By Robert Florida
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II announced that Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler sentenced Essex County Jail inmate Byad Lockett to 20 years in state prison for attempting to murder inmate Jayshawn Boyd by brutally beating him with a microwave oven and other items.
Under the No Early Release Act, Lockett, 22, of Newark, must serve 85 percent, or 17 years, of his 20-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
On June 14, 2023, a jury found Lockett guilty of multiple crimes including first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault, and third-degree possession of a microwave for an unlawful purpose.
Judge Wigler ordered that the sentence for the attempted murder run consecutive to the sentence Lockett is presently serving for conspiracy to commit murder. On February 17, 2023, Lockett was sentenced to 12 years in New Jersey State Prison. As result of the consecutive sentence, Lockett’s aggregate sentence is 32 years. Furthermore, upon his release Lockett will be on five years of parole supervision.
Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor William Chalmers, said, “Newark and the Essex County Correctional Facility are safer knowing that Byad Lockett will be in New Jersey State Prison for the next two decades.”
During the sentencing, Judge Wigler turned to Lockett and said his beating of Boyd was “savage, brutal, and heinous, and that you have no remorse in you whatsoever for committing this inhumane and barbaric act.”
On September 23, 2021, seven inmates, including Lockett, attacked Boyd in a common area of Essex County jail, beating him unconscious by punching him in the face and stomping on his head. Upon seeing the riot, the sole corrections officer assigned to the area exited for his safety and called for assistance. Once Boyd was unconscious, Lockett struck Boyd in the head multiple times with a microwave oven, a multi-gallon beverage dispenser and a broom. This attempted murder, which lasted approximately two minutes, was captured on video surveillance at the jail.
“This sentence,” said Assistant Prosecutor Chalmers, “is the direct result of the witnesses who came forward and testified against Lockett. We are grateful for their bravery.”
