The jury deliberated for two hours on Wednesday, June 26 before returning multiple guilty verdicts against Jawaad Ali in Superior Court in Mount Holly, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.
Ali, who represented himself at trial, was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree desecration of human remains, wrongful impersonation and credit card theft, Bradshaw said.
The victim's debit card was used to withdraw money from a nearby automated teller machine, order items from Amazon.com and pay for pizza from Papa John’s, Bradshaw said.
The investigation revealed that on the night of May 8, 2020, Ali, along with Asia Boone and Anthony Sermond-Guyton, lured Samer Alhalayqa, 31, of Camden, to the Fairfield Inn on Century Parkway, where he was suffocated in a third-floor room and then dragged into the hallway, Bradshaw said.
Judge Terrence R. Cook scheduled sentencing for Sept. 27. The two co-defendants have pleaded guilty and also are awaiting sentencing, the prosecutor said.
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