Aug. 5, 2015
Man Sentenced to 50 Years for Murder
Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that the Honorable Siobhan Teare, Judge of the Superior Court, sentenced Dawan Ingram, 21, of Newark to 50 years in New Jersey state prison for the murder of Najee Montague, 21, also of Newark.
On June 29, an Essex County jury convicted Ingram of first degree murder and weapons offenses.
Ingram must serve 42 years and six months before he is eligible for parole.
Assistant Prosecutor Roger Imhof, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Adam Salzer, said, he believed the sentence was appropriate given the fact that it was Ingram’s second homicide.
At 15 years old, Ingram fatally shot Robert Hughes in 2009 in Newark. Ingram was sentenced as a juvenile and released from the New Jersey Training School, commonly referred to as Jamesburg, in July of 2012. While still on parole and wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet for the original homicide, Ingram killed Montague.
“This defendant was released on July 13, 2013. On Sept. 21, 2013 he walked up to Najee Montague calm, cool and collected and shot him seven times and then walked away like it was nothing,’’ said Assistant Prosecutor Imhof. “He came up from behind. He didn’t even utter a word. The victim didn’t even see it coming.’’
The murder occurred in broad daylight on South Orange Avenue in the presence of at least three people, Imhof said. .He also noted that Montague was shot in the back five times, a pattern very similar to the Hughes homicide. In that case too, the victim was shot in the back. Ingram pleaded to aggravated manslaughter in the Hughes homicide.
Imhof said there was a very strong likelihood Ingram would commit more crimes if he was not sentenced to a lengthy term. As a juvenile he joined a gang by the time he was 13 and was charged 11 times with various weapons and other offenses and was adjudicated guilty in four cases.
“Nothing can bring Najee back to his family but we hope the guilty verdict and this lengthy sentence will provide some comfort to the family,’’ said Assistant Prosecutor Salzer.
