Ex-con Devon Carter charged in Jersey City murder
by Michaelangelo Conte / The Jersey Journal
Monday June 29, 2009, 2:04 PM

An ex-con is back in jail today after being charged with murdering a Jersey City man who was shot in the face at point blank range after being brutally beaten on a Greenville street early yesterday morning, officials said today.

Devon Carter, 25, of Reed Street, was arrested yesterday at the headquarters of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Offices Homicide Unit on Duncan Avenue, officials said

He is charged with murder and weapons offenses in the homicide of Kevin Miller, 28, of Bergen Avenue, who was shot at Bramhall Avenue and Sackett Street at around 2:20 a.m., Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory said this morning.

Carter is charged with firing a bullet into Miller's forehead above his left eyebrow that exited his head behind his right ear, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. Miller also sustained "relatively minor" marks on his body from the beating, DeFazio said.

Judge Michael L. Ravin set Carter's bail at $750,000 cash only yesterday and Carter will make his first appearance on the murder charges in Central Judicial Processing Court tomorrow, officials said.

Miller was attacked shortly after having an argument with a woman that apparently escalated into a physical confrontation, Gregory said.

Investigators say Carter and at least one other man assaulted Miller, and during the attack Carter allegedly pistol whipped Miller before shooting him in the face, Gregory said.

Prosecutors are reviewing the file to see if anyone else with be charged, Gregory said.

Miller grew up in Jersey City and he attended Lincoln High School, a relative said.

Carter was last in prison Oct. 27, 2006 to March 25, 2008 on convictions for resisting arrest and drug possession, according to state corrections records.

He also has two prior convictions for drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, Gregory said, adding that all of Carter's crimes were committed in Hudson County.

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

Man fights woman, is shot dead

Monday, June 29, 2009
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A 28-year-old Jersey City man was brutally beaten, pistol whipped and then fatally shot in the head after having a physical altercation with a woman early yesterday morning, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

The victim, Kevin A. Miller, 28, of Bergen Avenue, died from a single gunshot wound to the head, police said.

Responding to reports of a shooting, police found the victim with his shirt pulled over his head lying at the intersection of Bramhall Avenue and Sackett Street at around 2:20 a.m., authorities said.

The victim was attacked shortly after having an argument with a woman that escalated into a physical fight, officials said.

At least two men assaulted Miller and one of them produced a handgun and shot Miller with the gun held within inches of his head, DeFazio said.

The bullet entered at the point of Miller's left eyebrow and exited from behind his right ear, DeFazio said. Miller also sustained "relatively minor" marks on his body from the beating, DeFazio said.

"It appears to be a very brutal attack," he said.

DeFazio said that a number of people are being interviewed by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Unit and Jersey City Police Department.

No one has been charged with a crime as yet, but formal charges are anticipated, DeFazio said. The woman did not suffer any serious injuries in her earlier fight with Miller and she acted as an accomplice to the attack on Miller, he said.

Investigators don't know what precipitated the argument between Miller and the woman, but the two knew each other, DeFazio said.

No weapon has been recovered. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the HCPO Homicide Unit at (201) 915-1345.