Jersey City man shot in face by cop found guilty on all counts

By Jonathan Lin/The Jersey Journal
November 14, 2013 at 7:12 PM

The Jersey City man charged with aggravated assault and other offenses after being shot by a cop nearly four years ago was found guilty on all counts by a jury this afternoon.
Kwadir Felton, 22, was shot by Jersey City Police Sgt. Thomas McVicar on Jan. 10, 2010. He went blind as the result of the shooting.

Felton had testified that he never carried a gun, while McVicar testified he only shot Felton after Felton pointed a gun at him. McVicar also testified Felton's gun was on the ground next to Felton after the incident.

As the guilty verdict was announced, Felton's mother, Dawn Felton, collapsed on the ground in uncontrollable sobs and kicked the bench near where she had collapsed.

When Judge Paul DePascale asked the courtroom to sit down, Felton remained standing, visibly shaking in shock and grief.

DePascale was forced to pause court proceedings while police officers attempted to calm Felton's mother, who defense attorney Brooke Barnett said recently had open-heart surgery.

Minutes later, after being unable to calm her down, officers dragged her out of the courtroom.

"I don't understand!" Felton yelled at a police officer before his mother was removed from the courtroom. "You didn't have to shoot me in the head for no reason! You trying to charge me with something I didn't do!"

Barnett said she found the guilty verdicts surprising, especially the ones relating to gun offenses.

"This was definitely not expected," she said. "Sometimes, the jury doesn't get it right, and I think in this case, it's a very sad example of that."

"I thought minimum they would find him guilty of conspiracy, but I sure as hell didn't expect them to find him guilty of having a gun on him that night."

Barnett added that "the fight is not over."

A court date for Felton's sentencing was not announced today, though prosecutor Ray Mateo mentioned toward the end of the trial that Felton could face up to a maximum of 30 years in prison, with 15 year parole eligibility.

Felton was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and/or conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute PCP, heroin, and marijuana; possession of a firearm during the course of committing a drug offense; unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit; possessing a firearm with the purpose to use it unlawfully against a person or property of another; and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _counts.html#incart_river

What medical bills? Don't prisoners get free healthcare?

Tonight's meeting will be begin at 7 p.m. at the Heavenly Temple Church of God and Christ, 15 Martin Luther King Drive, between McAdoo and Warner streets.

Just what we need, Sharpton to tell us that the undercover cop should not of shot this piece of trash. Sharpton, get the hell out of our city unless you will help with the cleanup!!!

This should go over well...

"Sharpton was invited by long-time associate, Reverend Herbert Daughtry, National Minister of The House of the Lord Churches and a former Jersey City resident, to address the concerns of teens in the community as well as bring attention to the their six-point program.

Daughtry became involved in the efforts when the parents of Kwadir Felton, the 18-year-old who was shot in the face by a police officer in an unmarked car who said Felton tried to rob him, reached out to the reverend to help them raise money for Felton's medical expenses and raise awareness about the incident."

http://bit.ly/aNJE44

Mid January Felton gets shot in the head, said to be blinded and in critical condition. Charges up the wazoo and bail set at $500,000 cash. A HALF MILLION BUCKS! & he's out in mid February caught in a major drug bust. So who posted his bail? Mommy-poo? Remember the guy that killed someone at the Ringside Bar? He too was out on bail in a few days from major charges. Don't even bother locking them up. It's too much for civilized people to swallow.

That was some find police work. Taking down a large group in a sting will take more of them off the street then quick busts. Though on a larger level they need to find the people importing the drugs.

Anybody notice that this POS Kwadir Felton was just picked up again in the "Operation Wetlands" drug sting? Hysterical! Where's his mama crying fowl now?!

Maybe the whole thing is a police setup. (I'm sure that will be the opener of her bs civil suit). What a family of losers!

Teen shot in face in JC court days earlier on marijuana charge

By Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal
January 14, 2010, 4:26PM

Just days before Kwadir Felton was shot in the face by a Jersey City cop on Sunday, he appeared in Jersey City Municipal Court on a marijuana charge and was fined, officials said this week.

Felton, 18, was shot at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday by the Jersey City cop who police said was working undercover at Dwight Street and Bergen Avenue when Felton tried to rob him with a loaded 9mm pistol. Sources have identified the cop as Sgt. Thomas McVicar. The marijuana charge dates back to Dec. 11.

According to a police report, Felton was arrested at 5:16 p.m. after cops went to 96 Bergen Ave. to check out a report of people smoking marijuana in the hallway.
When cops arrived, a man with Felton yelled, "Oh, (expletive), the cops," tossed something on the ground, and the two men ran up some stairs, reports said.
Police caught Felton on the staircase between the fourth and fifth floors and the other man on the third floor, reports said. Police said the item thrown on the ground contained nine plastic bags of marijuana, reports said.

Felton was initially charged with possession of marijuana and obstruction of governmental function. But the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office chose not to prosecute and the case was sent to the Jersey City Municipal Court to be handled as a disorderly persons offense, officials said.
On Jan. 5, Felton appeared in municipal court and pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana under 75 grams, according to Maria Pagan, the municipal court director.
Felton also has to pay $725 in fines in municipal court fees and mandatory state penalties and was placed on one year probation, Pagan said.

The case of the man arrested with Kwadir Felton was also sent to municipal court. The disposition of this case couldn't be ascertained yesterday. Dawn Felton, Kwadir's mother, said this week her son committed no crime Dec. 11.
"He was with his friends," Dawn Felton said. "He went (to court) Jan. 5 and it was dismissed. They (police) arrested four more other guys and they didn't find it (marijuana) on none of them."

Felton, a resident of Randolph Avenue, remains hospitalized at the Jersey City Medical Center as a result of Sunday's shooting, which is being investigated by the state Attorney General's Office.

In the Sunday case, Felton is charged with aggravated assault, attempted robbery, and weapon offenses.

New Jersey Shooting Response Team investigating shooting involving Jersey City officer

MONDAY, 11 JANUARY 2010 16:55

The state Attorney General's Shooting Response Team is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a shooting incident involving a Jersey City police officer that occurred on Dwight Street in Jersey City about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, authorities said Monday.

According to the preliminary investigation, the officer, whose name is not being released at this point in the investigation, was working undercover, conducting surveillance from an unmarked vehicle in the 200 block of Dwight Street. The officer is assigned to work with the State Police troopers investigating gang activity and conducting surveillance in high crime areas in Jersey City.

The officer was seated in the back seat of the vehicle when a man, later identified as Kwadir Felton, approached the driver's side of the car, crouched down out of view of the officer, and was heard chambering a round in a handgun. Felton then appeared at the driver's side window pointing the handgun at the officer. The officer fired one round through the window from his service weapon, a .45-caliber handgun, striking Felton in the face. Felton was taken by ambulance to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was admitted, under police guard, for treatment of a head wound. A Highpoint 9 mm handgun was recovered beside Felton at the scene.

Felton, 18, of Jersey City, was charged with aggravated assault, attempted robbery, unlawful possession of a handgun, and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose. Upon release from the hospital, he will be remanded to the Hudson County Jail.

State Superior Court Judge Fred J. Theemling Jr. set bail for Felton at $500,000 cash.

The incident remains under investigation by the Shooting Response Team...
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/stat ... lving-jersey-city-officer


? TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Oh well justice is blind and now so is he. Instant karma for you. Nothing says "You lose" like a shot in the face.
I'm sorry that this sort of nonsense goes on anywhere. It's HORRIBLE! However, if you go out looking for serious trouble you have to expect that serious shit just might happen.

Heres another good part I loved reading in yesterdays paper... "Five men visiting Felton at the hospital last night were arrested on weapons charges and police recovered a gun in a car belonging to one of them, sources said.

The men, who were 18 to 22 years old, said they were members of Felton's family but when asked to provide the victim's name, they couldn't, sources said. That piqued the interest of police who then found a Glock in the car, reports said."

How stupid could they be, they all show up to the hospital with illegal guns.
Now atleast we have 6 pieces of trash off the street! Does this make it 8 or 10 for the week?

Quote:

That picture was provided by the family? Guess it was the only one they could find with bars behind him. He better get used to having them in front (and for good measure, let's put the rest of the lying criminal family behind bars--I'm sure there's more than the 5 arrested last night that belong in jail.).

"He's a typical teenager," Traci Felton said about her nephew.

Is he a typical teen from that nieghborhood, then what's her point. I have personally been robbed at gunpoint by one of the "so called typical teens" from these nieghborhoods and if all the facts are true then its no suprise. If I was getting robbed and had a chance to shoot, I wouldn't have stopped at one bullet.

If the story is not true god bless him...If the story is true god help him!

Mom says teen shot by cop is 'not a street kid' or criminal

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The mother of Kwadir Felton, the teenager who was shot in the face Sunday by an undercover Jersey City police officer, said yesterday she hadn't been allowed to see her son or receive an update on his medical condition since 10 p.m. Sunday, roughly 11/2 hours after he was shot.

"I just want to see him. I can't even see him," Dawn Felton said yesterday afternoon as tears rolled down her face.

By nightfall, police officials chalked up the situation to miscommunication.

"The family certainly is well within their rights to speak to the attending physician to get an update on the suspect's condition," police spokesman Stan H. Eason said last night.

"If there was a miscommunication between the police and the Medical Center staff that was clearly unintentional, and we do apologize for that if that was the case," Eason added.

Authorities have not released to The Jersey Journal any information on Felton's condition, or Police Sgt. Thomas McVicar's age, number of years on the force, or service record.

Felton is accused of pointing a loaded handgun at an undercover police officer parked on Dwight Street near Bergen Avenue. To protect himself, the officer shot Felton in the face, officials said.

Dawn Felton said she and other family members had been told at about 10 p.m. Sunday that Kwadir Felton might have been blinded in the incident. Since then she hasn't been able to get any information, she said.

"He's not a street kid. He's been well raised," she said about her son, adding that he is a senior at a vocational high school in Hudson County and was due to graduate in June.

"He's a typical teenager," Traci Felton said about her nephew. "He's not running though the streets holding up people. He's a square little brat."

As for what he wanted to do after graduation? "It's so sad," said Kwadir Felton's sister, Latraya Felton. "He wanted to be a cop."

Teen shot by Jersey City cop had loaded gun, officials say

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
January 11, 2010, 6:52PM


Courtesy of Felton family

Kwadir Felton, 18, was shot in the face by a Jersey City police officer last night. He remains at the Jersey City Medical Center under arrest.

The Jersey City man shot in the face by an undercover police sergeant doing surveillance in Greenville last night was pointing a loaded handgun at the officer and attempting to rob him when he was shot, officials said today.

Kwadir Felton, 18, is charged with aggravated assault, attempted robbery and weapons offenses in connection to the incident at Dwight Street and Bergen Avenue in which he was shot by Jersey City Police Sgt. Thomas McVicar, officials said.

Felton remains under guard at the Jersey City Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition, officials said, adding that he is expected to survive.

McVicar is attached to a New Jersey State Police unit investigation gang activity in the high crime area and at 8:30 p.m. he was in the back seat of a parked, unmarked vehicle when Felton approached, said Peter Aseltine, the spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office. Sources said McVicar was not the only officer in the vehicle.

Felton crouched down, out of sight on the passenger side of the vehicle, and was heard chambering a round in a handgun, Aseltine said in a written statement.

Felton then appeared at the driver's side window pointing the handgun at the officer who fired one round from his .45 caliber service weapon and the bullet smashed through the car window, striking Felton, Aseltine said.

Felton was taken to the Medical Center by ambulance where he was admitted for treatment of the head wound and was kept under guard, Aseltine said, adding that a 9mm semi-automatic handgun was recovered beside Felton at the scene of the shooting.

Five men visiting Felton at the hospital last night were arrested on weapons charges and police recovered a gun in a car belonging to one of them, sources said.

The men, who were 18 to 22 years old, said they were members of Felton's family but when asked to provide the victim's name, they couldn't, sources said. That piqued the interest of police who then found a Glock in the car, reports said.

"As a general rule, police officers confronted with deadly force are legally entitled to use deadly force in self-defense," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. "I would say that a semi-automatic pistol in the possession of a defendant is deadly force."

The Attorney General's Shooting Response Team is investigating the incident with the help of DeFazio's office, Aseltine said.

When released from the Medical Center Felton will be transported to the Hudson County jail in Kearny, Aseltine said. Hudson County Superior Court Judge Fred J. Theemling Jr. set Felton's bail at $500,000 cash only.

I cant believe these people are serious. Kwadir Felton was reaching for something while this Sgt who was doing an undercover sting operation was watching this kid.
So if this Sgt got shot first while trying to protect his self & make this arrest, what would be the story.
C'mon guys, this is the sh*t section of Jersey City, what do you guys thik goes on out there.

Karma is a biotch! For anyone who dares to defend this animal just imagine what would have happen if it was you getting robbed at gun point, that one being shot in the face would have been you!

not surprising, this "good kid" who was just a "joker" was attempting to rob the cop at gunpoint.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_man_shot_in_face_b.html

Hey "jc73", you sound like the Jersey Journal posting false info. Take your own advice & If your gon post some sh*t before reading the entire article, don't bother.
The VICTIM was 18 & the sgt was a DIFFERENT PERSON!!!

What was reported that was not true?

The reporter correctly attributed the "mistaken identity" story to the family and isn't trying to pass it off as the truth.

That's CRAP. I find it hard to believe that an 18 year veteran of the police dept. never the less a sgt. would shhot someone by mistake, as the family put.

I think the news should have a new years resolution stop reporting the news and try reporting the truth for a change.

Undercover Sergeant shoots teen in Jersey City

See Video at link below:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7211249

By Scott Curkin; Eyewitness News

JERSEY CITY (WABC) -- Police in Jersey City confirm a veteran officer shot a teenage suspect, but they're being tight-lipped about what led to the late-night shooting.

The victim did not appear to have a gun in his possession according to witnesses on the scene.

Police say 18-year-old Kwadir Felton was shot in the face by a Jersey City Police Officer, who turned out to be an undercover Sergeant sitting in a red pickup truck.

The incident happened at 8:30 p.m. Sunday near Felton's home at Bergen and Dwight street.

Police say Felton walked over to the pickup, no word what happened then. Moments later the Sergeant opened fire on Felton shooting right through the vehicles window.

The bullet passed through Felton's eye and out the back of his head.

Felton is in Jersey City Medical Center in critical condition.

The Hudson County prosecutor is investigating the case.

(Copyright ?2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)



-----------------------

Police Involved Shooting In Jersey City
Report: Mistaken Case of Identity

Monday, 11 Jan 2010, 6:17 AM EST

By: KATHY CARVAJAL

MYFOXNY.COM - A teen is reportedly hospitalized at the Jersey City Medical Center after a shooting involving police.

No officers were injured during the gunfire which broke out at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at Bergen Avenue and Dwight Street.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the shooting.

According to the NY Times, Kwadir Felton, 18, was shot in the face and could lose his vision. Family members tell the paper that the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.

Fox 5 News Reporter Linda Schmidt spoke with residents along Bergen Avenue who say the area is crime ridden.

Jersey City Officer Shoots Man

New York Times
NATE SCHWEBER and SARAH WHEATON
Published: January 10, 2010

A man was wounded in a police-involved shooting in Jersey City on Sunday night, a spokesman for the city said.

The man was shot around 8:30 p.m. and taken to Jersey City Medical Center, said the spokesman, Stan Eason. He said no police officers were injured.

Officials would not provide details about the circumstances of the shooting, or say whether the man had been armed. They referred all questions to the Hudson County prosecutor, Edward J. De Fazio, who did not respond to messages on Sunday night.

At the hospital, a woman who said she was the victim?s sister identified him as Kwadir Felton, 18, from Jersey City, and said he had been shot in the face. A senior at a vocational school, he was scheduled to graduate in June, she said. She said doctors told her that he was blinded but was likely to survive. She said it was a case of mistaken identity.

Groups of officers huddled outside the hospital as friends of the victim tried to visit. A security guard, who appeared to be familiar with the young men who came by, could be heard warning them that they could not bring their guns inside ? prompting some to turn away.

Around 11 p.m. a woman, said to be the victim?s mother, walked out of the emergency room, fell to her knees and slumped over before being carried away by other relatives.

Around the victim?s home, near the corner of Bergen and Dwight streets, police had set up a crime scene investigation perimeter in a vacant lot between adjoining row houses. A young man who identified himself only as ?Snoop,? said he was friends with Mr. Felton.

?He?s a joker,? the friend said. A fan of rap and all things basketball ? playing at a nearby park, watching the Cleveland Cavalier?s LeBron James or working the simulated court in a video game ? Mr. Felton did not seem like the type to carry a gun, Snoop said. He added that Mr. Felton spent his summers working for the city, cleaning up parks.