MAYS LANDING — As COVID-19 spreads through South Jersey, court hearings and trials continue to be postponed.
Last month, Judge Glenn A. Grant, acting administrative director of the courts for the state, issued an order barring in-person Superior Court proceedings except for extremely limited emergent matters and certain ongoing trials.
The order outlines that as many matters as possible, including case management conferences, motions and hearings, would be handled by telephone or video conferences. It followed guidance from Chief Justice Stuart Rabner suspending all new jury trials until further notice to mitigate community exposure to the new coronavirus.
MAYS LANDING — The Atlantic County jail earned a 100% compliance score after a state inspection earlier this year.
Officials have created a “virtual courtroom” on the state courts website for the pubic to view first appearances. It can be found at njcourts.gov.
Below are some of the Superior Court cases The Press of Atlantic City is following. Court dates are subject to change.
El Joshua, 37, of Mays Landing, was set to go to trial last month after pleading not guilty to human trafficking charges. Prosecutors say Joshua held at least two women captive and forced them into prostitution and domestic servitude through violence, threats, coercion and by providing them with heroin. His trial is now scheduled to begin July 6.
Alvin Wyatt, 31, of Atlantic City, pleaded not guilty in February to murder, attempted murder and weapons offenses in the shooting that left 10-year-old Micah Tennant dead and two others injured at the Nov. 15 Pleasantville-Camden Central Jersey Group II semifinal football game. He is scheduled for a status conference June 4.
New Jersey drug courts have been holding virtual sessions to help guide those in recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ibn Abdullah, 27, of Atlantic City, who was reportedly Wyatt’s intended target, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and certain persons not permitted to possess a handgun after police found a 9mm gun in his waistband the night of the shooting. He is scheduled for a status conference May 14.
Tyrell Dorn, 28, of Atlantic City, along with Vance Golden, 26, of Pleasantville, and Shahid Dixon, 27, and Michael Mack, 27, both of Atlantic City, have all pleaded not guilty to charges related to throwing a gun out of a car window while leading police on a chase to Atlantic City after the football game. Dorn was scheduled for a status conference April 17, which has been postponed with no new date immediately available; Golden, Dixon and Mack are scheduled for April 30.
Jessica R. Gaeckle, 30, of Galloway Township, pleaded not guilty to official misconduct and hindering charges after she was accused of having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student while she taught at Pleasantville High School. She is scheduled to appear for a status conference May 21.
Paul D’Amato started transitioning from working in his Egg Harbor Township-based personal injury law firm over two weeks ago, making sure that technology would work as he continued to handle cases and communicate with clients remotely.
Ernesto Contreras Jimenez, of Egg Harbor Township was charged in the 2018 fatal shooting of 16-year-old Alejandro Gonzalez-Santos Jr. He was 17 at the time of the shooting and was indicted on charges including aggravated manslaughter, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He is scheduled to go to trial June 22.
Nahquil Lovest, 18, of Pleasantville, pleaded guilty in January to aggravated manslaughter in the fatal July shooting of 15-year-old Na’imah Bell. His plea deal calls for a 10-year prison term, subject to the No Early Release Act, which mandates a defendant serve 85% of their sentence, according to a news release from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at the time of the plea. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 7.
Robert T. Woods Jr., 45, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, endangering an injured victim, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of a weapon in the Jan. 21 beating of his father, former professional baseball player Bobby Woods, in the Margate home they share. Woods was released from the Atlantic County jail after a January detention hearing and was placed on electronic monitoring in Egg Harbor Township. His case is currently scheduled to go before a grand jury.
