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Trenton man admits he endangered child's life during shooting
by Linda Stein/The TimesTuesday December 02, 2008, 7:08 PM
A 29-year-old Trenton man who picked up a child to use as a shield when he was being shot at pleaded guilty Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta.
Rasheed McNair, of Oakland Street, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child for his action in the March incident with the child, who was about 8 years old at the time.
The shooting occurred on Oakland Street and left McNair wounded in the upper arm, said Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Gasparian. The child was not hurt.
In a separate case from March 2007, McNair pleaded guilty to being a felon who is not allowed to possess a gun and to resisting arrest, a charge from April 2007, Gasparian said.
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Guilty plea in killing after argument about TV remote control
by Linda Stein/The TimesTuesday December 02, 2008, 1:49 PM
"I'm sorry," Donald Zampini said to a victim's family as sheriff's officers led him in shackles from the courtroom after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated manslaughter in the killing of an East Windsor woman.
A jury had been selected and opening arguments were slated for the morning when, after a delay of several hours, lawyers said there would be a guilty plea hearing instead of a trial.
Zampini, 73, told Superior Court Judge Charles A. Delehey that he had argued with the victim, Barbara Morris, 63, over possession of a television remote control shortly before he stabbed her 28 times on Aug. 31, 2006. But Zampini said he does not remember committing the actual slaying but agreed that it was his voice on a 911 call to East Windsor police at about 1 a.m. the next morning.
Jury being picked for man accused of stabbing girlfriend to death
by Linda Stein/The TimesMonday December 01, 2008, 10:33 AM
Jury selection is under way Monday in the murder trial for a 73-year-old man who is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death at her East Windsor house.
Donald Zampini of Queens, N.Y., also was charged with weapons offenses in the Sept. 1, 2006 stabbing death of Barbara Morris. Morris, 63, suffered wounds to her head, chest, face, arms and body, Assistant Skylar Weissman said.
Zampini, who had taken sleeping pills, was found barely conscious on a couch after calling 911, police said.
Defense lawyer John Holliday said Zampini was not capable of 'knowing and purposeful" murder due to psychological problems. He plans to present testimony to a jury to show Zampini's impairment.
The trial before Superior Court Judge Charles A. Delehey, is expected to last about two weeks.
Contact Linda Stein
Continue reading "Jury being picked for man accused of stabbing girlfriend to death" »Trenton gang member admits role in heroin distribution ring
by Lisa Coryell/The TimesFriday November 21, 2008, 7:10 PM
TRENTON -- A member of the Sex Money Murder set of the Bloods street gang pleaded guilty Friday to a first-degree heroin charge as a result of a multiagency gang investigation dubbed Operation Dawg Pound.
Oliver Harris, 26, of Trenton pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin. He faces 10 years in state prison.
In pleading guilty before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly, Harris admitted that he transported more than five ounces of heroin from Newark to Trenton for distribution in August 2006. State Police arrested him at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge and seized the drugs from the car he was traveling in.
Robber admits killing fuel station attendant
by Alex Zdan/The TimesWednesday November 19, 2008, 10:24 PM
MOUNT HOLLY -- A Willingboro man charged with killing a gas station attendant in September 2006 pleaded guilty in Superior Court Wednesday, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office reported.
Damian Jasper, 21, fatally stabbed 70-year-old Kulbir Singh five times when he put up a struggle during Jasper's robbery of the U.S. Gas station on High Street, the prosecutor's office reported.
Jasper was arrested two days later in Florence Township.
Trenton man pleads guilty in death of bike rider
by Linda Stein/The TimesWednesday November 19, 2008, 1:20 PM
A 37-year-old Trenton man who punched a bicycle rider in the face causing him to fall and die from striking his head on the pavement pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter Wednesday.
Ronald L. Wilson admitted that he punched Larry Berry on Aug. 30, 2007 at about 3:30 a.m. Berry then fell off his bicycle and his head in Seiger Alley, a short side street off Calhoun Street.
Wilson, who pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta, will be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison in January.
Police said that Berry, 48, and Wilson had a dispute before Wilson hit him.
Wilson, who has a prior criminal record, might have been eligible to be sentenced to a much longer prison term if not for the plea agreement, Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Meidt said.
Judge Mathesius denied reassignment
by Linda Stein/The TimesMonday November 17, 2008, 9:28 PM
Superior Court Judge Bill Mathesius, a colorful former prosecutor and politician whose outspoken ways as a jurist stirred controversy, will not be reappointed to the Mercer County bench, The Times has learned.
Mathesius, 68, was seeking to retain the $165,000-a-year post until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2010.
However, Gov. Jon Corzine has decided not to reappoint him after "a close examination of his record," Robert Corrales, a spokesman for the governor, said Monday.
Mathesius could not be reached for comment. His current term ends Jan. 11 and Corzine's decision affects whether his tenure would be extended beyond that date.
In this Times file photo from 2005, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Bill Mathesius presides over a murder trial.Gang member sentenced for role in Trenton murder
by Linda Stein/The TimesFriday November 14, 2008, 5:18 PM
TRENTON -- A Latin Kings gangster who took part in the brutal slaying of a young Trenton mother was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Friday.
Maurice Young, 23, apologized for his role in the Aug. 31, 2004, killing of Jeri Lynn Dotson, who was shot in the head execution-style in the basement of her Chestnut Avenue home.
Dotson, 23, a queen in the Latin Kings, was killed to silence her because she had seen Latin Kings members lure Alex Ruiz, 25, from her house the evening before, according to Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Meidt.
Ruiz, who was marked for death by the gang because he sparked a gang war by trying to join the Latin Kings without being properly beaten out of the rival Netas, was strangled and left for dead but somehow survived.
Continue reading "Gang member sentenced for role in Trenton murder" »Trenton woman indicted on murder charge
by Linda Stein/The TimesWednesday November 12, 2008, 1:07 PM
A Mercer County grand jury indicted a 26-year-old Trenton woman for murder Wednesday.
Miashari Fox, allegedly stabbed Anthony Williams to death on March 27, prosecutors said. She was also indicted for attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses for allegedly stabbing Kisha Fox, said Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley.
Fox had argued with her relatives at the East Hanover Street apartment where she lived before grabbing a steak knife to settle the score, McCauley said at an earlier bail hearing. Fox was involved in a child custody dispute which apparently triggered her ire, McCauley said.
Kisha Fox, 37, escaped from the apartment, however, Williams was stabbed in the chest.
Miashari Fox was on probation for resisting arrest at the time of the incident.
Fox remains in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Contact Linda Stein
Continue reading "Trenton woman indicted on murder charge" »Grand jury indicts Trenton man suspected in sex attack
by Linda Stein/The TimesMonday November 10, 2008, 10:01 PM
A Trenton man who allegedly forced a woman to perform a sex act at knifepoint has been indicted on 15 charges.
Joshua Moore, 38, of Brunswick Avenue, allegedly attacked a 22-year-old old woman in a Stockton Street apartment April 17, police said, pointing a 12-inch kitchen knife at the victim to force her to perform oral sex. The woman was tied up with a phone cord and a tank-top shirt, police said, alleging Moore stole her cell phone, money and an ATM card.
The grand jury indicted Moore on Friday on three counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of robbery, three counts of sexual assault, kidnapping, criminal restraint, burglary, and three weapons offenses, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor.
Lawrence man indicted for alleged threats to bank employees
by Linda Stein/The TimesMonday November 10, 2008, 9:52 PM
A Lawrence man who allegedly made phone threats, then appeared in the vestibule of a Hamilton bank causing bank employees to panic, has been indicted on two counts.
A Mercer County grand jury Thursday indicted Terry L. Beatty, of Town Court, on charges of making terroristic threats and false public alarms, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor.
Beatty, 53, allegedly called the Washington Mutual Bank headquarters July 2 after closing time and threatened to shoot up a Hamilton bank branch, officials said. The bank, on Klockner Road, took precautions, locking its inner lobby doors the next day and leaving only its drive-through teller open.
Man receives suspended sentence in Trenton sexual assault
by Linda Stein/The TimesWednesday November 05, 2008, 9:20 PM
TRENTON -- A 44-year-old Port Norris man who was accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old Trenton girl was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence Wednesday.
Bobby Kent had pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, said Assistant Prosecutor John Carbonara.
The incident, which occurred between Jan. 1 and Nov. 3, 2005, was discovered after the girl's mother took her to the doctor and it was determined she had gonorrhea.
Continue reading "Man receives suspended sentence in Trenton sexual assault" »$1M bail kept for Trenton man in fire that killed brother
by Linda Stein/The TimesMonday November 03, 2008, 10:47 AM
A Superior Court judge kept the bail at $1 million Monday for a 35-year-old Trenton man who allegedly set fire to a house, fatally burning his brother and injuring a woman.
Tormu Prall was arrested recently in Connecticut after months on the lam.
Assistant Prosecutor Skylar Weissman said that Prall had argued over money with John Prall, 40, the day before the fire and threatened him.
"Word is bond, I'm going to get you," Tormu Prall allegedly told his brother. Prall allegedly poured gasoline in the house in the 200 block of Wayne Avenue on Sept.. 25, 2007 while John Prall and Kimberly Meadow were sleeping, and set it alight, Weissman said. John Prall was burned over 90 percent of his body while Meadow suffered burns on 30 percent of her body and continues to suffer from their effects, Weissman said.
Continue reading "$1M bail kept for Trenton man in fire that killed brother" »Trenton man pleads guilty to killing woman he had loved
by Linda Stein/The TimesThursday October 30, 2008, 2:59 PM
TRENTON -- Telling a judge that he had loved the woman he killed, Arthur Laster pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated manslaughter.
Laster, 48, of Trenton, admitted that he stabbed Desiree Jones, 36, inside his mother's Kingsbury Square apartment on Aug. 24, 2007. As Laster spoke, the victim's family and friends cried. Laster said he and Jones were having sex when she called out the name of another man. They argued, he said. Laster got up because he had to go to work and as he got dressed he saw a knife in his underwear drawer. Laster said he took the knife out and remembers stabbing her once in the back.
Continue reading "Trenton man pleads guilty to killing woman he had loved" »$500G bail for Trenton man in family hostage case
by Linda Stein/The TimesWednesday October 29, 2008, 9:30 AM
Enrique AvilesAssistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds, head of the prosecutor's domestic violence unit, told Superior Court Judge Gerald Council that Enrique Aviles has a history of domestic violence against his wife including pending charges that he held a knife to her back in another incident in December. Aviles was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated assault in 1995 for a drug-related shooting. In 2000, a court sentenced him to three years probation on drug charges, Geurds said.
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