Man gets more than half-century in prison in corner slaying

SALEM, N.J. >> A man convicted of a New Jersey street corner slaying witnessed by police officers almost three years ago has been ordered to spend more than a half-century behind bars.

A Salem County jury convicted Paul Carter in April of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, evidencetampering, resisting arrest and drug and weapons counts, NJ.com reported .

Superior Court Judge Linda Lawhun sentenced Carter, 35, on Friday to 65 years and ordered him to serve at least 85 percent of that term before becoming eligible for parole.

Salem police officers on patrol saw 33-year-old Anthony Johnson gunned down on a street corner in November 2016, and two officers arrested Carter after a foot chase, authorities said.

Assistant Prosecutor Geoffrey Gleason cited Carter’s extensive criminal record and said surveillance video showed the defendant in the shadows apparently waiting for the victim. Gleason said the first shot incapacitated Johnson but the shooter continued to fire.

“Instead of leaving that alone, he stood over his body execution style and pumped five more bullets into Mr. Johnson’s body, emptying his revolver,” he said.

Defense attorney Richard Klineburger noted that a motive for the crime was never revealed.

“While there was nothing indicating this was a drug deal or a dispute over turf or anything like that . the fact that both individuals had similarly packaged narcotics on them does seem to indicate that this was something they were both engaged in at that time,” he said.

Johnson’s mother, Helen McNeal, told Carter on Friday “Your lack of remorse is chilling. Your arrogance is dark and deep-rooted” but also said “Your fear is obvious.” Carter declined to address the court.

Gleason read a statement from Ashya Booker, the mother of four boys with Johnson, who spoke about their 17 years together and the pain of living without him.

“My children were heartbroken and things will never be the same,” she wrote. “They miss their dad every day. Anthony was the father who, no matter what, would make sacrifices so that his family was good.”