After two days of deliberations, a jury convicted 46-year-old Donald Higgs for his role in the May 2014 carjacking in Irvington.
According to authorities, the day of the incident, the 22-year-old victim and siblings were D.J.'s at an event in the Sacred Heart Church at 537 Grove Street in Irvington. The victim exited the establishment and went to the church parking lot to charge his cellphone inside his brother’s Cadillac. As the victim was sitting in Cadillac charging his phone, Higgs approached the vehicle and carjacked it.
Investigating officers were able to trace the vehicle to the 300 block of North 5th Street in Newark through the vehicle’s OnStar. Once police located the vehicle, the victim was transported to the location to confirm this was the vehicle. As the victim waited at the scene for the tow truck to arrive, he quickly alerted police that the man (Higgs) walking down the street was the carjacker.
Higgs is expected to be sentenced on May 16 by Superior Court Judge Martin Cronin. He could face between 10 and 30 years in prison.