A Union County jury has returned guilty verdicts against one of three men charged with being responsible for the shooting death of a Roselle resident a little more than five years ago, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Friday.
Nyfee Mallory, 23, also of Roselle, was convicted on charges of first-degree robbery and first-degree felony murder in connection with the death of Damel Mitchell.
Police were called to the Sylvester Land football field in Roselle shortly before 11 a.m. on February 20, 2012 on reports of a person having been shot, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Sheets, who prosecuted the case.
Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene approximately 15 minutes later, Sheets said.
A joint investigation by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force and Roselle Police Department, assisted by the Union County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Unit and the Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit, led to the arrest of Mallory and two then-17-year-old suspects, also from Roselle, two days after the shooting.
The investigation revealed that the three defendants lured the victim, whom they each knew, to the football field that night with the intent to rob him. As Mitchell attempted to flee, Sheets said, he was shot and killed.
Following a trial lasting three weeks and jury deliberations spread over two days, Mallory was found guilty.
The two other suspects, Corey Winston and Derrick Dunn, have been waived to adult court and are pending trial later this year.
Mallory’s sentencing has been scheduled for May 19, 2017 before state Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim. He is facing a minimum of 30 years without parole to life in state prison.