Jersey City murderer sentenced to life in prison at emotional hearing

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
March 24, 2014 at 5:22 PM

A 27-year-old Jersey City man was sentenced to life in prison today for the 2010 murder of a man whose mother spoke emotionally at the sentencing, urging the judge to mete out the maximum punishment.

"The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost...Life!" shouted Debra Trowell as she sobbed and pointed a trembling hand at the judge at the sentencing of Ricky Roman for the murder of her son, Kareem Trowell, 31.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling sentenced Roman to the maximum, noting that Roman has 12 prior arrests and is currently serving unrelated sentences for two handgun offenses and drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of school property.

"There is a likelihood to commit another offense...He has a serious record" Theemling said. "There is a need to deter."

Roman sat in his khaki prison clothes with his hands cuffed behind his back during the hearing and showed no emotion as he heard the sentence which could mean that he will die in a prison cell.

Roman stabbed Trowell twice in the back on Oct. 25, 2010 on Montgomery Court before Trowell was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The murder weapon, an eight-inch kitchen knife, was found in a sewer on Merseles Court wrapped in a pillow case days later.

The father of four was tracked down on Oct. 28, 2010 on Third Avenue near 88th Street in North Bergen where he was taken into custody after a foot chase, authorities said.

Arguing for a life sentence today, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Sal Rozzi told Theemling: "You can see the escalation of his actions by looking at his history...until what happened in 2010 when Roman killed Mr. Trowell by stabbing him, literally, in the back."

About 25 of Roman's friends and family were in the court and sobs could be heard as soon as the sentencing was pronounced. Some attempted to leave the court but were ordered back to their seats by sheriff's officers.

Trowell's family was allowed to leave the courtroom first while Roman's friends and family were ordered to remain until they were gone. Nevertheless, there was a confrontation between the two groups outside the courthouse moments later before numerous sheriff's officers responded to break up the shouting match.

The jury deliberated just two hours before finding Roman guilty on Jan. 16 when he was also convicted of two weapons offenses. Theemling sentenced him to five years on one of the weapons offenses and 18 months on the other but they will be served concurrent to the murder sentence. His first trial ended with a hung jury in May.

Roman will be about 90-years-old before becoming eligible for parole.

He blatantly disregarded the laws of this great state and human life," Trowell's father, Gregory Maxwell, said in court today. "I say that he should get the most he can receive your honor. Thank you."

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

Hung jury declared in Jersey City stabbing murder trial

By Anthony J. Machcinski/The Jersey Journal
May 10, 2013 at 4:11 PM

After two days of deliberations totaling more than ten hours of deliberations, the jury in the case of a Jersey City man accused of stabbing another man in the back told the judge it was unable to reach a veridct and a mistrial was declared.

Ricky Roman, 27, is accused of stabbing Kareem Trowell, 31, twice in the back on Oct. 25, 2010 at 14 Montgomery Court in Jersey City.

Trowell was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center after the stabbing, but died shortly afterward, authorities said. Roman was tracked down on Oct. 28, 2010 on Third Avenue near 88th Street in North Bergen after a foot chase, authorities said.

The murder weapon, an eight-inch kitchen knife, was found in a sewer on Merseles Court wrapped in a pillow case days later.

Deliberations continued this morning around 9 a.m. after the jurors were unable to return a verdict during five hours of deliberations yesterday. They returned around 2 p.m., telling Hudson County Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling that they were unable to return a verdict "without compromising their beliefs."

Roman, his attorney Dawn Florio and Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Sal Rozzi are scheduled to meet on June 13 to decide a new date for Roman's next trial.

Florio said that despite the new trial, she doesn't plan on altering her defense strategy.

"I wouldn't change a thing I did," Florio said after the trial. "I think I mounted a vigorous defense."

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

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View Larger Map 37-year-old Jersey City man tells police he accidentally stabbed himself Saturday, November 06, 2010, 5:38 PM Amy Sara Clark/The Jersey Journal A 37-year old man was treated at Jersey City Medical Center for a "minor" chest wound after telling cops that he stabbed himself by accident, according to a police report. The man came into his Merseles Court home at about 4 this morning bleeding from the chest, witnesses said, according to the report. The man, whom police called "intoxicated and uncooperative," told police he accidentally stabbed himself, according to the report.

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View Larger Map After victim's family complains, prosecutors get judge to switch murder suspect's $300,000 bail to cash-only Thursday, November 04, 2010 By MICHAELANGELO CONTE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Family members of the man stabbed to death at a Jersey City housing complex last week were outraged by what they viewed as very low bail for his accused murderer. Prosecutors have since made it harder for the suspect to make bail. "It was something that unfortunately was mistaken, and it was rectified Monday," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday of the $300,000 cash or bond bail originally set for Ricky Roman, 24, who is charged with killing Kareem Trowell, 31, in Brunswick Estates on Oct. 25. Officials said yesterday that at the time the bail was set, the judge had not realized Roman had numerous unrelated charges pending against him and was out on three separate bails at the time of his arrest on the murder charge. DeFazio said Monday that Hudson County Superior Court Judge Lourdes Santiago changed the bail to $300,000 cash only. This means that Roman must post the entire $300,000 to gain his release and no longer has the option of posting bail using a bail bond, which can be purchased for a fraction of the total amount of the bail. Trowell was stabbed twice in the back and the autopsy revealed the fatal wound was on the upper left portion of his back and penetrated his heart and lung, officials said. Trowell stumbled into a doorway in the Montgomery Street housing complex, where he knew the residents, and he was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he died, officials said. DeFazio said there was an ongoing dispute between Roman and Trowell. Roman remains in the Hudson County jail in Kearny, DeFazio said.

Get a grip!

Whether I am a teacher or a janitor is not the issue. The map is fine. My comment was in regards to the fact that you generally re-title the JJ articles attributing the crime to a neighborhood or an "area" attached to a building or institution.

In this instance you simply put the building with address/map. If you followed this procedure in all instances, you'd seem much less biased, while representing the events accurately.

I apologize for my sarcasm. I was mocking your motives, and perhaps I was wrong.

It would be great, however, if you just used the address of the event, instead of--in some instances--creatively determining neighborhood distinctions in the titles of your posts.

Wow, again it is great that you don't teach.

Please notice the map in my first post.

Wow, Grovepath, you actually used the address in your headline this time, instead of using your standard technique of placing the crime in a specific neighborhood or "area."

Were you stumped?

Could it because it happened a block or two from Brunswick Ave? But that couldn't be downtown, could it? Maybe you could call it "Jersey City Museum Area."

Mother of murdered man outraged at what she considers low bail for the suspect

Saturday, October 30, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The feeling of overwhelming grief turned to outrage yesterday for the mother of a Jersey City man who was murdered earlier this week.

Debra Trowell was shocked when bail for Ricky Roman, 24, the man accused of fatally stabbing her son, Kareem Trowell, 31, was set at $300,000 cash or bond yesterday. That means a bond costing $30,000 will be enough to allow the alleged killer to get out of jail.

"He cold-blooded killed my son and (my son) was lying in a puddle of his own blood and I don't think it should be that easy for (Roman) to get out," Trowell said yesterday.

Authorities say that Trowell and Roman, also of Jersey City, had an ongoing dispute. Roman was tracked to Third Avenue and 88th Street in North Bergen Thursday afternoon and was arrested after a foot chase, officials said.

Roman showed no emotion yesterday afternoon when he appeared in Central Judicial Processing Court via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny and head the charges accusing him of the murder that occurred in Brunswick Estates on Montgomery Street at around 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Roman was out on bail at the time of the killing and court officials said he has numerous unrelated charges pending against him.

Trowell said her son was born in Jersey City, attended Ferris High School and was looking for work at the time he died. "He was a quiet person, but he was so funny and he was very serious," she said. Kareem Trowell was on parole for a drug conviction at the time he died, corrections records say.

Following yesterday's hearing in Jersey City, Roman's attorney, Dawn M. Florio of New York, said "We will be fighting these charges." The defense attorney said last night that she did not expect Roman to post bail yesterday.

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View Larger Map Jersey City stabbing victim dies soon after being brought to Jersey City Medical Center; likely killer not being identified yet, says prosecutor Tuesday, October 26, 2010 By MICHAELANGELO CONTE and BRETT WILSHE JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS Kareem Trowell, 31, was stabbed in the back at 14 Montgomery Court in Brunswick Estates just before 2:30 p.m. and was taken to the Medical Center in a private vehicle by someone believed to be a relative of his, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. Trowell was still alive when he arrived at the hospital, but died shortly afterward, DeFazio said. Officials believe Trowell was stabbed more than once but are waiting for autopsy reports to determine the number and location of entry wounds, DeFazio said. A suspect has been identified as the likely killer, but DeFazio did not release the person's identity yesterday. "We believe the two had a history," DeFazio said about the victim and his killer. "They had some disagreement in the past, and Trowell was set upon by the actor and stabbed in the back." The knife was not recovered, he said. Investigators with the Prosecutor's Office Homicide Squad and the Jersey City Police Department have interviewed witnesses to the murder, DeFazio said. Trowell was arrested last year on drug possession charges and was out on parole at this time he was murdered, according to the state Department of Corrections records. Yesterday, a trail of blood could be seen leading from the doorway where Trowell was stabbed to the complex's parking lot. Tenants at the complex are not close, said one resident. "Some people know each other here, but it's just 'Hi and Bye,'" he said. Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call the Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.