viernes, 2 de agosto de 2013

Reputed gang member who killed woman and 3 teens in Irvington sentenced to ... - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

IRVINGTON — A 41-year-old reputed Bloods gang member was sentenced this morning to 300 years in prison for killing a woman and three teenage girls — including her daughter — in an Irvington house.

A Superior Court in judge in Newark sentenced Rolando "Ratman" Terrell to 75 years in state prison for each murder. He was convicted at a retrial in July.

Terrell was already serving a life prison term, after the jury in his first trial found him guilty of robbery in connection with the Sept. 8, 2008, execution-style killing, but deadlocked on all murder counts. Because of Terrell's extensive criminal record, Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini III sentenced him to life in prison on the robbery conviction.

In a statement afterward, Assistant Prosecutor Roger Imhof said it was important that Terrell "be held accountable for these four senseless and brutal murders. The family deserved justice." Imhof handled both trials.

Prosecutors say Terrell was searching for cash and drugs when he entered the Irvington home of 40-year-old Candes McLean. A popular cheerleading coach for a Newark Pop Warner football league, McLean also sold drugs from her home, Imhof told jurors. McLean's boyfriend, Michael Fields, was in prison at the time on drug charges and was an associate of Terrell.

Angered at the amount of money McLean gave him, Terrell shot her using a 9 mm handgun. He opened fire on her 18-year-old daughter, Talia McLean; her niece, Zakiyyah Jones, 18; and 13-year-old Latrisha Carruthers-Fields, who was Michael Fields' daughter. The four victims were shot in the head. Candes McLean's 19-year-old daughter, Anijah, survived by hiding in a closet and later grabbed her 16-month-old nephew and ran from the house, which had been set ablaze.

Reacting to yesterday's sentence, Candes' brother, Michael Hoskins, said Terrell "got what he deserved. Now he has to face his own demons."

Candes, he added, "did so much good in her life. But she had that one dark side that overshadowed the good. All the good in the world couldn't save her."



Related coverage:

Reputed Bloods gang member found guilty of killing mother, 3 teenage girls

Mark in the Morning: Innocent kids were killed in grisly Irvington slaying, so where's the outrage?

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