A Sicklerville man tried twice without a conviction has pleaded guilty in the 2015 killing of a teen in Pleasantville.
Isaiah Newsome was just 17 himself when he was arrested in the killing of Steven Davion Garrett, whose first name was Dr.
Garrett, who was also 17, was found dead in Pleasantville's Max Manning Park on Aug. 7, 2015.
Newsome was arrested two months later, and then waived up to be tried as an adult.
In the 6½ years he's been jailed, Newsome has gone through two trials and been charged in a drug-trafficking ring.
His first appearance before a jury ended with a mistrial, after his then-attorney, Tamika McKoy, alleged there was new information that pointed to someone else being responsible.
A three-week trial last month ended with a hung jury. Newsome was convicted of a weapons offense.
Now he has pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter wrapping up all his cases together, including a racketeering charge from 2021, that alleges he was part of a drug-trafficking ring that resulted in 30 people being indicted.
The allegations are from when he was already in the Atlantic County jail, and his co-defendants include Corrections Officer Luis Mercado, who allegedly helped smuggle cell phones and drugs into the Justice Facility.
In exchange for his plea, Newsome faces 10 to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced next month.
Newsome never denied any responsibility, attorney David Bahuriak told BreakingAC. But, until the second mistrial, there hgad been no reasonable offer put before his client.
"Nobody ever said he refused to accept any accountability," Bahuriak said. "I think people forget, he was a child when this happened."
This sentence will save the state from another trial that could go the same way as the first two, while allowing Newsome a chance to put his juvenile crimes behind him, his attorney pointed out.
If he is sentenced to the lower of the possible term, Newsome only would have about two more years left to his sentence.
He would be 26 when he is free for the first time in his adult life.
