Six inmates released in shooting case
TRENTON >> After Zaire Jackson suffered critical gunshot injuries this month following his recent acquittal on murder charges, Mercer County prosecutors batted 0-for-6 at the plate in a failed attempt to keep six defendants locked up.
Jackson, 22, of Trenton, was shot in the abdomen about 10:50 p.m. April 11 in the city’s West Ward. Police escorted Jackson to an area hospital and received information that the shooters may have fled into an apartment on the 500 block of Hoffman Avenue.
Police swiftly entered an apartment and detained six people while searching the premises — apparently without a warrant — and found two stolen handguns inside the bathroom’s toilet tank. Those six individuals— Timothy Wimbush, 27; Michael Monroe, 31; Timothy Jallah, 22; Briyon Ellerbe, 26; Shaela Johnson, 18; and Franzitta Leary, 24 — were all arrested April 12 and charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a handgun and two counts of receiving stolen property.
None of the six defendants, however, has been charged in connection with the shooting of Jackson, who was found not guilty of murder and weapons offenses during a trial by jury on Feb. 17. He was accused of killing Irvin “Swirv” Jackson, 22, in a broaddaylight West Ward shooting on April 9, 2012.
Beginning last week and concluding on Tues-
day, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw methodically ordered all six defendants to be released from the Mercer County Correction Center with minimal conditions pending final resolution of their weapons case.
The last of the six defendants to be released was Timothy Wimbush, a known offender who was released from state prison on Aug. 29, 2016, after serving four years for selling drugs in Mercer and Burlington counties and committing aggravated assault against a law-enforcement officer in Trenton. of less than 50 grams of marijuana. He was released from custody following that arrest and then got busted a month later on the latest weapons offensesthatpromptedprosecutorstofileadetentionmotion.
The state on Tuesday unsuccessfully argued for Wimbush to be detained indefinitely, saying that a pretrial release would put the safety of other people or the community at risk and alleging that Wimbush was at risk for obstructing the criminal justice process and also at risk for failing to appear in court for future legal proceedings.
But Wimbush’s private attorney, Ronald S. Garzio, argued that his client is “gainfully employed” and that his latest weapons arrest “is not a violent offense.” Garzio also suggested that the state will have difficulty proving its case against Wimbush and noted that the state judicial system’s Public Safety Assessment or PSA recommended his client’s release.
Judge Warshaw acknowledged Wimbush’s criminal history but said the state has not presented “clear and convincing evidence” to justify placing the defendant on pretrial detention. The judge denied the state’s detention motion and ordered Wimbush to be released Tuesday from the county jail on the following conditions: He must commit no new criminal offenses; he must not possess a firearm or anyotherdangerousweapon; he must not use any narcotics without a valid prescription; he must not consume excessive amounts of alcohol; and he must adhere to a curfew that requires him to be home between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Female co-defendants Franzitta Leary and Shaela Johnson on April 19 secured their pretrial conditional release when Warshaw denied the state’s detention motions against them, and male codefendants Michael Monroe, Tim Jallah and Briyon Ellerbe on April 18 secured their pretrial conditional release when Warshaw denied the state’s detention motions against them.
If the six co-defendants were ordered to pretrial detention, they would have all remained incarcerated at the county jail pending final resolution of the April 12 weapons case. The case against them could drag on for weeks or monthsbeforeendingwithan acquittal, conviction, plea deal or dismissal of all charges.