Jafar Raheed Lewis | Homicide Watch Trenton

Self-confessed killer get 7 years for slaying Trenton rapper Young Farr

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 12:24:46 -0500

Self-confessed killer Wayne Bush has finally arrived at his new home — New Jersey State Prison in Trenton — for slaying a capital city rap artist in a grisly 2013 shooting.

Wayne Bush (New Jersey Department of Corrections Photo)

The state’s judiciary on Dec. 1 slapped Bush with seven years of incarceration for the homicide. Bush, 39, was originally charged with murder and weapons offenses but pleaded guilty Oct. 6 to an amended count of second-degree manslaughter committed recklessly.

Bush armed himself with a pistol and fired a kill shot that ripped through the skull of Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis during the evening of Aug. 23, 2013. The incident occurred on Middle Rose Street near Brunswick Avenue in Trenton’s North Ward. The hip-hop lyricist was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Twanna Robinson, the victim’s fiancée, gave a vivid account of the slaying earlier this year in court. She heard the gunshots that killed her man. She also testified that she saw Bush standing tall above Lewis, who was lying motionless on the ground after being gunned down that night.

Jafar "Young Farr" Lewis

“You going to jail!” Robinson shouted as Bush briefly stood at the homicide scene in a daze, according to Robinson’s witness testimony. The triggerman then fled the scene in a vehicle.

Although Robinson provided gripping testimony during the murder trial, the jury never got a chance to deliberate over Bush’s fate as Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier declared a mistrial in response to another witness delivering potentially inflammatory testimony on the witness stand.

The state was prepared to retry Bush on murder charges, but the defendant pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter after getting into additional legal trouble.

Bush was re-arrested Sept. 18 and charged with third-degree witness tampering and fourth-degree contempt on allegations he contacted a witness in his homicide case and contacted the boyfriend of another witness in violation of a judge’s no-contact order. Bush ultimately fessed up to fourth-degree contempt and received 14 months of incarceration to run concurrent with his other sentence.

For shooting the hip-hop lyricist to death and confessing to it, Bush must serve at least 85 percent of his seven-year prison term and will be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release. Judge Billmeier on Dec. 1 also ordered Bush to have no contact with four individuals, including Twanna Robinson and the victim’s mother Jacqueline Marshall, and he must pay $2,815 in restitution to Marshall at a rate of $100 per month, according to the judgment of conviction that shows Bush must begin paying the restitution six months after his release from prison.

Bush received 1,502 days of jail credit for being locked up on two separate stints from Aug. 30, 2013, through July 27, 2017, and from Sept. 18 through Nov. 30, according to court records, which show he was briefly free on bail when he violated a judge’s no-contact order in September.

Bush is currently incarcerated at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton and will be eligible for parole in October 2019, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Gunman who killed Trenton rapper ‘Young Farr’ pleads guilty

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 17:29:54 -0400

Wayne Bush (left) and Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis

The gunman who shot and killed Trenton hip-hop lyricist Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis over four years ago has now fessed up, abruptly ending his presumption of innocence in a lingering homicide case that previously ended in a mistrial.

Wayne Bush pleaded guilty last Friday to second-degree reasonable provocation manslaughter for slaying the 26-year-old rap artist on Aug. 23, 2013.

“He still wanted to go to trial, but his family was very much in favor of him taking the offer,” defense attorney John Furlong said of his client Bush.

Under the plea agreement, the 39-year-old Bush could receive anywhere from five-to-10 years of state incarceration at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Dec. 1. The state will likely request the maximum 10-year sentence, but Furlong said he will recommend the judge to impose the minimum five-year prison sentence.

Bush was originally charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon on allegations he armed himself with a pistol and fired a kill shot that ripped through Lewis’s skull on Middle Rose Street near Brunswick Avenue in Trenton’s North Ward.

Twanna Robinson heard two gunshots that night and then saw Bush standing above her fiancé Lewis, who was lying motionless on the ground. “You going to jail!” she immediately shouted at Bush, who fled from the scene in a vehicle, according to Robinson’s witness testimony.

At Bush’s initial murder trial in March, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier declared a mistrial after the state’s final witness gave potentially inflammatory testimony on the witness stand. The state was preparing to retry the case, but then Bush fell into more legal troubles that gave him an incentive to take a plea deal.

Bush, who has been incarcerated at the Mercer County Correction Center since surrendering Aug. 30, 2013, was re-arrested Sept. 18 and charged with third-degree witness tampering and fourth-degree contempt. He is accused of recently contacting a witness in his homicide case and asking her about the welfare of her children and contacting the boyfriend of another witness in violation of a judge’s no-contact order.

Authorities say Bush was willing to offer something of value to a witness not to testify against him. The new criminal charges have resulted in Bush being jailed without bail on pretrial detention; he was previously being held on high monetary bail on the murder charges.

Considering that a trial by jury could have found Bush guilty of first-degree murder and considering that Bush has accrued four years of jail credit, he ultimately decided to resolve his homicide case by pleading guilty to second-degree provoked manslaughter in a deal that may also resolve the witness tampering case, according to Furlong.

The state has obtained a communications data warrant to explore whether Bush has made any further contact with witnesses, but Furlong said he is “confident” the state will not find any such evidence.

“The state has said based on the investigation to date, if nothing else comes out, they would be willing to let him plead guilty to contempt of court fourth-degree to run concurrent to manslaughter,” Furlong said.

If Bush is allowed to resolve his pending witness tampering case by pleading guilty to fourth-degree contempt at his Dec. 1 sentencing hearing, he would be sentenced to serve concurrent terms not to exceed 10 years. He would have to serve 85 percent of the manslaughter term and would be awarded four years of jail credit. Under that scenario, if a judge sentenced Bush to seven years of incarceration, he would end up serving less than two years in state prison for killing local hip-hop sensation Young Farr in cold blood.

Judge declares speedy mistrial in Wayne Bush murder trial over illicit witness testimony

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 19:42:22 -0400

The judge who presided over Wayne Bush’s murder trial abruptly declared a mistrial on Wednesday after a woman gave potentially inflammatory testimony on the witness stand, marking Mercer County’s second murder trial of 2017 to end without a verdict.

“Very reluctantly,” Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier said to the 14 jurors, “I discharge you with the sincerest thanks of all of us — the prosecutor’s office, the defendant and me — for all the sacrifices you’ve made. … Thank you, and you are free to go.”

Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier

The trial began March 15 and ended exactly two weeks later without the jurors ever getting an opportunity to deliberate.

Prior to calling the jurors into his courtroom and dismissing them for good, Billmeier gave comments from the bench explaining why he was “very reluctantly” declaring a mistrial.

He said Denise Louis, the state’s final witness who testified on Tuesday, did not follow his guidance or the guidance of prosecutors who had clearly warned her about the court’s rules of engagement. Louis was specifically told and reminded of the fact that she was not allowed to tell the jury about a conversation she had heard between Bush and a third party involving the statement, “Somebody is going to catch this.”

But Louis did not play by the rules and “gave the very language that she had been told by the prosecutor not to tell the jury,” Billmeier said. “It was immediate cause for a mistrial.”

Bush, 39, has been incarcerated at the Mercer County Correction Center ever since he surrendered to the authorities on Aug. 30, 2013. He has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon on allegations he armed himself with a handgun and shot and killed Trenton hip-hop lyricist Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis, 26, on Aug. 23, 2013.

Wayne Bush

John Furlong, Bush’s defense attorney, called for a mistrial following Tuesday’s testimony debacle, and Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher consented to Furlong’s request. The fact that both sides supported a motion for retrial made it compelling for Billmeier to grant the request on Wednesday.

Another reason Billmeier cited for declaring a mistrial is the fact that the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division in a March 13 decision affirmed his prior decision to exclude Denise Louis from telling the jurors about the “Somebody is going to catch this” conversation.

The Appellate Division found the statement in question to be “ambiguous” and noted that Louis had “stated she did not understand what was meant by the comment.” The Appellate Division further suggested that the comment “is more prejudicial than probative because of its potential inflammatory nature.”

Try again

Due to Wednesday’s sudden mistrial, a future jury of newly selected jurors will have to decide Bush’s fate.

“Obviously this jury never will have the opportunity to deliberate and obviously never make a decision as to guilt or innocence of the defendant Wayne Bush,” Billmeier said. “Mr. Bush has been incarcerated for more than three and a half years, and he’s entitled to have a second trial start promptly.”

Billmeier has proposed for Bush’s retrial to start on Tuesday, May 30, the day after Memorial Day.

In the meantime, Bush is being held on $100,000 cash only bail, but his defense attorney has asked the court to consider a bail reduction or conditional release from jail pending final resolution of Bush’s pending murder retrial.

Billmeier scheduled an April 11 status conference to discuss how the state intends to proceed and determine whether a bail reduction or a non-monetary conditional release is warranted.

“I give tremendous credit to Judge Billmeier,” Furlong told The Trentonian on Wednesday, “because he had to preside over some very rough water. The state’s case was idiosyncratic, and I am being charitable. It is, I don’t want to say outrageous but very concerning that Wayne Bush is still detained. He is entitled to bail after this episode of trials that found ways to go wrong. As far as I’m concerned, the murder of Jafar Lewis remains unsolved and Wayne Bush and I can’t solve it for them.”

Furlong said he is “exasperated” that the state’s final witness “blew up” the initial trial but looks forward to his client being found not guilty at the forthcoming retrial.

“I will be there when the bell rings for round 2,” he said. “If round 2 is like round 1, the state may want to rethink its prosecution. … No two trials are alike, but I am confident the state’s trial isn’t going to get better. If anything, it is going to get worse.”

Earlier this year, a hung jury’s failure to reach a verdict in the Isiah Greene murder retrial prompted Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi to declare a mistrial in that case on Jan. 31.

Another Mercer County murder trial defendant, Zaire Jackson, was found not guilty by a jury of his peers on Feb. 17, underscoring the difficulty Mercer County prosecutors have had in winning murder trial convictions this year.

Convicted robber sent text message claiming he gunned down Trenton rapper Jafar Lewis

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 19:55:01 -0400

When police were investigating a brutal August 2013 murder in North Trenton, a man who had previously served time in state prison for robbery and selling drugs sent a text message claiming he was the gunman responsible for the slaying.

“I just shot and killed somebody,” Dalord Dumas wrote in a text message that he sent to a friend on Aug. 23, 2013, the same night that Trenton hip-hop lyricist Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis was fatally gunned down.

The friend, Ishmael Raines, asked Dumas if he was joking, and Dumas responded he was “serious,” not joking. That prompted Raines to alert the authorities.

As Dumas was driving with his romantic date, Jennifer Bellamy, in his front passenger seat, he parked his vehicle near Raines’ home and soon realized that police officers were pulling up on him with their guns drawn.

Officers placed Dumas into a patrol car, and two detectives eventually questioned him for several hours at Trenton Police headquarters, but the officers did not charge him with any crimes and actually gave him a ride to Bellamy’s home.

Dumas, 40, testified Monday at Wayne Bush’s murder trial about the whole ordeal. He admitted to sending the “strange” text, but said he was intoxicated on vodka when he sent the “bull s---” text.

“I said that I had killed somebody,” Dumas said under cross-examination. “I was intoxicated, and I was talking to someone I thought was a friend.”

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher asked Dumas if he had shot somebody on Brunswick Avenue and then asked him if he had a gun on the night of Aug. 23, 2013.

“No sir,” Dumas said Monday in response to Fisher’s questions.

When police brought Dumas into custody for questioning, Dumas allowed them to search his phone and vehicle for evidence and also agreed to speak to police without requesting a lawyer because, he said, “I didn’t have anything to hide.”

Although Dumas sent a text message claiming to be the killer, police determined that Dumas was joking and ultimately arrested and charged Wayne Bush, 39, with the slaying.

Bush has been held in custody on $1 million bail ever since he surrendered to the authorities on Aug. 30, 2013. He has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon on allegations he armed himself with a handgun and shot and killed 26-year-old Jafar Lewis.

Wayne Bush

John Furlong, Bush’s defense attorney, probed Dumas under cross-examination Monday in ways that not only highlighted Dumas’ criminal history — he was sentenced to five years of prison on drug charges in 1997 and sentenced to three years behind bars for robbery in 2010 — but Furlong also got Dumas to acknowledge his history of bearing false witness.

Furlong asked Dumas if he had ever lied to police.

“Yes, I have,” Dumas confirmed.

Then Furlong asked Dumas if he had ever lied under oath.

“Yes, I have,” Dumas said.

Wayne Bush murder trial judge: Oops, my ‘snap judgment’ was probably wrong

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 08:05:37 -0400

A woman who witnessed the August 2013 shooting death of her hip-hop lyricist fiancé Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis probably should not have been questioned over her previous credit card fraud plea deal when she testified last week at Wayne Bush’s murder trial.

Wayne Bush

Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier on Monday conceded he may have been wrong to allow a defense attorney to mention the specifics concerning how Twanna Robinson reached an agreement about 15 years ago to get most of her criminal charges dismissed from what had been a 19-count indictment.

In exchange for pleading guilty to a single credit card fraud charge in January 2002, Robinson, 38, received a sentence of two years of probation and was ordered to pay $3,525.50 in restitution.

John Furlong, Bush’s defense attorney, probed Robinson under cross-examination last Thursday by asking her about the terms of the plea deal concerning her unlawful credit card use.

“I pleaded guilty to a credit card charge,” Robinson said on the witness stand, giving a disciplined response to a question that arguably was inappropriate.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher objected to Furlong’s questioning, but Billmeier at the time allowed Furlong to ask Robinson if she had previously taken a plea deal to get most of her charges dismissed from a 19-count indictment.

Furlong “was permitted over the prosecutor’s objection to talk about the many charges about indictment that were dismissed,” Billmeier said Monday morning from the bench when the jury was away on recess. “I made it a snap judgment that I thought that was appropriate because it was contained on the judgment of conviction. Mr. Fisher’s research indicates perhaps the court was wrong.”

Fisher sent an email to Billmeier late Sunday night citing case law that shows it may have been totally inappropriate for Robinson to have been questioned about the specifics of her plea deal.

“I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Fisher that I think my snap judgment perhaps was an error,” Billmeier said. The judge, however, also said he would give Bush’s defense attorneys an opportunity to respond by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Bush’s legal team is composed of Furlong and defense attorney Andrew Ferencevych, who is expected to craft a response of arguing that the judge was correct in allowing Furlong to question Robinson about the plea deal.

Billmeier said if he rules and reverses himself that he would give the jurors a “curative instruction” that would essentially direct the jurors to disregard Furlong’s probing question.

Bush, 39, has been held in custody on $1 million bail ever since he surrendered to the authorities on Aug. 30, 2013. He has been charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon on allegations he armed himself with a handgun and shot and killed 26-year-old Jafar Lewis on Aug. 23, 2013.

Jafar "Young Farr" Lewis

With Mercer County prosecutors having a difficult time winning convictions in recent murder trials, the smallest little detail in testimony or cross-examination can make all the difference in the world for a jury that must deliberate over whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty.

A judge, like a referee in athletic competition, is expected to enforce the rules fairly and impartially. But if the judge makes a potential mistake in judgment, the competing teams — the defense and the prosecution — have the right to challenge a jurist’s legal rulings just as opposing sportsmen can challenge a referee’s call on the field.

Autopsy doctor

Mercer County Medical Examiner Dr. Raafat Ahmad, who has worked for the county for almost 40 years and is days away from retirement, testified on Monday about the homicide of Lewis and afterward received kudos from the bench for her long service.

“I want to thank you for being available for this trial; I know you’ve had a very long tenure as a medical examiner,” Billmeier said to Ahmad on Monday when the jury was still away on recess. “On behalf of the Mercer County judiciary, I want to thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It was an honor and privilege to serve the county,” Ahmad said in response. Then she asked if she could take photos with the judge, which Billmeier allowed once the prosecutors and defense attorneys made clear they had no objections to the photo op whatsoever.

Fiancée of slain Trenton rapper ‘Young Farr’ testifies at murder trial

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 19:28:13 -0400

The fiancée of slain hip-hop artist Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis witnessed her man get shot and killed more than three years ago but still remembers the vivid details as if it happened yesterday.

Testifying under oath Thursday at Wayne Bush’s murder trial, Twanna Robinson said she was sitting in the passenger’s seat of her Infiniti FX45 on the night of Aug. 23, 2013, and saw Bush raise his arm toward Lewis and “immediately heard two gunshots.”

“I ducked down in my car,” she said on the witness stand. “I was shocked. I didn’t expect to hear that.”

After hearing back-to-back gunshots, Robinson looked over at Bush and saw him standing tall above Lewis, who was lying motionless on the ground on Middle Rose Street near Brunswick Avenue in Trenton, according to her testimony. She said that Bush was wearing a black hoodie and appeared to be “in a daze, looking down” and that she started screaming, “You going to jail!”

Bush fled in a vehicle by driving in reverse in the wrong direction up the one-way Middle Rose Street toward Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to Robinson’s testimony.

Wayne Bush

Robinson, 38, has known Bush since high school but had never had any problems with him or his family prior to that night, she said. After Lewis, 26, was gunned down about 9:20 p.m., Robinson said she had shouted “Waynie shot Farr!” so that everyone who gathered at the scene would know what happened.

“Everybody was crying,” Robinson said Thursday, recalling the mood of the moment. “Everybody was yelling. Everybody was going off.”

Prosecutors say Lewis owed Bush a significant amount of money, fueling a dispute over cash that allegedly motivated Bush to unlawfully obtain a handgun and use it in an ambush-style attack against the victim, who was an up-and-coming hip-hop lyricist who went by the stage name Young Farr.

John Furlong, Bush’s defense attorney, questioned Robinson Thursday under cross-examination. He asked the eyewitness whether she had deleted much of her Facebook posts from August 2013 and September 2013 and Robinson responded, “I could have.”

Then Furlong got Robinson to acknowledge that she had met with prosecutors multiple times to practice her testimony prior to Bush’s murder trial.

Furlong also got Robinson to acknowledge that she had filed a criminal complaint against Bush’s mother alleging terroristic threats — a complaint that was eventually dismissed after Robinson failed to show up in court.

The families had long been acquainted. Wayne Bush was engaged to Jafar Lewis’s cousin, Ghadah Lewis, at the time of the murder.

With the jurors paying close attention to the cross-examination, Furlong asked Robinson if she had pleaded guilty to credit card fraud — referring to a case from about 15 years ago when Robinson was indicted on 19 counts and reached a plea deal to get most counts dismissed in exchange for an admission of guilt and a sentence of two years of probation.

“I pleaded guilty to a credit card charge,” Robinson said during her testimony on Thursday.

Bush’s murder trial is expected to be lengthy. A jury of his peers has committed to serving up through Thursday, April 13.

Wayne Bush’s murder trial begins in shooting death of Trenton rapper

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 20:35:11 -0400

Wayne Bush

Wayne Bush’s long-awaited murder trial kicked off Wednesday with the prosecution accusing him of being the gunman who shot and killed a local hip-hop artist.

Jafar “Young Farr” Lewis, 26, was having a “nice evening” with his fiancée Twanna Robinson on Friday, Aug. 23, 2013, when he was gunned down in the capital city, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher said in his opening statement.

Robinson witnessed the murder with her own eyes from the passenger seat of her car, according to Fisher, who said Robinson could see Bush confronting her fiancé in the middle of the street and pointing at him as if he had a gun, and then she “ducked and panicked” after hearing two shots.

The first shot ripped through Lewis’s skull on Middle Rose Street near Brunswick Avenue in Trenton’s North Ward, “literally blowing Jafar’s brains out,” Fisher said. “Jafar never had a chance.”

Lewis owed Bush money, and that dispute over money motivated Bush to unlawfully obtain a handgun and use it in the ambush-style attack against the victim, Fisher alleged.

The private attorney representing Bush, John Furlong, said his client has been wrongly accused and is presumed innocent.

“I’m not saying Wayne sings in the church choir,” Furlong said, “but he’s not a murderer.”

Furlong in opening statements suggested the state cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bush is guilty. If the jurors think Bush is guilty simply by listening to Fisher’s opening statement, “You are in violation of your oath,” Furlong said to the 14 jurors.

After opening statements, the prosecution called upon Trenton Police Officer Jadeen Smith to testify under oath Wednesday afternoon. She was the first cop to arrive at the scene on the night Lewis was gunned down. She described the scene as “chaos,” saying multiple people were in the area “screaming” as the victim was lying on the street “bleeding profusely from his head.”

“I tried to stop the blood by applying pressure,” Smith said, adding her efforts were unsuccessful.

Trenton Emergency Medical Service rushed Lewis to Capital Health Regional Medical Center following the 9:20 p.m. shooting. He was pronounced dead at the hospital about three hours later.

Lengthy trial

Judge Robert Billmeier said Bush’s trial could last up to four weeks and conclude on Thursday, April 13, at the latest.

The jury is expected to be exposed to a plethora of evidence and witness testimony, but the main witness the prosecution intends to call upon is Robinson, 38, who would have married Lewis if he had lived long enough to take their romantic engagement to the next level.

Robinson is believed to be the state’s only eyewitness to the murder, but Furlong is expected to question her reliability and credibility under cross-examination later in the trial.

Robinson has a criminal history over the past two decades on matters mainly involving shoplifting or theft of services. The judge ruled that Furlong is prohibited from mentioning anything in Robinson’s rap sheet except for a credit card fraud case that Robinson pleaded guilty to about 15 years ago, which resulted in her being sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $3,525.50 in restitution.

Open court

Among the members of the public who attended Day 1 of Bush’s murder trial was his mother Linda Bush-Daniels.

“He’s in the right state of mind,” the mother told The Trentonian about her son on Wednesday. “He’s faithful and believes, and he’s innocent.”

“God is fighting this battle for us,” the mother added. “I know my son is coming out an innocent man. With God, all things are possible.”

Before the trial began Wednesday, there was a temporary juror crisis stemming from one of the jurors being briefly unable to make it to court in a timely fashion due to her being stuck on her unplowed Hamilton Township street. The juror was able to get someone to drive her to the court by noon.

Day 2 of Bush’s four-week-long murder trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Attorneys agree to keep evidence about drugs out of Trenton murder trial

Isaac Avilucea — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:37:41 -0400

Jurors will never know slain hip-hop artist Jafar Lewis was allegedly gunned down in 2013 over a drug debt.

Attorneys for both sides agreed to scrub references to a drug debt at the upcoming murder trial of accused killer Wayne Bush. Prosecutors will be allowed to suggest Lewis owed Bush money as a motive for the killing but cannot elaborate beyond that.

Bush, 39, was engaged to a relative of Lewis at the time of the Aug. 23, 2013 murder. He was supposed to go on trial July 6 on charges that he fatally shot Lewis after he believed Lewis stiffed him out of drug proceeds.

Bush rejected a final plea offer of 29 years for aggravated manslaughter.

Judge Robert Billmeier said Wednesday he expects to push back the start of trial but he did not say when it would be rescheduled.

In the meantime, Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Korngut and defense attorney Jack Furlong settled their dispute over testimony suggesting the defendant and Lewis were partners in an illicit trade that went awry.

Lewis’ fiancée, Twanna Robinson, who claims to have witnessed the murder, testified at an evidentiary hearing earlier this month that Lewis was involved in a “business relationship” with Bush, a known heroin dealer.

The men, who were acquainted for years, had a falling out after Lewis was provided 80 bricks of heroin to sell and was supposed to return the profits to Bush.

Robinson recalled being in a vehicle with Bush and Lewis about a week before the murder, when Bush allegedly unloaded 80 bricks of heroin in the back seat.

Robinson said she unloaded the bricks from her vehicle and placed them into the basement of the home the couple shared. Later, Lewis drove with her to a remote wooded part of Ewing and buried the heroin.

Billmeier previously said he was inclined to issue a written opinion that would have effectively “sanitized” Robinson’s testimony because it was prejudicial to Bush, once a close friend of the Lewis family who was engaged to Lewis’ cousin, Ghadah.

Prosecutors must find a way around drug references contained in evidence, which includes numerous text messages and private Facebook messages between Lewis and Ghadah the day of the murder.

Furlong objected to Robinson’s testimony about the drug venture because it did not appear in prior statements she gave police. She came forward with the information last month.

Victim’s family removed from court after emotions flare

Isaac Avilucea — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:02:52 -0400

Accused killer Wayne Bush locked eyes with the mother of slain hip-hop artist Jafar Lewis and allegedly mouthed two words: “F--- you.”

This was a man who had once attended holidays and family gatherings. So naturally, Lewis’ mother, Jacqueline, lashed out, launching into an expletive-laced tirade. Sheriff’s officers had to remove her from the courtroom when she interrupted the proceedings.

That was the divisive backdrop of this evidentiary hearing Wednesday in a case that has wrenched a family apart. Bush was engaged to the victim’s cousin, Ghadah, when he allegedly killed Lewis on Aug. 23, 2013 over a drug debt.

“It’s an intra-family tragedy,” said Jack Furlong, Bush’s attorney. Bush, 37, was indicted by a grand jury last year, has pleaded not guilty and rejected a plea offer of 29 years for aggravated manslaughter. The start of trial was set for July 6 but that is expected to change.

Added Furlong: “I don’t expect any winners, regardless of the outcome.”

A hearing was held so Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Korngut and Furlong could argue about whether prosecutors should be allowed to present evidence of Bush’s alleged motive.

Judge Robert Billmeier, taking his cues from the appellate court, said a trial jury would likely hear a “sanitized” version of events relayed by Lewis’ fiancée, Twanna Robinson, who claims to have witnessed the murder on Middle Rose Street.

Robinson testified her fiancé was involved in a “business relationship” with Bush, a known heroin dealer. The men, who were acquainted for years, had a falling out after Lewis was provided 80 bricks of heroin by Bush. Lewis was supposed to sell the drugs and return the profits to Bush.

Prosecutors believe Bush grew enraged after he couldn’t get in touch with Lewis and believed he stiffed him out of drug proceeds.

Robinson said she recalled being in a vehicle with Bush and Lewis about a week before the murder, when they set up their drug-dealing arrangement. Bush allegedly unloaded 80 bricks of heroin, wrapped in newspaper, in the back seat. Then he turned to Lewis and told him there was more if he flipped it.

“This 80, you knock this off, I got 250 for you,” Robinson recalled hearing Bush say.

After Robinson dropped off her fiancé, she unloaded the bricks from her vehicle and placed them into the basement of the home the couple shared. Later, she and Lewis drove to a remote wooded part of Ewing, where he buried the heroin while she waited in the car.

That weekend the couple went to Atlantic City. Robinson posted photos of them on her Facebook and Instagram accounts. Bush’s fiancée, Ghahada, must have saw them and told her beau.

Bush wondered where Lewis got the money to go to Atlantic City.

Robinson said she saw numerous text messages and private Facebook messages between Lewis and Ghadah the day of the murder. She had reached out to her cousin at Bush’s urging after he was incommunicado.

According to documents of the messages read in court, Ghadah Lewis reportedly told her cousin he was “grimy” because she believed he was dodging Bush’s calls. She said she had convinced Bush to front him the drugs.

“Family ain’t never do shit for me,” Jafar Lewis texted back.

Furlong pointed out on cross examination Robinson never mentioned the drug transaction that allegedly took place a week before Lewis’ death in prior statements to police. She didn’t come forward with the information until last month. The transaction is important because it underpins the state’s theory of Bush’s motive.

When police initially asked Robinson if the men had any prior problems, she failed to mention text and Facebook messages.

Furlong appeared incredulous of Robinson’s purported “fantasy world.”

Trenton man indicted in murder of rapper Young Farr

Paul Mickle — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 18:42:40 -0400

A Mercer County grand jury has indicted gangster Wayne K. Bush, 36, of Bellevue Avenue, for the August assassination of a rapper known as Young Farr, 26-year-old Jafar Lewis.

Bush is charged with murder and weapons offenses for shooting Bush in the head on Middle Rose Street near Brunswick Avenue at 9:20 p.m. the night of Aug. 23 last year.

Bush surrendered to Mercer prosecutors on Aug. 30 and has been lodged in the county jail since in lieu of $1 million bail.

Lewis’ girlfriend Twanna Robinson told The Trentonian the killing happened as she was traveling with him on King Boulevard when a car pulled alongside theirs at a stop sign.

She said Lewis and Wayne both got out of their vehicles and she then heard two shots. Robinson got out of the vehicle and saw Lewis, who wasn’t carrying a weapon, lying on the ground with a gunshot to the head.

She also said she looked the shooter — dressed in all black — dead in the face and reocognized it was Bush, who has ties to Lewis’ family.

Robinson also said after Bush backed his car down the street she was screaming his name loudly so neighbors could hear who killed her Young Farr.

“I was screaming, ‘You’re going to jail,’” Robinson said. Lewis’ mother, Jacqueline Marshall, said Bush was engaged to marry her niece.

Cops identified Bush as a gangster with the Sex-Money-Murder wing of the Bloods who once took part in a violent home invasion in Ewing. One of the latest weapons charges on him is gun possession by a convicted felon.

Assistant Mercer Prosecutor Lew Korngut, chief of homicide, presented the case to the grand jury.