Jersey City suspect in Marine's murder in court on charges of attacking cabdriver

Published: Friday, June 17, 2011, 3:01 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal


Earl Austin makes his first appearance on the charge of attempting to murder a cabdriver, yesterday in Jersey City.
The Jersey City man charged with murdering a Marine who was home on leave last month made his first court appearance yesterday on charges he attempted to murder a cabbie in an unrelated incident only days earlier.

Earl Austin, 20, of Bartholdi Avenue, had his hands cuffed behind his back and was wearing the green garb of the Hudson County jail when he appeared in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City yesterday.

In court, Austin was formally charged in the May 23 attempted murder of the 28-year-old Newark man who was shot in the chest while seated in his taxi on Wegman Parkway, officials said. He is also charged with robbery, aggravated assault, and a weapons offense in that case, Judge Margaret Marley said at the hearing.

When Austin was charged last week with shooting the cabbie, he was already in jail being held on a $1 million cash-only bail in connection with the May 26 murder of Anthony Adams, 23, of Yale Avenue.

Police say Adams, a Marine who was about to ship out to Africa, was seated in his Ford Explorer on Bidwell Avenue when Austin shot him. One bullet entered Adams? left chest and a second entered his left ear, officials said. Adams had served a one-year tour in Iraq.

The murder charge carries a possible sentence of up to life in prison, and the attempted murder charge carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years.

Austin?s bail on the new charges was to be set in Superior Court.

This is such a tragedy! My heart breaks for this young man and his family.. I am so sorry for your loss and I am so sorry we live in a world where such senseless violence happens over and over again to good people like Lance Cpl. Adams. It doesn't have to be this way!

R.I.P. Lance Cpl. Adams. I am so sorry.

Jersey City Marine killed in carjacking laid to rest

Saturday, June 04, 2011, 4:59 PM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Enlarge Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
U.S. Marines escort Anthony C. Adams' casket out of the church at the end of the funeral service. Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal



Funeral for U.S. Marine slain in Jersey City gallery (15 photos)

U.S. Marines stood at attention beside a flag-draped casket at yesterday's crowded funeral for Lance Cpl. Anthony Adams, who survived a tour in Iraq before being gunned down in a Greenville carjacking last week while on leave.
"Even though our hearts be in sorrow, we can still say thank you for the life of Anthony," said Francine Stewart, a minister, at yesterday's service at Monumental Baptist Church in Jersey City. "Thank you for the 23 years ... For everyone who is here."

The Yale Street resident's cousin, Elizabeth Perry, spoke at the service, saying Adams "offered his life up to service" to the Marines and his family.

"Spirit is that thing that God blew into us when we were born, and the spirit of Anthony was kind, loving and giving," Perry said of Adams, whose girlfriend is pregnant.
"The best way to remember him is to remember his character."

Perry said those that do not share Adams' character should borrow some from him.

"I loved him and I miss him he was my other half," said Adams' twin sister, Ashley Adams, at the service.
She thanked her mother for doing such a good job raising her brother and said, "I love you, Anthony, and you will never be forgotten."

In his eulogy, pastor Joseph Jones noted that Adams had not been killed on the battlefields of Iraq, but on the battlefields of the streets of Jersey City. Reflecting on Adams' life, Jones said: "What we need is real soldiers, what we need is real people, real commitment."
He told those mourning the Marine to "make sure you are ready to face that last enemy."

Also known as "Deejay Streets," Adams grew up on Union Street and attended Golden Door Academy and University Academy Charter High School before enlisting. He was about to ship out for a one-year tour in Africa, via Italy.
Lance Cpl. Paul Canales was in dress uniform outside the church yesterday when he recalled his nervous first day when he joined Adams' mortar platoon.

"Lance Cpl. Adams walked over and said 'Relax. It's not that bad,' " Canales said. "He was the only guy that did something like that."

Police say Adams was the victim of a carjacking. Early on May 26, he was in his 2002 Ford Explorer on Bidwell Avenue when he was shot once in the chest and left ear, officials said. Earl Austin, 20, of Bartholdi Avenue has been charged, and sources had said he has gang tattoos.

At the end of yesterday's service, Marines carried Adams' casket down the church steps to a hearse as rows of Marines stood at attention. With organ music playing, family members followed the casket into the sunshine at the edge of Rev. Dr. Ercel F. Webb Park.

U.S. Marine shot, killed in Greenville-area attempted robbery and carjacking Friday, May 27, 2011 MICHAELANGELO CONTE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER A US Marine was gunned down in the Greenville section of Jersey City early yesterday and authorities have launched a manhunt to find his killer. Anthony Adams, 23, of Yale Avenue in Jersey City, was shot during an attempted robbery and carjacking at Bidwell Avenue near Martin Luther King Drive, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. Adams was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m., DeFazio said. The prosecutor said there were numerous witnesses to the shooting and it appears Adams was still seated in his 2002 Ford Explorer when he was shot. Authorities have charged Earl Austin, 20, of Bartholdi Avenue in Jersey City, in the fatal shooting. "He (Austin) should be considered armed and dangerous," DeFazio said. "It is a tragic course of events." The round fired from a semi-automatic pistol entered Adam's left chest and exited through his right upper arm, DeFazio said based on the preliminary autopsy report provided by the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark. The murder weapon has not been recovered, DeFazio said. A source told The Jersey Journal that Austin has served time in the State Home for Boys, a juvenile corrections facility in Jamesburg. Anyone with information on the murder or the whereabouts of Austin is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345 or the Jersey City police tip line at (201) 547-JAIL.
View Larger Map Friends and family fondly remember and mourn 23-year-old Marine who was shot fatally yesterday Friday, May 27, 2011 By SUMMER DAWN HORTILLOSA JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Anthony C. Adams, also known as "Deejay Streets," was described by friends yesterday as funny and trustworthy. He was also looking forward to the birth of his child, they said. The 23-year-old, who was gunned down in a attempted robbery and carjacking early yesterday, grew up on Union Street in Jersey City and attended the Golden Door Charter School where he met his best friend Jonathan Vasquez. After Golden Door, the best friends attended University Academy Charter High School before enlisting in the Marine Corps. They both rose to the rank of corporal and both served in Iraq, Vasquez said. "He (Adams) could make boredom into something funny as hell. It's just his character. He'll say something serious but it'll come out funny," Vasquez said. "He was a good friend to have around. He always had someone's back, he was trustworthy." About joining the Marines, Vasquez said: "We wanted to do something different. We wanted to broaden our horizons, explore options. With the Marines, once you join, you'll never feel like you did nothing with your life." Vanessa Cartagena, a friend of Adams, couldn't believe he was murdered. "He was a good kid, I don't understand why anybody would shoot him," Cartagena said. "It's wrong that he got into something like this because he's the last person I would even think would be involved in anything violent," said Rogel Dimarucut, who lived on the same Yale Avenue block as Adams. Dimarucut noted that Adams was only home in Jersey City on leave and was supposed to leave in a few weeks to serve in Africa. Vasquez said Adams will also be mourned by his mother, sister and pregnant girlfriend. "He had a kid on the way," Vasquez said. "He was happy."