Homicide Watch Trenton

He did it.

Leroy Tutt

Leroy Tutt is serving seven years in state prison for admitting he shot and killed 19-year-old Nabate Kalil Washington in broad daylight last year.

Washington, also known as Nebate Anderson, suffered fatal gunshot wounds about 1:50 p.m. June 30, 2017, near his Sanford Street home in Trenton. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities linked Tutt to the homicide and then arrested him Aug. 5, 2017. Tutt, 32, who has prior convictions for drug distribution, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, originally pleaded not guilty in the murder case but later confessed to the slaying after his initial trial ended June 6 in a hung jury. 

The state intended to retry Tutt, but he avoided retrial by accepting a plea deal. Tutt pleaded guilty Sept. 19 to second-degree reckless manslaughter and was sentenced Nov. 9 to seven years of incarceration, according to court records. He would have faced 30 years to life in prison if he had been convicted of first-degree murder.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier ordered Tutt to serve 85 percent of his seven-year prison sentence behind bars before he can be released on parole. Tutt received 461 days of jail credit and will be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release, records show.

The self-confessed killer shot Washington in retaliation for a previous incident. Washington previously shot Tutt in the butt on April 26, 2017, prompting Tutt to take revenge several weeks later, authorities said.

Nebate Washington

A grand jury handed up an indictment on Oct. 31, 2017, charging Tutt with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit to carry, and second-degree certain persons not to have a weapon due to prior convictions.

A trial jury deadlocked and failed to reach any verdicts in the case earlier this year. Tutt was jailed without bail at the Mercer County Correction Center on pretrial detention. He ultimately ended his presumption of innocence by pleading guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter.

In accordance with the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed Tutt’s weapons offenses at his Nov. 9 sentencing hearing, where he was represented by public defender Laura Yaede.

Tutt previously served time in state prison from March 2013 to June 2016 for aggravated assault and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections. He also served a prior term behind bars for admitting to distributing drugs in Trenton over 10 years ago.

The man who killed Nabate Kalil Washington is currently booked at the Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Ewing and is scheduled to be released July 17, 2023, according to the DOC.