State v. Smith, A-68 September Term 2010; Supreme Court; opinion by Wefing, P.J.A.D., temporarily assigned; dissent by Albin, J.; decided October 25, 2012. On certification to the Appellate Division. [Sat below: Judges Stern, Graves and J.N. Harris in the Appellate Division.] DDS No. 14-1-8073 [86 pp.]
Robert Priester was shot to death while sitting in his automobile in Ewing. Priester was a drug dealer in Trenton and had been involved in a dispute with another drug dealer, Jerome Roberts. Defendant was a friend of Roberts and a partner with him, both in the drug trade and in a clothing store. The state’s theory at trial was that defendant and Roberts, seeking revenge on Priester, arranged for two other men, Andre Bellinger and Khalif Johnson, to shoot him.