Sort of a win win for society really. Now two thugs are in the can and will serve a good amount of time. Payne will too and his track record proves.

Jersey City man with no record backs out of testimony deal, could face 15 years
Saturday, March 05, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
A Jersey City man who agreed to testify in a murder trial was to serve as little as one year in prison, but he reneged on the deal and now faces up to 15 years behind bars after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter yesterday, officials said.

"You make a deal and you have to abide by it or you suffer the consequences," said Hudson County Prosecutor Michael D'Andrea of Malcolm Miller, 22, of Duncan Avenue, who pleaded guilty to the July 13, 2007 aggravated manslaughter of James Cardona, 27, of Jefferson Street in Hoboken.


Both Miller and co-defendant Nyheem Thomas, 21, had pleaded guilty to weapons offenses in connection to the killing and agreed to testify at the trial of Rasheen Payne, 26, of Claremont Avenue, and say he was the gunman, officials said.

Both gave statements implicating Payne and as part of the deal. Miller, who had no record, was to get five years in prison with one year of parole ineligibility. Thomas was to serve 10 years with five years of parole ineligibility.

But in the middle of Payne's murder trial, Thomas and Miller refused to testify and said they were threatened while in jail, D'Andrea said. During the trial it was said that Payne is a Bloods street gang member.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale ruled that the statements made by Thomas and Miller implicating Payne should be allowed as evidence at trial even though they refused to take the stand. Normally, a statement implicating someone can only be admitted if the person takes the stand because a defendant has the right to confront his accuser.

The defense appealed and an appellate court ruled the statements could not be entered. Prosecutors asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear the matter but the high court chose not to. Payne was acquitted. After that trial, Thomas and Miller were indicted on murder charges. Thomas awaits trial.

In court today Miller admitted fetching a gun, handing it to the gunman and seeing him shoot Cardona. He did not identify the man who fired the round that passed through Cardona's arm and into his chest in the A. Harry Moore housing complex that morning.

Payne has served prison time for aggravated assault and drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, corrections officials said. He is currently awaiting sentencing for slashing a woman.

Miller will be sentenced by DePascale on April 15.

D'Andrea said: "Mr. Miller is doing Rasheen Payne's time and if Mr. Thomas is convicted, so will he."

The Duncan project were being knocked down but no work seems to have happened at the site in months. Does anyone know what is going on with that?

Arrest in killing at Moore
DeFazio: Witnesses say he shot Cardona

Friday, July 27, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Police have arrested a Jersey City criminal on charges he murdered a Hoboken resident who was shot through the heart during a dispute in a Jersey City public housing complex two weeks ago.

Rasheen Payne, 23, aka "Ra-Digga," of Claremont Avenue, was arrested yesterday morning at his grandmother's home where he was staying, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

He is charged with the July 13 murder of James Cardona, 27, of Jefferson Street, who was shot in the A. Harry Moore housing complex, DeFazio said.

"We obtained statements from a number of witnesses who saw Rasheen Payne shoot James Cardona," said DeFazio, whose office arrested Payne with the help of the Jersey City Police Department's Major Case Unit.

On the day Cardona died, he and two friends went to the Duncan Avenue housing complex at about 8:30 a.m., apparently to buy drugs, DeFazio said. One of Cardona's friends was in the habit of loaning a relative's car to the drug dealers in exchange for drugs, DeFazio said.

In a recent incident, the car was reported stolen and the man behind the wheel was arrested, DeFazio said. On July 13, Cardona and his friends were confronted by as many as six friends of the jailed man, DeFazio said, and Payne allegedly fired one round that passed through Cardona's arm and into his chest.

"We can't be certain if (Cardona) was being shot at specifically, but clearly, the intended target was one of the three individuals," DeFazio said.

Payne was in jail from Jan. 23, 2004 to July 22, 2004 on convictions for aggravated assault and drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, corrections officials said.

His bail has been set at $350,000 cash only and he has been remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny, DeFazio said.

==================================

Crackdown nets 19 busts at complex
Friday, July 27, 2007

There have been more arrests at Jersey City's A. Harry Moore public housing complex as part of a crackdown in the wake of the murder of a Hoboken man on July 13 there, officials said yesterday.

The coordinated effort by the Jersey City Police Department and Hudson County Prosecutor's Office has led to 19 arrests, including four made Tuesday, said Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Gaetano T. Gregory. Last week, 15 people were arrested at the housing complex over a three-day span. Law enforcement officials last week said 18 had been arrested in the initial crackdown.

On Tuesday, George Harry Jackson III, 35, of Garfield Avenue, and William Tiawan Jordan, 30, of Duncan Avenue, were arrested after being caught taking pictures of police vehicles doing surveillance, Gregory said. Both were charged with obstructing a government function, Gregory said.

Sheretta Spring, 23, of Duncan Avenue, was charged with numerous drug offenses, including possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school and 500 feet of public property, Gregory said.

The fourth person arrested Tuesday was Edwin Jeffery Vera, 39, of Lake Street, who was charged with drug possession, resisting arrest and eluding police, Gregory said.

On July 13, James Cardona, 27, of Jefferson Street, was killed at the complex when he and two friends went there apparently to buy drugs, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

The prosecutor said he believes police pressure on the area after the murder played a part in generating information leading to yesterday's arrest of Rasheen Payne on the charge of murdering Cardona.

MICHAELANGELO CONTE

It takes a human life for the police to start cracking down on the drug dealers, wow. Couldn't they done this earlier and save that man's life? And for all you advocating for the demolition of the projects, I ask you a question. Where the hell are the gonna go? You know what should b done, 24 hour policing of the projects from dusk to dawn, and a rule should be made which tenants would lose housing assistance if anyone of them did a crime.

Willie - councilwoman at large

ARE YOU LISTENING - HER MERC SHOULD HAVE BEEN SEIZED!

Bulldoze the housing projects/complex now. The law abiding residents there must be living in hell - a cycle of crime and intimidation.

18 drug arrests in complex where man killed
Saturday, July 21, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Police have arrested 18 people on drug charges in a crackdown at Jersey City's A. Harry Moore public housing complex, where a Hoboken man was gunned down last Friday.

"This was in response to the homicide which occurred on the site last week and we plan to return to that site some time in the near future," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday.

There has been no arrest in the murder of James Cardona, 27, of Jefferson Street, but investigators are "optimistic that information is being generated that will lead to the arrest of the shooter and the person who handed him the gun," DeFazio said.

On Wednesday, about a dozen alleged drug buyers were busted and charged with drug possession and wandering to commit a drug offense, DeFazio said. Jersey City police and the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Narcotics Task Force went back Thursday and swept up a half-dozen alleged dealers, DeFazio said.

At about 8:30 a.m. on July 13, Cardona and two friends went to the housing complex, apparently to buy drugs, DeFazio said. One of Cardona's friends frequently loaned a relative's car to the drug dealers in exchange for drugs, DeFazio said. The relative had reported it stolen, leading to the arrest of the man who had it, reports said.

When the victim and his friends walked to the rear of the complex, they apparently ran into as many as six friends of the jailed man, DeFazio said. Witnesses said at some point at least one member of the group took the car keys from Cardona's friend, DeFazio said.

The victim was trying to calm the situation but as he and his friends tried to run away, someone fired one fatal shot, which passed through Cardona's arm and into his chest, striking his heart, DeFazio said.

Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

Shooter may not be only one in trouble
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

It's possible more than one person is responsible in the murder of a Hoboken man gunned down in Jersey City's A. Harry Moore public housing complex Friday, officials said yesterday afternoon.

"It could be a felony murder as to everybody involved if they were acting in concert as a group," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said of the shooting death of James Cardona, 27, of Jefferson Street, in the Duncan Avenue housing complex.

Cardona and two friends went to the housing complex about 8:30 a.m. Friday, apparently to buy drugs, DeFazio said. One of Cardona's friends frequently loaned a relative's car to the drug dealers in exchange for drugs, DeFazio said.

In a recent incident, the car had not been returned on time and the relative reported it stolen, DeFazio said. That resulted in the man behind the wheel being arrested and he remains in the Hudson County jail in Kearny, DeFazio said.

When the victim and his friends walked to the rear of the complex, they apparently ran into as many as six friends of the jailed man, DeFazio said. Continuing interviews with witnesses has led investigators to believe that at some point at least one member of the group took the car keys from Cardona's friend, DeFazio said.

The victim was trying to calm the situation, DeFazio said. As the three Hoboken men tried to run away, someone fired one fatal shot that passed through Cardona's arm and into his chest, striking his heart, DeFazio said. The slug was recovered during the postmortem at the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark.

The prosecutor said it's possible someone handed the gun to the man who pulled the trigger.

Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

hmmm....a man loans a relative's car to drug dealers....how can that go wrong?

excellent work by the cops - send coffee and donuts to the cops involved.

it is great news to hear these cops making difficult arrests and doing what they chose to do as a career and trained to do.

maybe each community group should have a presentation for the 'best' police work done by a cop in their area - an award each year.

IM GUESSING THIS IS WHAT LED UP TO THE MURDER


Fled stolen car, had illegal gun, cops say
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City man jumped out of a stolen car and took off when he saw police, but with one cop chasing him on foot and his partner racing ahead in the police cruiser he was quickly arrested on weapons offenses and other charges, officials said.

At 3 a.m. yesterday, police arrested Morris Funchess, 18, of the A. Harry Moore Public Housing Complex on Duncan Avenue, and charged him with eluding police, receiving stolen property and numerous weapons offenses, reports said.

Cops on patrol spotted a speeding car and got behind it at Fairview and Monticello avenues, but when they turned on the flashing lights, all three occupants got out and ran, reports said. Officer John Friend chased Funchess, who was running with a 15-year-old girl, and Officer Vincent Alberto sped ahead in the cruiser, reports said.

As Funchess and the girl ran up Monticello Avenue, Friend saw him toss what turned out to be a handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets and with its serial numbers filed off. After a while, the girl got scared and stopped running, reports said.

At the intersection of Monticello and Storms avenues Alberto's cruiser and two other police cars converged on Funchess and he was arrested, reports said. The girl was not charged, reports said, adding that the second man that ran from the car was not caught.

Police also cited Funchess for two motor vehicle violations

Saturday, July 14, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Hoboken man was shot to death during a confrontation in a Jersey City public housing complex yesterday morning.

James Cardona, 27, of Jefferson Street, was shot once in the chest at about 8:30 a.m. at the rear of the A. Harry Moore public housing complex, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday. The bullet pierced his heart, DeFazio added.

Cardona managed to run to the corner of Duncan Avenue and Freeman Street before collapsing, DeFazio said, adding that he was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

"This was a completely gratuitous act of gun violence," DeFazio said yesterday. "There are going to be ramifications now that this shooting took place at that site. There will be ramifications to the gang-banging, drug-dealing, gun-wielding persons."

Cardona and two friends went to the housing complex apparently to buy drugs, DeFazio said. One of his friends frequently loaned a relative's car to the drug dealers in exchange for drugs, DeFazio said.

There was a recent incident in which the car had not been returned on time and the relative reported it stolen to police, DeFazio said. That resulted in the man behind the wheel being arrested and he remains in the Hudson County jail in Kearny, DeFazio said.

When the victim and his two friends walked to the rear of the complex, they apparently ran into friends of the man in jail, words were exchanged, apparently about the car, and after a while the victim and his friends turned to walk away, DeFazio said. As they did, the man they were arguing with took out a gun and fired once, striking Cardona, DeFazio said.

The single bullet appears to have pierced Cardona's heart, but an autopsy has yet to be done. DeFazio said there is no reason to believe the Hoboken men were armed. Cardona worked for a Hoboken cab company.

Investigators have spoken to witnesses to the shooting but ask anyone else with information to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.