2nd man pleads guilty in local George Floydinspired riot
Another defendant has pleaded guilty in Trenton’s May 2020 downtown riot inspired by the police-involved killing of Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Justin Spry, 22, of South Plainfield, on Tuesday admitted he had attempted to interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder when he attempted to set fire to a police vehicle during the chaos of May 31, 2020, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Before Spry fessed up, his co-defendant Killian Melecio previously pleaded guilty on Jan. 26 to one count of attempting to obstruct, impede or interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder affecting commerce.
Floyd’s video-recorded death in police custody elicited outrage throughout the world, including here in New Jersey’s capital city. Following a peaceful protest on May 31, 2020, a group of individuals embarked upon East State Street in downtown Trenton and began to loot and destroy property.
The charge of attempting to interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, to which Spry and Melecio have pleaded guilty, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey led by Honig.
Melecio is scheduled to be sentenced May 26, and Spry is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3, according to the feds.
In addition to Spry and Melecio, other defendants arrested in the federal case include Kadeem Dockery and Earlja Dudley.
Dockery, who maintains his legal presumption of innocence, is accused of lighting an explosive device and throwing it through the open front driver’s side window of a Trenton Police Department vehicle. He also faces state charges in connection with the incident.
Dudley has been charged with attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle owned or possessed by an institution receiving federal financial assistance and attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle used in and affecting interstate commerce.
Trenton city officials at the time described Floyd’s death as “senseless” and allowed large-scale protests to take place before the violent outburst downtown.
Four Minneapolis cops have been fired and criminally charged with the Memorial Day homicide of Floyd, including Derek Chauvin, the white man who placed his knee in the area of Floyd’s head and neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on May 25, 2020, killing him, prosecutors said.
Chauvin is currently standing trial in Minnesota’s criminal justice system, where a jury will determine whether he is guilty or not guilty of murder.