A city man who shot and killed a retired Trenton cop’s son in cold blood has been sentenced to 25 years in state prison. Admitted killer Robert Bartley, 26, received the expected quarter-century sentence last Friday before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier. In September 2014 Bartley pleaded guilty to firing a lethal gunshot … Read more →
A judge who was “flying blind” in a conspiracy-murder trial crashed the plane, a defense attorney said. And a Trenton man’s right to a fair trial perished when a jury, confused about how to reconcile competing legal issues, “compromised” by reaching “inconsistent” verdicts in August, according to court papers. On the one hand, the jury … Read more →
The jury in the Raheem Currie murder conspiracy trial on Tuesday asked to re-hear testimony from prosecutors’ star witness, focusing on a phone call in which two cousins allegedly discussed a handgun used to kill a retired city cop’s son. The 12-member panel this morning listened a second time to excerpts of Robert Bartley’s testimony. … Read more →
While he refused to toss out a more serious charge of murder, a judge on Wednesday dismissed a murder conspiracy count against a city man who allegedly plotted with a cousin to kill a retired city cop’s son in 2013. Assistant Prosecutor James Scott conceded that there was not enough evidence to support a charge … Read more →
A day after he shot a retired Trenton cop’s son to death, Robert Bartley was more worried about perception – and $258 – than reality. The Trenton transplant, formerly of Chicago, told detectives as they walked into an interrogation room that he was missing a wad of cash. It was taken from him after he … Read more →
Regina Thompson-Jenkins stood before a sea of supporters outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. as “a grieving mother.” At a rally this month, she called for tighter gun control to quell the violence on the inner city streets. She described how she lost her only son, Tre Lane, who was shot in Trenton in … Read more →
It wasn’t enough that Robert Bartley shot retired Trenton cop Luddie Austin’s son to death in 2013. The admitted killer had to get in another shot Thursday at Austin, and his brothers in blue – some of whom have testified at the trial of a man suspected of conspiring with Bartley to kill Austin’s son, … Read more →
Robert Bartley said his cousin knew about, and saw, his .32-caliber handgun, which he kept stowed away in a shoebox inside the room of the cousins’ home in Trenton. Bartley, formerly of Chicago, moved to Trenton sometime around 1999, he testified Thursday. At some point, he moved in with his cousin, Raheem Currie, and his … Read more →
A Mercer County medical examiner testified Thursday that a slain city cop’s son was healthy and his body went into shock after he was shot by a city man outside a Trenton home in February 2013. James Austin, 18, the son of retired Trenton cop Luddie Austin, was shot once in the chest Feb. 26, … Read more →
A judge Thursday morning rejected a request from Raheem Currie’s defense attorney for a mistrial based on testimony from a Trenton Police officer who noted that the victim, James Austin, was the son of a retired police officer. Currie is being tried for conspiring with his cousin, Robert Bartley, to murder Austin, the slain 18-year-old … Read more →
As she sat in the back seat of a Honda Civic parked outside the home of a retired city cop’s son in February 2013, Endia Kaver admitted to police that she was nervous. Her boyfriend, Raheem Currie, and James Austin, had been involved in a fight earlier that day. And now they had returned with … Read more →
The city man who shot a Trenton cop’s son to death in 2013 tried to get a feel for what police knew about his involvement in the crime when he was first interrogated, a retired police detective testified Wednesday. But by the end of the interrogation, retired Trenton Police detective Gary Britton said, the suspect, … Read more →
A dispute between a slain Trenton cop’s son and a city man began over shattered car windows. By the end of it, lives had been shattered. James Austin, 18, was shot once in the chest in his East State Street home on the afternoon of Feb. 26, 2013, as his girlfriend looked on helplessly while … Read more →
The parents of murder victim James Austin share the same birthday – July 13. They will be in a courtroom that day, when a city man goes on trial for his role in the February 2013 death of their 18-year-old son. “It’s like an early birthday present,” said Luddie Austin, James’ father and a retired … Read more →
Raheem Currie walked into the second floor of the Mercer County criminal courthouse Wednesday sporting a crisp black suit. He carried in his right hand a matching briefcase. It was the attire of a business executive not of a man on bail accused of murder. Looks can be deceiving, said retired Trenton cop Luddie Austin. … Read more →
Retired Trenton Police officer Luddie Austin says he no longer has confidence in the criminal justice system in Mercer County after he and his family have waited for more than two years for the man he says orchestrated his son’s murder to be held accountable. “I lost faith in the judicial branch,” Austin told The … Read more →
One of two men charged with murder in the slaying of the son of a veteran city cop rejected prosecutors’ final plea offer of 10 years and will put his fate in the hands of a jury. Raheem Currie, 22, who is free on $50,000 bail, rejected prosecutors’ final plea offer Monday calling for him … Read more →
When Kim Bellamy was 14 years old he started street hustling to earn extra cash. A few years later, while still in high school, Bellamy’s first child was born, and he realized that he needed to find a job that paid more than what he earned on the streets. So, Bellamy decided to transfer from … Read more →
One of two city men charged in the shooting death of James Austin, the son of a veteran city cop, plans to file a motion to dismiss an indictment charging him with murder, his attorney said. Andrew Mark Ferencevych, an attorney for Raheem Currie, 22, unveiled plans at a Monday status hearing but didn’t specify … Read more →
Suspects in three separate city murders, including the slaying of a retired cop’s son, were set up for trial Monday after they rejected plea deals with prosecutors. Raheem Currie, suspected of driving the admitted triggerman to the killing of James Austin on Feb. 26, 2013, pleaded not guilty to a new indictment based on grand-jury … Read more →
Robert Bartley apologized and pleaded guilty Thursday to shooting and killing James Austin, son of a veteran Trenton cop, in the doorway of the victim’s home on Feb. 26, 2013. In return for his plea to aggravated manslaughter, Bartley, 23, will be sentenced to 25 years in prison, with no chance for parole until he’s … Read more →
A retired Trenton cop stood up in court to protest today when a prosecutor offered a 10-year plea deal to an accomplice of his son’s suspected killer. Luddie Austin also confronted Raheem Currie as the accused accomplice stepped outside the courthouse, threatening the young man until his mother stepped in and told the cop “Get … Read more →
Law enforcement officials are investigating a fire that ignited Wednesday morning on the porch of a home owned by retired Trenton Police Sergeant Luddie Austin, whose son was shot and killed last year. “I don’t have enough supporting evidence to say it was a direct attack on me, but if you attack my family you … Read more →
Two men pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that they conspired and killed 18-year-old James Austin, son of retired Trenton police Sgt. Luddie Austin. Around 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 26, police found Austin lying in the foyer of a residence in the 900 block of East State Street suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. … Read more →
TRENTON — Robert Bartley and Raheem Currie, charged in the murder of 18-year-old James Austin, had their bails reduced by Judge Robert Billmeier on Thursday. Bartley, who is charged with felony murder, murder, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, saw his bail dropped from $1 million to $750,000. … Read more →
Less than 24 hours after James Austin, the son of retired Trenton Police Sgt. Luddie Austin, was murdered, Trenton police and the U.S. Marshals made two arrests in the case on Wednesday. James Austin was gunned down while allegedly fighting with another man on the 900 block of East State Street Tuesday afternoon. His vehicle … Read more →
The 18-year-old son of retired Trenton police Sgt. Luddie Austin was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon. Multiple sources told The Trentonian around 1:45 p.m. that James Austin was involved in a fight with an unknown individual in a residence on the 900 block of East State Street when a third party shot Austin in the … Read more →
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