16 Year old armed robbery in Lakewood, 1994
Asbury Park Press 10 Mar 1994
A 16-year-old Lakewood boy plead guilty yesterday to his role in a botched armed robbery in which a liquor store owner was shot and killed.
Thorntom Merriweather waived jurisdiction of his case from juvenile court yesterday prior to his entering a plea to first-degree aggravated manslaughter before Superior Court Judge James N. Citta in Toms River.
Under questioning by his attorney, Steven N. Cucci, Merriweather admitting going to Best Liquors of Lakewood on Sept. 18, 1993, along with Raheem Montgomery, 19; Paris Martin, 19, and Teron R. Savoy, 18, all of Lakewood, and knowing that Montgomery possessed a handgun and Savoy a shotgun. According to Ocean County Prosecutor Daniel Carluccio, store owner Sridnar Baile, 23, and his brother, Shravan Baile, 32, both of Staten Island, were leaving Best Liquors on Ocean Avenue after closing the store at 10:23 p.m. when they were confronted by the four teenagers in the parking lot.
Carluccio had said the youths were armed with a .357 Magnum revolver and a sawed-off shotgun.
Merriweather testified he saw Montgomery fire the handgun at Sridnar Baile, and "we all ran."
Carluccio had said an armor-piercing bullet passed through Baile's chest, killing him, and then passed through the shoulder of his older brother. The teenagers fled without getting any money.
Witnesses and evidence at the scene led police to arrest Montgomery at his home the next day. Further investigation led to the arrests of the other three, who were all charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and murder.
The plea bargain struck by Merriweather calls for him he other charges against him dismissed when he is sentenced to serve no more than 20 years, with no stipulation on how many years he must serve before being eligible for parole.
If he had gone to trial and been convicted of the other charges, he would have faced a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison. Citta said it is possible Merriweather could be paroled in as few as five years. No date for sentencing was set.
Merriweather, who testified he was involved in planning the armed robbery, agreed to testify against the other three teenagers.
He will be retained in the custody of juvenile authorities in lieu of $200,000 bail.
A 16-year-old Lakewood boy plead guilty yesterday to his role in a botched armed robbery in which a liquor store owner was shot and killed.
Thorntom Merriweather waived jurisdiction of his case from juvenile court yesterday prior to his entering a plea to first-degree aggravated manslaughter before Superior Court Judge James N. Citta in Toms River.
Under questioning by his attorney, Steven N. Cucci, Merriweather admitting going to Best Liquors of Lakewood on Sept. 18, 1993, along with Raheem Montgomery, 19; Paris Martin, 19, and Teron R. Savoy, 18, all of Lakewood, and knowing that Montgomery possessed a handgun and Savoy a shotgun. According to Ocean County Prosecutor Daniel Carluccio, store owner Sridnar Baile, 23, and his brother, Shravan Baile, 32, both of Staten Island, were leaving Best Liquors on Ocean Avenue after closing the store at 10:23 p.m. when they were confronted by the four teenagers in the parking lot.
Carluccio had said the youths were armed with a .357 Magnum revolver and a sawed-off shotgun.
Merriweather testified he saw Montgomery fire the handgun at Sridnar Baile, and "we all ran."
Carluccio had said an armor-piercing bullet passed through Baile's chest, killing him, and then passed through the shoulder of his older brother. The teenagers fled without getting any money.
Witnesses and evidence at the scene led police to arrest Montgomery at his home the next day. Further investigation led to the arrests of the other three, who were all charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and murder.
The plea bargain struck by Merriweather calls for him he other charges against him dismissed when he is sentenced to serve no more than 20 years, with no stipulation on how many years he must serve before being eligible for parole.
If he had gone to trial and been convicted of the other charges, he would have faced a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison. Citta said it is possible Merriweather could be paroled in as few as five years. No date for sentencing was set.
Merriweather, who testified he was involved in planning the armed robbery, agreed to testify against the other three teenagers.
He will be retained in the custody of juvenile authorities in lieu of $200,000 bail.
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