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Jurors on Tuesday convicted a would-be New York rapper and his stepbrother for killing man during a botched holdup at a Fort Lee hotel. The Hackensack jury found that Charly “Max B” Wingate and Kelvin Leerdam combined to rob and kill a drug buyer who was staying at the Holiday Inn on Route 4 in September 2006. Wingate apparently devised the plan and recruited Leerdam and an ex-girlfriend for the work — but things went haywire when Leerdam shot and killed Plowden’s friend, David Taylor.
Although the jurors acquitted Wingate and Leerdam of knowing and purposeful murder, they convicted the pair of felony murder for killing Taylor during an armed robbery.
Both will be sentenced — possibly to lifetime prison terms — on July 31. A judge ordered them held without bail until then.
Prosecutors relied in large part on the testimony of Plowden’s former girlfriend, who said Wingate beame jealous and plotted to rob her boyfriend.
Plowden – who hid the cash in a trash can in his room – told his assailants the money was with his girlfriend, who was staying in another room. Plowden then summoned Taylor to the room, where he was shot dead.
Conway, who was originally charged with murder, took a plea deal and agreed to testify against Wingate and Leerdam. She faces up to 18 years in prison when she is sentenced later this year.
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