has been jailed on $1 million cash only bail. A grand jury handed up an indictment on Feb. 26, 2016, charging Gordon with one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree possession of firearm for unlawful purposes and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Devenny is trying Gordon on behalf of the state. The alleged killer is being represented by pool attorney Michael R. Rosas.

The man accused of killing “Big Face” is in big trouble.

Wade Williams

A Mercer County grand jury has indicted 42-year-old Wade Williams, of Trenton, with the September slaying of Tyrone King, the North Trenton man known as “Big Face.”

He was gunned downed on the 900 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard where cops found him bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest on the floor of a deli. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Williams was arrested in December by member of the county homicide task force and the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Locked up at the Mercer County Correction Center, he faces counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and certain persons not to possess a firearm.

Convicted gunman Isiah Greene is now a self-confessed killer.

Isiah Greene

Greene, 24, of Trenton, pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to second-degree manslaughter committed recklessly, admitting he killed Quaadir “Ace” Gurley at the Donnelly Homes housing complex in North Trenton.

Gurley was a 24-year-old father of six who suffered numerous gunshot wounds. He died from his injuries during the early morning hours of July 21, 2013. 

Greene has been in jail on high monetary bail since members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrested him Nov. 18, 2013.

Prior to his guilty confession, the state tried Greene at three separate trials seeking to win a murder conviction, but the first two trials ended in hung juries and the third ended in a partial verdict.

A jury last month unanimously found Greene to be guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit but got hung on the other counts in the indictment.

Greene is expected to be sentenced to six years of incarceration under the terms of his plea deal, but his time in state prison will be relatively short because he has over four years of jail credit. He pleaded guilty last week before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi.

Greene is scheduled to be sentenced May 4. The state will recommend he get sentenced to six years of incarceration on the manslaughter count with a condition to serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.

With Greene getting convicted for unlawful possession of a handgun in addition to him fessing up to manslaughter, a judge could sentence him to serve five to 10 years of additional incarceration after serving six years for killing Gurley. But Greene’s lawyer does not expect that to happen.

Quaadir Gurley (center) with two of his six children. (Contributed Photo)

Defense attorney Mark Fury said the judge will likely sentence his client to serve five or six years of incarceration for unlawful possession of a weapon to be served concurrent to six years of incarceration for reckless manslaughter.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday said the state “will make no argument” on whether Greene’s manslaughter sentence should run concurrent or consecutive to the gun conviction.

In addition to resolving his homicide case, Greene also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a second file from February 2013 with a recommended sentence calling for six years of imprisonment under a requirement to serve 85 percent of the term behind bars, the prosecutor’s office said Friday in an email.

The plea deal also calls for Greene to be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release from state prison, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Greene could have received 30 years to life in prison if convicted on his first-degree murder charge. His plea deal downgrades the murder charge into a manslaughter count and calls for the state at sentencing to dismiss the other count in the indictment that charged Greene with possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

During a trial by jury, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said Greene fired 10 shots and that one of the shots accidentally struck Greene in the foot and that eight intentionally struck Gurley in the body, killing him.

Although Greene now admits to killing Gurley, the state was never able to unanimously convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Greene was guilty of murder.

“Our system is designed so people don’t get found guilty of things they can’t be proved guilty of,” Fury said Friday in an interview with The Trentonian. “The system worked exactly as it was supposed to.”

If Judge Massi sentences Greene to six years of concurrent incarceration and awards Greene with four and a half years of jail credit as expected May 4, then Greene would only have to serve about one year in state prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Horace J. Gordon is now a convicted murderer.

Horace Gordon (COURTESY OF SOUTHSIDE REGIONAL JAIL)

Gordon, 38, of Trenton, got convicted on all counts Thursday for shooting and killing 29-year-old Harvey Sharp in June 2015.

“The evidence was really clear in this case,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Devenny told The Trentonian after the verdict came down. “We’ll be recommending life in prison. That’s the least I can do, having the victim’s mother there. No mother should have to bury their child. Having her hear, ‘Guilty,’ that made it all worth it to me.”

Gordon claimed self-defense in the slaying, but a jury unanimously found him guilty of first-degree purposeful murder. 

“It was not a reaction or mistake,” Devenny said of Gordon’s conduct. “He meant to kill the victim, and that’s exactly what he did.”

The murder occurred on the first block of Cummings Avenue on June 24, 2015. Gordon killed Sharp and then fled from New Jersey to southern Virginia, where he was later apprehended by a U.S. Marshals regional fugitive task force.

Harvey Sharp

The shooting happened on Sharp’s birthday, and sources say it was the result of a “petty argument.”

In addition to being convicted of murder, the jury also found Gordon guilty of second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes and guilty of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. The jury reached its verdict Thursday afternoon on Day 2 of deliberations, with the victim’s family present to hear the outcome.

The convicted murderer is scheduled to be sentenced 2 p.m. May 25 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier. Gordon could receive 30 years to life imprisonment, which state law defines as 75 years of incarceration.

A co-defendant charged with murdering 19-year-old Lance Beckett has confessed to aggravated assault in a deal that recommends he serve three years behind bars.

Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with third-degree aggravated assault, effectively bringing final resolution to the homicide case.

Omar Kennedy (Mugshots.com)

The person most responsible for Beckett’s violent death is convicted murderer Mada Eoff, 18, who was found guilty Jan. 25 in a trial by jury.

Beckett got shot and killed during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. and finding his dead body lying in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue in the capital city. 

Another co-defendant in the case, 19-year-old Quashawn Emanuel, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter and testified against Eoff at trial. He said Eoff is the triggerman who shot and killed Beckett in cold blood.

Quashawn Emanuel

Because Emanuel cooperated, the state will dismiss his weapons offenses and ask a judge to sentence him to eight years of incarceration under the No Early Release Act for reckless manslaughter. Emanuel did not pull the trigger but played a role in luring Beckett to the scene to get murdered.

Surveillance footage in the area shows Beckett and three other individuals interacting with one another minutes before the grisly murder, according to Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward. Prosecutors said the three culprits were co-defendants Eoff, Emanuel and Kennedy, all of whom have been indicted on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the homicide.

Count one in the indictment charged all three defendants with purposeful murder; count two charged the defendants with unlawful possession of a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry; and count three charged the defendants with possession of a handgun with the purpose to use it unlawfully against the victim.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

A jury found Eoff guilty of murdering Beckett but acquitted him on the weapons offenses. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but the hearing got postponed because his defense attorney Jessica Lyons needed to submit more procedural paperwork. A new sentencing date has not been rescheduled at this time, but Eoff is still looking at 30 years to life imprisonment when all is said and done.

Emanuel is scheduled to be sentenced 9 a.m. April 20 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw, and Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced 9 a.m. April 27 before Warshaw.

Because Kennedy pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss his indictment and will recommend he get sentenced to three years of state imprisonment for his role in the September 2016 murder. Judges usually sentence defendants according to the terms of a plea deal.

Police arrested Eoff and Emanuel several days after Beckett got murdered and arrested Kennedy three weeks later. All three will likely be awarded with significant jail credit at sentencing, which means Kennedy could potentially serve a very short stint in state prison if Warshaw honors the plea agreement.

The man who shot and killed 24-year-old Jahmir Hall had his 10-year prison sentence recently reduced thanks to a lenient judiciary.

Curtis J. Grier, 31, of Trenton, has been resentenced to seven years of incarceration for the 2014 slaying. He previously pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter, admitting he fatally gunned Hall down about 12:30 a.m. April 19, 2014, in the streets of Trenton.

Curtis Grier

“Mr. Grier took it upon himself to arrange a reckoning,” Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw said Nov. 10, 2016, when he sentenced the self-confessed killer to 10 years of state imprisonment. Months later, however, Warshaw reconsidered his judgment of conviction after the Appellate Division intervened.

Grier, who has already served more than one year at South Woods State Prison, received delayed leniency last month when Warshaw revisited the case on Appellate Division orders. Warshaw found Grier to be less dangerous at the Feb. 22 resentencing hearing.

Whenever a Superior Court judge sentences a defendant, the court always considers whether aggravating factors support a harsher punishment or whether mitigating factors support a more lenient punishment. Warshaw originally said the aggravating factors against Grier outweighed the mitigating factors and used that rationale when handing down the initial 10-year prison sentence.

But after the Appellate Division remanded the case back to Warshaw for resentencing, the Superior Court judge easily found the aggravating factors, including risk of Grier committing another offense, to be “in balance” with the mitigating factors, which included the undisputed fact that Grier had no history of prior delinquency or criminal activity before the commission of the April 2014 homicide.

Warshaw resentenced Grier to seven years of state incarceration pursuant to the No Early Release Act requiring him to serve 85 percent of the maximum term before being paroled. Grier will then be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release. Grier received four days of jail credit and 469 days of prior service credit, which means he has less than five years to go before release.

While the resentencing gave Grier a reduced prison sentence, it also imposed on him a greater monetary punishment. Grier at resentencing got hammered with a $5,000 assessment payable to the New Jersey Victims of Crime Compensation Office. The original sentencing called for him to pay about $200 in fees and penalties, according to court records.

“To be fair and in the interests of justice,” Warshaw wrote in his resentencing judgment of conviction, “the Court will impose the recommended sentence in accordance with the plea agreement.”

Case background

Police arrested Grier not long after he shot and killed Jahmir Hall, who police found lying partially underneath a pickup truck in the 800 block of Quinton Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Hall was later pronounced dead at Saint Francis Medical Center.

Jahmir Hall

Days after being charged with murder and weapons offenses, Grier posted his $300,000 full bond or cash bail on April 24, 2014, buying his way out of jail, court records show. He pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter on June 23, 2016, but remained free on bail until he got shipped off to state prison following his original November 2016 sentencing.

A grand jury originally indicted both Grier and a co-defendant, Daniel McCargo, 31, of Trenton, on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the slaying of Hall.

Grier confessed to the killing while McCargo pleaded guilty to certain persons not to have a weapon due to a prior offense. McCargo had four prior upper court convictions for drug distribution and weapons offenses and previously served time in state prison for those prior crimes, according to his rap sheet.

Daniel McCargo

Grier and McCargo both got arrested on April 19, 2014, in the wake of the homicide. Grier at his initial sentencing hearing said he had argued with Hall and then shot Hall in self-defense after Hall pulled out a weapon. Grier said he took Hall’s weapon and handed it over to McCargo, who admitted to possessing the handgun as a convicted felon.

Warshaw sentenced McCargo on Sept. 16, 2016, imposing seven years of state imprisonment with a five-year minimum term of parole ineligibility and dismissing the other counts in the indictment. McCargo received 881 days of jail credit, for he sat at the Mercer County Correction Center on $300,000 cash bail from April 21, 2014, till Sept. 22, 2016, when he was transferred to state prison, records show.

Grier was represented by private defense attorney Robin Lord, while McCargo was represented by public defender Malaeika Montgomery. Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher handled both cases on behalf of the state.

An alleged killer who has been jailed on $1 million cash bail since August 2014 has filed a federal class-action lawsuit seeking to get the New Jersey Criminal Justice Reform Act abolished.

Shaheed Brown, 34, of Trenton, is suing state officials on allegations he and others in his class are being deprived of speedy trials due to the bail reform law giving “preferential treatment” to defendants arrested after Jan. 1, 2017.

Shaheed Brown listens to testimony during one of his murder trials that ended in a hung jury. (FILE PHOTO)

Brown is accused of shooting and killing 20-year-old Enrico Smalley Jr. about 1:20 a.m. July 12, 2014. Trenton Police were dispatched to the corner of Poplar Street and North Clinton Avenue, where they found Smalley lying on the sidewalk in front of La Guira Bar suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head. Smalley was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. 

Authorities filed murder charges against Brown on July 14, 2014, and ultimately arrested him in Newark about a month later. Brown has been unable to post monetary bail, so he remains incarcerated while his case lingers through the courts.

Brown so far has had two murder trials, both of which ended in hung juries. Retired Mercer County Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson declared the first mistrial on Oct. 29, 2015, and declared the second mistrial on May 13, 2016.

Court records show Brown was scheduled for trial in January but had the matter adjourned in favor of more pretrial motion hearings and status conferences. It could take weeks or months before he is given another opportunity to maintain his innocence before a jury of his peers.

In his civil-action complaint filed March 31 in Trenton federal court, Brown says a “significant number of plaintiffs” like him are detained in county jails throughout the state for charges that predate the implementation of the Criminal Justice Reform Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

A majority of New Jersey voters in 2014 passed an amendment to the state’s Constitution giving prosecutors the power to place newly arrested defendants on pretrial detention, eliminating the constitutional right to bail. The Criminal Justice Reform Act, also known as the CJRA, transformed the Garden State’s criminal justice system.

The state under the CJRA is empowered and encouraged to keep newly arrested defendants in jail without bail in cases involving serious offenses, such as murder. With some exceptions, any defendant held without bail on pretrial detention must be indicted within 90 days and must go to trial within 180 days after indictment.

Any defendant on pretrial detention must be tried within two years at the maximum. A defendant must be released from pretrial detention if the state fails to comply with the speedy trial mandates, although the prosecution can file motions seeking to keep those defendants locked up indefinitely whenever a time limit elapses.

Brown alleges his civil rights are being violated because he is not receiving a speedy trial due to him getting arrested before the Criminal Justice Reform Act took effect.

“The CJRA created a special class of detainees who by statute are entitled to preferential treatment when it comes to scheduling trial,” Brown alleges in his complaint. “The practical effect of giving post-CJRA defendants preferential treatment with respect to trials is that plaintiff Shaheed Brown and other plaintiffs will be incarcerated even longer as their trials are delayed to accommodate the post-CJRA defendants.”

Edward Harrington Heyburn, Brown’s defense attorney, filed the civil complaint in U.S. District Court on behalf of his client and “all others similarly situated.”

Brown wants the Criminal Justice Reform Act to be declared unconstitutional and wants to prevent the state from enforcing it. He also wants himself and other members in his class to receive damages “to compensate for the injuries they have suffered” as a result of the CJRA.

The man accused of killing Enrico Smalley Jr. is suing New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey acting courts director Glenn A. Grant and Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw over the Criminal Justice Reform Act.

Enrico Smalley Jr.

Grant issued a “confidential memo” ordering Superior Court judges to schedule newly arrested defendants to trial before defendants who were arrested in the pre-CJRA era, according to Brown’s complaint. He says defendants held without bail under the CJRA get scheduled to trial before plaintiffs like him who have been detained longer on high monetary bails.

Brown alleges the Criminal Justice Reform Act violates the Sixth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon plaintiffs’ right to a speedy trial and equal protection under the law.

An indictment handed up on Nov. 5, 2014, charged Brown with first-degree purposeful murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun and second-degree certain persons not to have a weapon due to a prior conviction. He previously served time in state prison for committing an aggravated assault in Newark on July 8, 2002, and for committing an aggravated arson in Essex County.

Brown is scheduled for an April 16 status conference and an April 30 motion hearing before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi, according to court records. He last had a status conference on March 20.

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office had no comment for this story. A spokesman for the New Jersey Judiciary did not respond to an email requesting comment Friday.

Prosecutors have charged the Trenton mother who left her newborn baby girl  to die after giving birth to her in an abandoned home on South Broad Street, authorities said.

Yardis Perez-Perez (MCPO)

Yardis Perez-Perez, 27, was hit with charges of manslaughter and child endangerment.

Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case said the baby girl still had her umbilical cord attached and was found on a heap of trash when investigators discovered her last week.

Police found the baby dead last Monday inside an abandoned home on the 800 block of South Broad Street shortly before 6 p.m. The infant was taken into custody by the medical examiner and an autopsy, the results of which could take several weeks to get back, is being performed.

Perez-Perez was nabbed Friday and being held at the county jail as prosecutors are looking to detain her until trial. Her detention hearing is set for Wednesday.

Yardis Perez-Perez was arrested and charged in 2016 with Jonathan Pacheco-Sanchez and Rosa Pacheco with the robbery of 46-year-old man who was allegedly beaten over the head with a board and had his cellphone, wallet and $25 in cash jacked.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office said the case against the three was dismissed when the victim didn’t want to cooperate with prosecutors.

Police have said the baby’s death isn’t connected to an April 15 incident in which a baby was found alive in a duffel bag on a porch of a stranger’s home in the city’s West Ward.

No charges have been filed in that case, as the baby boy is now being cared for by child custody workers. Police released a picture of the infant’s mother hoping to identify and find her but police said last week the department hasn't received any tips about her whereabouts.

The abandoned baby cases have shocked community members because New Jersey has a  Safe Haven Infant Protection Act allowing parents to give up babies within a month of being born without repercussions or questions.

Parents can drop off unwanted children at hospital emergency rooms, police stations and fire stations without legal consequences, and the babies are placed into foster care.

Aveon Perry

A city man was shot and killed late Wednesday night in the capital city's East Ward.

Aveon Perry, 28, was shot multiple times around 11:35 p.m. Police found him inside the Shell gas station in the 800 block of Greenwood Avenue. He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he later died.

Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Perry was shot more than 12 times. Sources say Perry was initially shot outside of the store attached to the gas station, but then ran inside with the shooter in pursuit. The suspect then stood over Perry while he was on the floor in the store and shot him several more times, according to law enforcement sources.

"This is a hard pill to swallow. I'm in tears over this one. You will truly be missed," one woman wrote on Facebook in memory of Perry.

Social media posts indicate Perry recently celebrated his birthday.
"Wanna thank everyone for the bday love and support," he wrote on Facebook March 11. "I'm just happy to see another year with my loved ones."

After his death, friends and family flooded Perry's page with condolences.

"I don't use the word bro loosely," another woman wrote on the social media site. "It's only a select few I call my brothers who didn't come from my mother or father. Mr. Perry was def one of my brothers yo."

Police are also investigating a separate shooting in the North Ward that wounded two men hours before the murder. Detectives are working to determine whether there's any connection between the two incidents, Trenton Police spokesman Lt. Stephen Varn said.

A shooting on the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard injured two men, 21 and 22 years old, around 8:13 p.m., Varn said. The younger victim suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh and the second man was shot in the kneecap. They were taken to the hospital and treated.

North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson, who is up for re-election, took to Facebook to share her dismay with the latest bout of violence in the part of the city she represents.

"The Trenton community should be outraged," the councilwoman wrote. "A shooting took place as our kids in the North Ward were playing baseball last night. There needs to be more of a police presence at night, especially when there are community activities going on."

At-large candidate Elvin Montero released a statement condemning gun violence and extending condolences to the victims.

"Gun violence impacts our entire community by taking priceless lives, ripping families apart, and perpetuating a sense of fear throughout the city," he said. "We must be ready and willing to act to prevent these senseless acts of violence. We deserve a city that nurtures our children to grow and thrive, not one that is dismantled by fear and tragedy. We deserve a community of peace and prosperity."

No arrests have been made in connection with either shooting. The Mercer County Homicide Task Force is leading the investigation in Perry's slaying.

Anyone with information about the killing is asked to contact Sgt. Gary Wasko or Detective Kevin Searing at 609-989-6406.

Shaquille McNeil (left) and Cecil Blake

One of the three city men charged in the grisly broad daylight double murder of an aspiring rapper and his friend survived being blasted five times in the chest in another daylight shooting last month, sources confirmed to The Trentonian.

Cecil Blake, 31, was nearly shot to death April 6 on the 100 block of Monmouth Street. He was whisked into emergency surgery and lived only to be hit with double murder charges in the slayings of Philadelphia rapper Elmii Probema, whose real name is Jerard Perdomo-Santana, and his friend, 19-year-old Ivan Rodriguez.

Perdomo-Santana, who last year released his debut mixtape Maxima Seguridad, was found with his friend inside an idling black Ford Taurus riddled with bullets. Both men were taken to the hospital where they later dead.

Blake was arrested with alleged accomplices Shaquille McNeill, 24, and Tashawn Santiago, 25. Each are charged with murder and weapons offenses, authorities announced Friday.

One of Perdomo-Santana’s friends has claimed the rapper was a victim of a robbery, but the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office wouldn’t detail the motivation behind the killing or go into each man’s alleged role in snuffing out the Philadelphia men on Jan. 22

Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation said that McNeil is the alleged triggerman and shot-caller Blake was the one who allegedly ordered the killing. Santiago’s alleged involvement is not clear.

The trio is also charged with attempted murder for almost killing a third 29-year-old man who survived being shot in the shoulder and the hand in the brazen double assassination on the 300 block of Washington Street. The man drove himself to the hospital.

Philadelphia rapper Elmii Problema, whose real name was Jerard Perdomo-Santana, (left) and Ivan Rodriguez (right) were both murdered in Trenton in a double slaying. This still image comes from a Facebook video of the two men driving around and listening to music on Jan. 12.

On Jan. 12, Perdomo-Santana, who called himself a Dominican Latin rap artist, posted a Facebook live video of him and Rodriguez driving around in a car together, listening to music. He posted a similar video on the morning he died.

McNeil was picked up Wednesday by the members of the county homicide task force and U.S. Marshals at a friend’s Trenton home. Santiago was already in county lockup on unrelated charges when he was served with charges in the double murder

Prosecutors said Blake is “in the custody” of the county corrections department. It’s unclear if Blake is in jail or still recuperating at a hospital after his brush with death last month. Blake was initially in grave condition after being shot multiple times in the chest April 6, near the intersection of Walnut Avenue and Monmouth Street.

Officials haven’t said whether there’s a link between Blake’s assassination attempt and his role in the double murder.

Blake has convictions for reckless manslaughter and gun-toting, court records show. He pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Samuel Hardwick in 2007 in a plea deal with prosecutors that called for five years in prison and allowed codefendants James Deonte James and David Kennedy to walk.

One of the key witnesses in the murder case who led police to a stash house full of guns developed dementia and was placed in an assisted-living home, a big setback that weakened prosecutors’case.

Blake was also nabbed by cops in March on a number of drug charges for allegedly dealing cocaine. He was found with 105 grams of cocaine and $257 in cash, cops said.

Convicted gunman Isiah Greene is now a self-confessed killer.

Isiah Greene

Greene, 24, of Trenton, pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to second-degree manslaughter committed recklessly, admitting he killed Quaadir “Ace” Gurley at the Donnelly Homes housing complex in North Trenton.

Gurley was a 24-year-old father of six who suffered numerous gunshot wounds. He died from his injuries during the early morning hours of July 21, 2013. 

Greene has been in jail on high monetary bail since members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrested him Nov. 18, 2013.

Prior to his guilty confession, the state tried Greene at three separate trials seeking to win a murder conviction, but the first two trials ended in hung juries and the third ended in a partial verdict.

A jury last month unanimously found Greene to be guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit but got hung on the other counts in the indictment.

Greene is expected to be sentenced to six years of incarceration under the terms of his plea deal, but his time in state prison will be relatively short because he has over four years of jail credit. He pleaded guilty last week before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi.

Greene is scheduled to be sentenced May 4. The state will recommend he get sentenced to six years of incarceration on the manslaughter count with a condition to serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.

With Greene getting convicted for unlawful possession of a handgun in addition to him fessing up to manslaughter, a judge could sentence him to serve five to 10 years of additional incarceration after serving six years for killing Gurley. But Greene’s lawyer does not expect that to happen.

Quaadir Gurley (center) with two of his six children. (Contributed Photo)

Defense attorney Mark Fury said the judge will likely sentence his client to serve five or six years of incarceration for unlawful possession of a weapon to be served concurrent to six years of incarceration for reckless manslaughter.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday said the state “will make no argument” on whether Greene’s manslaughter sentence should run concurrent or consecutive to the gun conviction.

In addition to resolving his homicide case, Greene also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a second file from February 2013 with a recommended sentence calling for six years of imprisonment under a requirement to serve 85 percent of the term behind bars, the prosecutor’s office said Friday in an email.

The plea deal also calls for Greene to be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release from state prison, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Greene could have received 30 years to life in prison if convicted on his first-degree murder charge. His plea deal downgrades the murder charge into a manslaughter count and calls for the state at sentencing to dismiss the other count in the indictment that charged Greene with possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

During a trial by jury, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said Greene fired 10 shots and that one of the shots accidentally struck Greene in the foot and that eight intentionally struck Gurley in the body, killing him.

Although Greene now admits to killing Gurley, the state was never able to unanimously convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Greene was guilty of murder.

“Our system is designed so people don’t get found guilty of things they can’t be proved guilty of,” Fury said Friday in an interview with The Trentonian. “The system worked exactly as it was supposed to.”

If Judge Massi sentences Greene to six years of concurrent incarceration and awards Greene with four and a half years of jail credit as expected May 4, then Greene would only have to serve about one year in state prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Lakeisha Hill

A fourth person has been charged in connection with a double murder that happened earlier this year.

Lakeisha Hill, 29, of Philadelphia, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at a friend’s house in Trenton. She is accused of being an accomplice in the murders of Jerard Perdomo-Santana and Ivan Rodriguez, as well as the attempted murder of a 29-year-old city man.

Perdomo-Santana, a Philadelphia rapper also known as Elmii Probema, and Rodriguez were shot and killed on the afternoon of January 22 in the 300 block of Washington Street. A third victim suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder and hand before driving himself to the hospital.

Police have not disclosed a motive for the killings, but one of Perdomo-Santana’s friends has claimed the rapper was a victim of a robbery.

City men Cecil Blake, Shaquille McNeill, and Tashawn Santiago were previously arrested in connection with the murders.

Shaquille McNeil (left) and Cecil Blake

Philadelphia rapper Elmii Problema, whose real name was Jerard Perdomo-Santana, (left) and Ivan Rodriguez.

The infant homicide case that shocked the capital city two weeks ago is a horrible tale of death and despair.

Yardis Perez-Perez gave birth to a nameless child and left the baby girl for dead following a night of debauchery that involved drugs and wild sex on South Broad Street, according to court documents.

Yardis Perez-Perez (MCPO)

While undergoing the pains of labor, a pregnant Perez-Perez got drugged up with heroin and had sexual intercourse in various positions with a man who did not know she was an expectant mother, according to court documents.

The 27-year-old Perez-Perez ultimately confessed to infanticide on April 27, subsequently getting charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child about five days after she abandoned her newborn baby, authorities allege. 

Trenton Police were dispatched to the 800 block of South Broad Street about 5:30 p.m. April 23 on a reported infant death. Officers entered the vacant property and found the remains of a baby who was officially pronounced dead several minutes later by a physician, according to court documents.

The fatal child endangerment occurred in a troubled area that is well-known to police for quality-of-life issues that include prostitution. Authorities executed a search warrant at the South Broad Street property and collected evidence.

“It appeared that the infant was birthed on a mattress in what would be the living room area,” Trenton Police Detective Luis Vega Jr. said in an affidavit of probable cause. “The infant’s gender was determined to be female. The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office was contacted and then responded and took possession of the remains.”

The gestational age of the infant was approximately 34 weeks to 38 weeks, according to a preliminary post-mortem report cited in court documents. That means the mother most likely carried the child to full term before giving birth, although Perez-Perez had never received prenatal care and estimated herself to have been five months pregnant at the time of self-delivery.

On April 24, a day after cops discovered the remains, Detectives Vega and Otis Wood of the Trenton Police Department identified Perez-Perez as the alleged perpetrator responsible for the infanticide. Police issued a BOLO or “Be on the lookout” poster for Perez-Perez after interviewing a solid witness who had linked her to the sick crime, according to court documents.

TPD detectives in the Violent Crimes Unit found Perez-Perez about 11 a.m. April 27 in the area of Perry Street and Montgomery Street near her Wood Street residence in the North Ward. She agreed to speak with detectives and was transported to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office facility on Lamberton Road for an interview, according to court documents.

Despite having the right to remain silent, Perez-Perez willingly spoke with police in Spanish, revealing the sordid details of her intimate encounter. She told police she did two bags of heroin and had sex with a man despite experiencing labor pains that preceded her secret childbirth, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

When her sex partner was sleeping, Perez-Perez went into another room in the house and lied on a mattress in pain until she gave birth. She cuddled with her newborn baby girl, who was crying, and then eventually placed the baby in a blanket and laid the baby in a box that was located in the rear kitchen area. “Scared” and “depressed,” Perez-Perez left the building about two minutes later with no intention to return for the baby, according to statements she gave to police as cited in court documents.

The baby was alive and was “making low sounds and was faintly breathing” when Perez-Perez abandoned her, she told police. She also said her male sex partner “did not see the baby and did not have knowledge that she gave birth or left the baby in the rear room in a box,” according to the affidavit.

Prior to her arrest, Perez-Perez was trying to avoid contact with police because she knew the cops were looking for her, she confessed in her interview. Charging documents say Perez-Perez endangered and killed her newborn child “by abandoning her live child shortly after giving birth and not providing any care for her child knowing that the newborn child was in need of said care.”

Perez-Perez has been jailed at the Mercer County Correction Center since her April 27 arrest. After a few postponements, she ultimately consented to pretrial detention Thursday morning before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier.

Wearing an orange inmate jumpsuit and sporting a freshly braided hairstyle, Perez-Perez communicated to the court through an interpreter and was represented by Nicole Carlo, a state public defender.

In addressing the court, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Gasparian said Perez-Perez was charged with second-degree reckless manslaughter and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child but did not discuss any details of the case due to the defense consenting to detention and stipulating to probable cause.

Agreeing to be jailed without bail pending final resolution of her case, Perez-Perez is scheduled to next appear in court for a June 25 pre-indictment conference before Judge Peter Warshaw.

Gregory Wright Jr.

A city man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of 27-year-old Gregory Wright Jr.

Eric Prescott, 30, is accused of leaving Wright helpless and unresponsive in his car following an altercation on November 28.

According to prosecutors in the case, Wright and Prescott were arguing in the area of Spring Street and Kafer Alley when Prescott pushed Wright, causing him to fall onto the ground and hit his head on the pavement.

Prescott then placed Wright in the driver's seat of his Lexus and left him in a physically helpless state. Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity say Prescott even sat in Wright’s Lexus for a short period of time, hoping he would regain consciousness, but then fled when he didn’t revive.

Prosecutors say the investigation revealed that Prescott knew Wright was helpless when he placed him in the car but didn't seek emergency assistance.

Police found Wright in his Lexus around 10:30 p.m. that Tuesday.

Wright — who attended Mercer County Community College for performing arts and was also known as “Lil’ Greg” — ultimately died as a result of injuries suffered during the altercation. A medical examiner ruled Wright’s manner of death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

The motive surrounding the altercation was not disclosed by prosecutors, but police sources with intimate knowledge of the investigation believe the argument revolved around the fact that Wright dressed as a woman.

Prosecutors did not file a motion to detain Prescott until trial and he has been released from custody while the case plays out in court.

Alleged killer Leroy Tutt has taken his Trenton murder case to trial.

Leroy Tutt

Tutt, 31, of Trenton, sat poised in the courtroom Tuesday as his public defender painted him as an innocent man while the prosecution portrayed him as the shooter responsible for the death of 19-year-old Nabate Kalil Washington, also known as Nebate Anderson.

Tutt is accused of murdering Washington in broad daylight on June 30, 2017, an alleged act of retaliation fueled by a previous beef. 

Washington suffered fatal gunshot wounds about 1:50 p.m. in the first block of Sanford Street near his North Ward home, where police found him lying on the ground between two vehicles. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say Washington and Tutt had a previous beef. On April 26, 2017, Washington shot Tutt in the butt on the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Washington became an at-large suspect weeks later when ballistics evidence connected him to the shooting, but cops could not find him prior to his violent death.

Nebate Washington

While at the murder scene, police detectives received phone calls from “concerned citizens who wished to remain anonymous” alleging that Tutt killed Washington in retaliation for the MLK shooting that occurred weeks earlier, according to the affidavit of probable cause signed by Trenton Police Detective Luis Vega Jr., a member of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force.

Tutt’s defense attorney Laura Yaede grilled Vega on the witness stand Tuesday, asking him questions about the investigation that exposed how Vega did not interview certain potential witnesses in the case prior to Tutt’s arrest on Aug. 5, 2017.

But one witness who Vega did speak with prior to Tutt’s arrest was Deshawn Sherman. In cross-examining Vega, Yaede pointed out how Sherman was “concerned” he might be charged in connection with Washington’s death, because word on the street suggested that Sherman supplied Tutt with the gun that was used in the murder.

Vega on the witness stand said he did not suspect Sherman had any involvement in the murder of Washington when he interviewed Sherman last July at the Mercer County Homicide Task Force offices.

Doris Galuchie, Mercer County’s first assistant prosecutor, also asked Vega whether he had any reason to believe Sherman was involved in the murder plot.

“No,” Vega said.

Galuchie also pointed out that Vega would not file charges against any defendant until after a “group decision” has been made with the input of a prosecutor and a superior officer.

Tutt’s speedy trial is taking place before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier.

The alleged triggerman who shot and killed 29-year-old Harvey Sharp in June 2015 is maintaining his innocence as his case heads to trial.

Horace Gordon (COURTESY OF SOUTHSIDE REGIONAL JAIL)

A jury will determine whether Horace J. Gordon, 38, of Trenton, is guilty or not guilty of the grisly Chambersburg slaying. He is accused of gunning down Sharp on the first block of Cummings Avenue on June 24, 2015, then fleeing from New Jersey to southern Virginia, where he was later apprehended by a U.S. Marshals regional fugitive task force.

The shooting happened on Sharp’s birthday, and sources say it was the result of a “petty argument.” 

Jury selection for Gordon’s murder trial commenced this week and opening statements are expected to begin next week in Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier’s courtroom.

Harvey Sharp

Gordon since July 2015 has been jailed on $1 million cash only bail. A grand jury handed up an indictment on Feb. 26, 2016, charging Gordon with one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree possession of firearm for unlawful purposes and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Devenny is trying Gordon on behalf of the state. The alleged killer is being represented by pool attorney Michael R. Rosas.

The man accused of killing “Big Face” is in big trouble.

Wade Williams

A Mercer County grand jury has indicted 42-year-old Wade Williams, of Trenton, with the September slaying of Tyrone King, the North Trenton man known as “Big Face.”

He was gunned downed on the 900 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard where cops found him bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest on the floor of a deli. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Williams, a 300-pound disabled man who suffers from a spinal cord injury, is the alleged triggerman arrested in December by members of the county homicide task force and the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force in connection to the broad daylight Sept. 17 killing.

The state has surveillance footage, cellphone tower data and statements from confidential informants and an eyewitness to prove that Williams is the man who gunned down 51-year-old King, according to court documents.

At Williams’ detention hearing, attorney Robin Lord argued the state had a weak case against that amounted to “prosecution by rumor.”

Locked up at the Mercer County Correction Center, he faces counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and certain persons not to possess a firearm.

Convicted gunman Isiah Greene is now a self-confessed killer.

Isiah Greene

Greene, 24, of Trenton, pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to second-degree manslaughter committed recklessly, admitting he killed Quaadir “Ace” Gurley at the Donnelly Homes housing complex in North Trenton.

Gurley was a 24-year-old father of six who suffered numerous gunshot wounds. He died from his injuries during the early morning hours of July 21, 2013. 

Greene has been in jail on high monetary bail since members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrested him Nov. 18, 2013.

Prior to his guilty confession, the state tried Greene at three separate trials seeking to win a murder conviction, but the first two trials ended in hung juries and the third ended in a partial verdict.

A jury last month unanimously found Greene to be guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit but got hung on the other counts in the indictment.

Greene is expected to be sentenced to six years of incarceration under the terms of his plea deal, but his time in state prison will be relatively short because he has over four years of jail credit. He pleaded guilty last week before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi.

Greene is scheduled to be sentenced May 4. The state will recommend he get sentenced to six years of incarceration on the manslaughter count with a condition to serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.

With Greene getting convicted for unlawful possession of a handgun in addition to him fessing up to manslaughter, a judge could sentence him to serve five to 10 years of additional incarceration after serving six years for killing Gurley. But Greene’s lawyer does not expect that to happen.

Quaadir Gurley (center) with two of his six children. (Contributed Photo)

Defense attorney Mark Fury said the judge will likely sentence his client to serve five or six years of incarceration for unlawful possession of a weapon to be served concurrent to six years of incarceration for reckless manslaughter.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday said the state “will make no argument” on whether Greene’s manslaughter sentence should run concurrent or consecutive to the gun conviction.

In addition to resolving his homicide case, Greene also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a second file from February 2013 with a recommended sentence calling for six years of imprisonment under a requirement to serve 85 percent of the term behind bars, the prosecutor’s office said Friday in an email.

The plea deal also calls for Greene to be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release from state prison, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Greene could have received 30 years to life in prison if convicted on his first-degree murder charge. His plea deal downgrades the murder charge into a manslaughter count and calls for the state at sentencing to dismiss the other count in the indictment that charged Greene with possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

During a trial by jury, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said Greene fired 10 shots and that one of the shots accidentally struck Greene in the foot and that eight intentionally struck Gurley in the body, killing him.

Although Greene now admits to killing Gurley, the state was never able to unanimously convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Greene was guilty of murder.

“Our system is designed so people don’t get found guilty of things they can’t be proved guilty of,” Fury said Friday in an interview with The Trentonian. “The system worked exactly as it was supposed to.”

If Judge Massi sentences Greene to six years of concurrent incarceration and awards Greene with four and a half years of jail credit as expected May 4, then Greene would only have to serve about one year in state prison before becoming eligible for parole.