Jersey City man wanted on murder charge surrenders to police after his photo appears in The Jersey Journal; $750,000 cash-only bail is set

Published: Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 3:03 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

A Jersey City man wanted on murder charges whose photo ran in yesterday?s Jersey Journal surrendered to homicide detectives at about 11 a.m. yesterday.

?The fact that his picture was in The Jersey Journal has to be taken into account,? Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said of the surrender of Lakief Grayson, 21, aka ?Lala,? of Dales Avenue.




Murder suspect Lakief Grayson is led into Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City yesterday.

Grayson was wanted in the July 28 murder of Allen Cousins, 26, of Forrest Street, who was shot twice in the back at Gifford and Bergen avenues at about 2 a.m., officials said. Cousins was killed in dispute over a bicycle, officials said.

When Grayson made his first appearance on the charges in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City yesterday afternoon, he was informed by Judge Richard Nieto that his bail is set at $750,000 cash only.

?He surrendered himself when he found out about the warrant and he is presumed innocent of these charges,? Grayson?s attorney, Robert Lane, said after yesterday?s hearing.

Also charged in the murder are Javon Morris, 22, of Dales Avenue, and Michael Watterman, 22, of Orient Avenue, DeFazio said.

Watterman was arrested shortly after the killing and Morris was in prison on unrelated charges when he and Grayson were charged last week, officials said.

According to the allegations, Watterman believed the victim had stolen his bicycle, triggering the homicide in which Grayson and Morris participated, DeFazio said.

Grayson has been on probation since January 2010 after being convicted of resisting arrest and a drug offense, officials said.

At yesterday?s CJP hearing, Nieto noted a detainer has been lodged against Grayson for a violation of parole.

The defendant also has unrelated charges pending against him including unlawful possession of a handgun, and two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, officials said.

Lakief Grayson, 21, is charged in the murder of Allen Cousins in July.


Javon Morris, 22, is charged in the murder of Allen Cousins in July.

Two Jersey City men charged in July murder over a bicycle

Thursday, September 08, 2011, 3:09 PM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Two more men have been charged in the murder of a Jersey City man who homicide detectives say was gunned down over a bicycle, officials said.

Javon Morris, 22, and Lakief Grayson, 21, aka "Lala," both off Dales Avenue, were charged on Sept. 7 in the July 28 murder of Allen Cousins, 26, of Forrest Street, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

Michael Watterman, 22, of Orient Avenue, was arrested shortly after the killing and was charged with murdering Cousins, who was shot twice in the back at Gifford and Bergen avenues at about 2 a.m, officials said.

Watterman confessed, according to court document, and regarding the motive, DeFazio said Watterman "had a belief that the victim had taken his bicycle and decided to go after him."

Morris, who is in prison on unrelated charges, and Grayson, who has not been caught yet, allegedly participated in the homicidal attack on Cousins, officials said.

Police recovered two guns after Cousins' death and both are undergoing ballistics tests, DeFazio said, adding that both gunshot wounds suffered by Cousins entered his back and exited his chest.

Morris was in state prison form Jan. 19, 2010 to Sept. 27, 2010, and he returned to prison on Aug. 9, 2011 and remains behind bars, corrections records say. He has three drug convictions, and one for eluding police in a motor vehicle, corrections records say.

Grayson is currently out on a $100,000 bail stemming from arrests in May and September of last year, officials said. He faces charges that include two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of school property, as well as firearms charges, officials said.

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

View Larger Map Argument over bike led to killing in Jersey City, prosecutors say Published: Saturday, July 30, 2011, 3:03 AM By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal Michael Watterman appears in court on murder charges in Jersey City yesterday via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny. Homicide detectives believe an argument over a bicycle likely triggered Thursday?s murder of a Jersey City man, officials said. Michael Watterman, 22, of Orient Avenue, made his first court appearance yesterday on charges he murdered Allen Cousins, 26, of Forrest Street, at 2 a.m. Thursday at Gifford and Bergen avenues. Watterman has confessed, according to court documents. Cousins was shot twice in the back and both bullets exited the right side off his chest, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael D?Andrea said yesterday. ?The defendant had a belief that the victim had taken his bicycle and decided to go after him,? Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory said of the motive in the killing. Probable cause for charging Watterman is based on a ?videotaped confession of actor implicating himself in the shooting death of the victim and video surveillance footage,? according to the criminal complaint. Watterman was remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny on Thursday, and he appeared on the murder and weapons charges in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City via video link from jail. His father attended yesterday?s hearing, but declined to comment. Watterman is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bail set Thursday by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan. Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor?s Office?s Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.