Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that the Honorable Verna G. Leath, J.S.C., sentenced Maurice Mosley, 22, of Newark to 30 years for the murder of Douglas Brown, 29, also of Newark.
On July 16, 2011 Douglas was fatally shot after he and two women were ordered out of a van and robbed in the vicinity of Orange and Gray Streets in Newark. Mosley also shot at the two women, who both escaped injury, but Brown was fatally wounded and died a few hours later at University Hospital in Newark.
Following a six-day trial in October 2012, Mosley was convicted on one count of murder, one count of felony murder, two counts attempted murder, three counts of robbery and two weapons offenses. Today, he was sentenced to 30 years in New Jersey State Prison.
Prior to deliberations, jurors were instructed by the judge on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s newly adopted rules regarding eyewitness identification. These rules, set forth in September 2012, require judges to tell jurors before deliberation that the reliability of eyewitness identification can be diminished due to passage of time, stress, poor lighting and other factors—including when the person making the identification is of a different race than the suspect.
“In this case, the jury was convinced based on good old fashion police work and two solid eyewitness identifications, even with the more stringent rules,” said Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Guarducci who tried the case along with Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Fetterman.
Prosecutor Murray commended Assistant Prosecutors Guarducci and Fetterman for their excellent work on this case.
