Hand towel with defendant's DNA was found in the residence.
Jack Venturi, left, and Khalief James are all smiles after the verdict. (Dave Hutchinson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)SOMERVILLE -- A New Brunswick man accused of terrorizing a Franklin family at gunpoint during a home invasion robbery in 2013 was found not guilty on all charges Wednesday morning in Somerset County Superior Court.
Khalief James and his attorney, Jack Venturi, hugged when the jury forewoman read the verdict.
James, 23, was found not guilty of first-degree armed robbery, second-degree burglary and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose. He was facing a minimum sentence of 10 years on the first-degree crime.
"I'm grateful that the jury considered the totality of the evidence and circumstances and arrived at the only just and fair verdict in this case," said Venturi, who is based in New Brunswick. "They considered my client's testimony and the evidence that three other men near the scene possibly committed this offense."
James was accused of having been one of three masked men who, at approximately 2:45 a.m. on June 25, 2013, broke into the ground-floor apartment the victim shared with his wife, three young girls and a third person renting a room. He was accused of waking the victim up and pointing a gun in his face.
The victim and his wife took the witness stand and testified how they feared for the lives and were repeatedly threatened with death by the masked man and his two cohorts. Two televisions, two cell phones and a PlayStation gaming console were stolen from the residence.
Franklin home invasion victim testifies
Assistant prosecutor Robert Hawkes presented a hand towel found inside the bathroom with James' DNA on it as the primary evidence that he was one of the home invaders.
Venturi said James was never in the apartment and pointed to three other men arrested nearby at approximately the same time as possible suspects. They were found to be in possession of two handguns.
Venturi also told the jury that police never searched the surrounding woods for the stolen items or brought the three men and the two handguns back to the residence to see if the victims could identify the men or the guns.
Hawkes argued that the three men arrested nearby wouldn't be "stupid" enough to rob the residence and then remain in the area.
James took the stand and denied he was at the residence that night. He admitted the hand towel was his, but said he uses hand towels to wipe off his sweat while playing basketball at a nearby park and often loses them. Venturi suggested the actual home invaders planted the towel in the bathroom to incriminate James.
James also denied he was wearing dreadlocks at the time of the crime, which the victim's testified one of the men had.
"My client insisted on speaking to the jury directly," said Venturi. "I didn't feel I was taking a chance by putting him on the stand because he was telling the truth."
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