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Fernando Carrero of Newark was 17 when he shot 20-year old Jose Hall, also of Newark, in a Second Avenue house five years ago. Hall died two days later, and Carrero pleaded guilty to lesser charges rather than stand trial for murder.
However, Carrero withdrew his plea earlier this year, and his attorney asked a judge in Hackensack yesterday to suppress evidence obtained during searches of his mother’s home and his jail cell.
Carrero’s mother’s consented to the search of her house. Based on that, investigators got a judge’s permission to look into his jail cell without a list of anything specific they hoped to find, Carrero’s lawyer contended during a hearing.
Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer countered that Carrero had no expectation of privacy at his mother’s house because he didn’t live there.
“He has been in custody since November 2007,” she told Superior Court Judge Patrick Roma. “[P]rior to that, he was not living there either.”
Before the killing, Carrero stayed first with his girlfriend in Lyndhurst and then with his sister, Grootenboer added.
Prosecutors have charged Carrero with witness tampering for allegedly having his sister, Marlene Ortiz, coax his girlfriend in what to say to police after the murder. Ortiz is charged with trying to help Carrero cover up the crime.
Carrero was originally charged as a juvenile following the Nov. 7, 2007 shooting.
Authorities said he was visiting his former girlfriend’s apartment when he ran into Hall. The two argued and Carrero pulled a gun and shot him in the head and stomach, they said.
Police said they found the handgun wrapped in a plastic bag at a friend’s home where Carrero had fled.
Rather than stand trial for murder, Carrero struck a deal with prosecutors under which he would plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter and hindering apprehension.
During a plea hearing in January 2010, Carrero admitted that he shot and killed Hall. Grootenboer called it a “vicious, senseless” and “unprovoked” attack.
However, Carrero earlier this fall asked to have his guilty plea withdrawn, and the request was granted by Superior Court Judge Edward Jerejian.
As a result, Carrero will be tried as an adult and not as a juvenile.
Jury selection is expected to begin next week, with a tentative date of Jan. 15 for opening statements. The trial could take about a month, both sides agreed.
It was unclear when the witness tampering charges would be heard.
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