LAW OFFICES OF MICHAEL A. ROBBINS
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Star-Ledger, The (Newark, NJ)Man found not guilty in drug-heist slayings
Newark murder trial ends in rapid acquittal
KATIE WANG STAR-LEDGER STAFF
Published: October 1, 2004
A jury has cleared an East Orange man in the slaying of two men in a drug heist in Newark in 2002.The 12-member Superior Court jury deliberated for an hour before deciding unanimously Wednesday afternoon that Tewhan Butler was not guilty of killing Sean Taylor and Johnny Torres Colon Sept. 11, 2002. Butler was acquitted on charges of murder, felony murder, robbery and two weapons offenses. Butler's attorney, Michael Robbins, who during the two-week trial in Newark faulted how police had treated the crime scene, hailed the verdict and said the trial underscored "serious problems" in the way homicides are investigated in Essex County. "It's emblematic because here - as in virtually all of these cases - there is a lack of the type of proof that jurors require and expect in matters this serious," Robbins said. Eileen Cosgrove, the assistant Essex County prosecutor who handled the case, called Robbins' remarks inaccurate and irresponsible. She defended the homicide squads of the prosecutor's office and the Newark Police Department. "They are overworked, understaffed and not given the necessary resources, due to the fact that budgetary appropriations for law enforcement have not kept pace with the increase of violent crimes and the rising expectations of jurors to provide forensic evidence they see on TV on shows like 'CSI' and 'Forensic Files,'" she said. Taylor, 31, known as "Sean D," and Colon, 20, were killed in the basement of Taylor's house on South 13th Street in Newark. Taylor, a known drug dealer, was listening to music in the basement with friends when the shots were fired. Two people testified they saw Butler fleeing the scene. One said Butler was running down an alleyway, brandishing a gun. The other said he saw Butler running from the basement, clutching an unknown object in his hand. Cosgrove said the state was unable to locate two other witnesses who were key to the prosecution's case. Robbins made police evidence the focal point of the trial. He said police failed to dust for fingerprints, check for footprints, find a weapon or collect DNA samples to help identify the gunman. "In this case, the crime scene was handled in a sloppy, casual and, in our view, almost negligent fashion," said Robbins. Butler remains in custody, facing another murder charge. He also is facing racketeering charges, said Robbins.
