The case against five defendants charged in connection with the home invasion shooting death of a Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office detective will be moved to Atlantic County, a judge ruled Friday.
Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley was shot to death Oct. 15 at her Bridgeton residence. Four people are charged with murder in the case and a fifth is accused of trying to help cover up evidence.
Attorneys for all five defendants sought both to have the case moved out of Cumberland County and to have a different prosecutor assigned to the matter, citing potential conflicts of interest.
The prosecution announced Friday that it dropped its original challenge to moving the case. But, the state is still fighting efforts to have the prosecutor replaced.
Vicinage 15 Assignment Judge Benjamin Telsey granted the change of venue at a hearing on Friday.
Authorities allege a group of people forced their way into Mosley’s Bridgeton home and shot her three times. Mosley, 51, shot one of the intruders in the chest before dying of her injuries, investigators said.
Officials have not said if Mosley knew her attackers or if the crime was a random home invasion. A motive for the killing has not been disclosed.
Nyshawn B. Mutcherson, 29, of Vineland, Jarred D. Brown, 31, of Bridgeton, Richard B. Hawkins Willis, 32, of Gloucester City, and Byron L. Thomas, 35, of Paulsboro, are each charged with first-degree counts of murder and murder during the commission of a burglary, second-degree burglary, multiple weapons offenses, hindering and obstruction in connection with Mosley’s death.
Cyndia E. Pimentel, 38, of Paulsboro, is charged with third-degree hindering an investigation, and fourth-degree counts of obstruction and tampering with evidence.
In arguing for a change of venue, defense attorneys raised multiple issues.
The slain detective had close ties to the local law enforcement community and worked closely with Cumberland County judges and court staff, creating a potential appearance of conflict, the defense attorneys argued.
They also noted a Superior Court judge assigned to the bench in Cumberland County spoke at Mosley’s funeral. That judge recused herself from any hearings in Mosley’s case.
In addition, the defense attorneys argued the prosecutor handling all five cases, Cape May County First Assistant Prosecutor Saverio Carroccia, should be replaced because he previously worked in the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office at the same time as Mosley.
Because Mosley worked for the Cumberland office, the Cape May Prosecutor’s Office was assigned to handle prosecution of the case.
Defense attorneys asked that the case be moved to Atlantic County, which they said has similar racial demographics to Cumberland County.
Cumberland County’s population is 43% white, 34% Hispanic, 16% Black and 2% Asian, one of the defense attorneys wrote in his motion brief. Atlantic County has a population that is 54% white, 20% Hispanic, 12% Black and 8% Asian.
In a brief filed last week, Carroccia called the defense arguments meritless, saying existing venue change case law involves perceived biases among potential jurors, not members of the judiciary or court staff. But, prosecutors later dropped their argument against moving the case to another county.
Carroccia also denied he had any conflict of interest in the case. He worked as a senior trial attorney for the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office from 2012 through 2017, but never worked in the same unit or division as Mosley and never worked with her on a case, he said.
The defendants, their attorneys, Carroccia and the judge gathered late Friday afternoon to hash out the venue issue, with some appearing in the Cumberland County courtroom and others joining via video.
Carroccia announced the state would now consent to the venue shift, though he offered no explanation for the prosecution’s change of stance on the issue.
However, he said the state will still oppose the effort to have him removed as prosecutor on the case.
Telsley said a decision on whether Carroccia remains as prosecutor on the case will be left to the Atlantic County judge who picks up the case.
The four murder defendants remain behind bars and are awaiting their detention hearings, which will determine if they remain jailed until trial.
A judge recently ordered Pimentel’s pre-trial release from jail.