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Zaki Jones, 36, shocked Judge Verna Leath with his lack of remorse. During a police interview, Jones said "People die all the time" when he was shown a photo of the victim, 26-year-old Naji Everett of Orange, authorities said.
Jones had been out on parole for just a few months after serving a 14-year sentence for carjacking when, on Dec. 17, 2015, he shot Everett repeatedly outside a home on Joyce Street in West Orange.
Jones continued firing on Everett even as the wounded man tried to escape by crawling under a car, with one bullet striking Everett in the scrotum, prosecutors said.
Citing the vicious nature of the killing and Jones's 19 prior arrests as an adult, Leath imposed an extended sentence of life. Jones, who will not be eligible for parole for 63 years, was also found guilty of related weapons offenses.
“This defendant has had chance after chance to change his ways. He has continued to escalate the number of crimes he committed, and the level of violence associated with those crimes, until he got to murder. This sentence will hopefully give the Everett family some form of closure and give the citizens of West Orange relief that Zaki Jones can no longer commit a violent act while out in the community,’’ said Assistant Prosecutor Edwab.
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