Woman accused of killing Jersey City couple testifies: 'I didn't shoot anyone'

June 19, 2012, 3:42 PM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY ? Speaking softly from the witness stand, the woman being tried in the murder of a Jersey City couple returning from their engagement party in 2010 was adamant that she had didn't shoot anyone.

Latonia Bellamy said she feared her cousin, Shiquan Bellamy, would kill her if she seemed to be opposed to the killing and robbery and only took a cut of the proceeds because ?I was afraid he would kill me if I didn?t take it ... he would think I was going to go to police.?

Both Bellamys and Darmellia Lawrence, all 21, are charged in the April 4, 2010, slaying of Nia Haqq, 25, and Michael Muchioki, 27, in front of the couple's Randolph Avenue home.

Latonia Bellamy told investigators the three were at Shiquan Bellamy?s home when he took out a shotgun and pistol and she said she had always wanted to shoot a gun.

On the stand today she said the three took a walk with the weapons and when they came across the couple unloading gifts from their car, Shiquan Bellamy ordered them to the ground and fired a shotgun blast at Muchioki's head. She said he turned to her and said ?You want to shoot a gun. Shoot the (expletive) gun.?

?If I had the chance to run, I would have ran,? Latonia Bellamy testified. She said she was ?paralyzed? and fired the handgun at the ground, ?away from" the victim.

?I didn?t shoot anyone,? said Bellamy, who was on the stand from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The defendant said the three got into the couple?s vehicle, but could not take it because of a steering lock so they all fled together.

But during an interview before her arrest she told investigators she had fired once into the air and once at the ground, and finally, she said she fired twice toward the ground and the shots may have hit the victims.

She admitted sharing in the proceeds of the robbery and having gotten into the couple's car when the three were going to take it.

Under cross examination, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael D?Adrea questioned Latonia Bellamy on inconsistencies in her statements. ?Were you lying then or are you lying now??

?I was lying then? she told the jury.

Latonia Bellamy said the inconsistencies were because she was tired when interviewed by homicide detectives and was just trying to get the process completed. She noted that she had voluntarily gone to speak to investigators and and had simply attempted to tell the truth.

Defense attorney John Elefthrow rested his case at 2:19 after calling a family member and four friends as character witnesses who said the defendant had a reputation for being honest and truthful.

The prosecution rested at about 10 a.m. today.

Closing arguments will be heard Wednesday morning. The jury will then be charged prior to beginning deliberations on Latonia Bellamy's guilt or innocence. She faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

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

I wish New Jersey had death penalty. This dude would be a perfect candidate, if convicted. But instead, he will rule in prison, get favors from other inmates, and get to live his depraved life.

Meanwhile, his victims are dead and their loved ones have been devastated forever.

Doesn't seem fair, does it?

Burry this animal alive and arrest his friends because I,m sure they knew! No trial needed here....

Jersey City 19-year-old has now been indicted in five murders and is still a suspect in sixth, prosecutor says

Thursday, March 10, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A 19-year-old Jersey City man charged with committing five murders last year has now been indicted in all five killings, officials said yesterday.

"The gravity of the allegations speak for themselves," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said of the charges against Shiquan Bellamy of Arlington Avenue, who is also a suspect in a sixth murder.

Bellamy was recently indicted for the April 4 murders of Michael Muchioki, 27, and Nia Haqq, 25, a Jersey City couple fatally shot outside their Randolph Avenue home as they returned from their engagement party, DeFazio said.

On Jan. 3, Bellamy was arraigned in the March 27, 2010 murder of Lamonte Wright, 20, of Woodlawn Avenue in Jersey City, who was shot in the back with a shotgun while walking his girlfriend to her car at about 6 a.m. on Clerk Street near Myrtle Avenue.

Bellamy has also already been arraigned in the Feb. 2, 2010 murders of Lester Thompson, 26, and Mileak Richardson, 17, both of Van Nostrand Avenue in Jersey City, who were shot in the head at about 4 a.m. at Woodlawn Avenue and Corcoran Street in Jersey City.

Darmelia Lawrence, 19, of Woodlawn Avenue, and Latonia Bellamy, 19, of Ocean Avenue, were also indicted in the killing of Muchioki and Haqq, both of whom where shot in the back of the head, one with a pistol and the other with a shotgun, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael D'Andrea said.

Lawrence and Latonia Bellamy are scheduled to be arraigned on the new indictment on April 4, exactly one year after the killings, before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.

Latonia Bellamy is believed to be a cousin of Shiquan Bellamy.

Shiquan Bellamy's attorney, Michael Rubas, has entered not guilty pleas in each of the cases against his client.

Wow. That's quite a list, let's hope we never hear from him again.

Jersey City 19-year-old has latest arraignment; he's accused of 5 murders and is possible suspect in sixth

Tuesday, January 04, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A 19-year-old Jersey City man accused of committing five of Jersey City's 25 murders last year was arraigned in Hudson County Superior Court yesterday on his third murder charge.

"It was an extraordinary explosion of violence," said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio of the allegations against Shiquan Bellamy, of Arlington Avenue, who appeared before Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.


Yesterday, Bellamy was arraigned in the March 27 murder of Lamonte Wright, 20, of Woodlawn Avenue in Jersey City, who was shot in the back with a shotgun while walking his girlfriend to her car at about 6 a.m. on Clerk Street near Myrtle Avenue. Bellamy's attorney, Michael Rubas, entered a not guilty plea on his client's behalf.

Bellamy has already been arraigned in the Feb. 2 murders of Lester Thompson, 26, and Mileak Richardson, 17, both of Van Nostrand Avenue in Jersey City, who were shot in the head at about 4 a.m. at Woodlawn Avenue and Corcoran Street in Jersey City.

Bellamy is also charged in the April 4 murders of Michael Muchioki, 27, and Nia Haqq, 25, the Jersey City couple that was fatally shot outside their Randolph Avenue home as they returned from their engagement party. This case is expected to be presented to a grand jury at the end of this month or the beginning of next month.

Bellamy's bail on the murder charges was set at $6 million cash only. He remains a potential suspect in another murder investigation, officials said.

Bellamy was in prison from March 6, 2009 to Oct. 19, 2009 on convictions for three counts of drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of school property, corrections records say.

Following his release, a warrant was issued for his arrest for a parole violation and after he was taken into custody on the murder charges, he was remanded to the state Department of Corrections to finish his prison term, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.