He faces 30 years to life in prison at sentencing, according to the Prosecutor's Office
NEWARK -- A Watchung man convicted Wednesday of murder in the killing of his child's mother was found guilty Friday of additional weapons offenses in the same case, and faces the possibility of life in prison.
Latrena May. (Facebook)After deliberating for just 20 minutes, a jury seated before Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler in Newark found Andre Higgs, 45, guilty of first-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and possessing a weapon as a prohibited person, according to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case.
The same jury on Wednesday found Higgs guilty of murder, unlawfully possessing a weapon, possessing a weapon for an unlawful purpose and hindering in the May 1, 2015 fatal shooting of Latrena May, a 27-year-old East Orange charter school teacher and the mother of Higgs' then 4-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors said Higgs, who has five prior felony convictions, shot May three times on the steps of her two-family building -- which Higgs' company owned -- in front of an East Orange police officer May had flagged down.
That officer, Detective Kemon Lee, subsequently shot Higgs, who retreated back into the home. The officer's use of force was later ruled justified by the state Attorney General's Office. At trial, Higgs' defense attorneys, Remi Spencer and Joseph P. Rem Jr., argued Lee fired first and caused Higgs' to inadvertently discharge a gun he had taken from May only moments before.
Wigler declined to allow the defense to question Lee about prior shootings he was involved in as a police officer, which also were ruled justified.
Higgs, who took the stand in his own defense, claimed May had followed him out of the house with the gun after an argument.
Jury convicts man of teacher's killing
The jury ultimately acquitted Higgs of a charge of endangering a minor, which stemmed from his daughter's presence inside the home at the time of the shootings.
"Our client is actually quite enthused about his chances on appeal," Rem told NJ Advance Media Friday afternoon.
"He believes the judge's ruling prohibiting the jury from hearing about Officer Lee's checkered past and prior shootings left him literally fighting for his life with one arm tied behind his back. He's confident that he will prevail on appeal."
Higgs faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, according to statement from the Prosecutor's Office.
His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 7.
Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.