Shazam Meighoo, 38, of Newark, was sentenced to 18 years in state prison for fatally shooting his 21-year-old wife, Sanithia Jones-Meighoo, on June 20, 2012 in their city home
NEWARK --With her great-grandmother standing behind her, 6-year-old Shyaa Jones stood on Monday in a Newark courtroom and faced the man who killed her mother in front of her.
"I feel so sad," said Shyaa, adding that her mother, Sanithia Jones-Meighoo, was the "only mom...that I can love."
A few moments later, Shazam Meighoo, 38, of Newark, was sentenced to 18 years in state prison for fatally shooting Jones-Meighoo, 21, on June 20, 2012 in their city home. Meighoo pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to aggravated manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Meighoo must serve slightly more than 15 years before becoming eligible for parole, and he will receive credit for about a year of time served.
Meighoo and Jones-Meighoo were legally married, but did not have any children together. Shyaa Jones, who witnessed the shooting when she was three years old, was a child of Jones-Meighoo from a prior relationship.
Before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler imposed the sentence, Meighoo's niece, Jillana Surujmohan, addressed the court about her bond with Meighoo and described him as being trustworthy, supportive, intelligent, and lovable.
"Please have mercy on my uncle," Surujmohan told the judge. "I love my uncle more than words can describe."
But soon after Surujmohan returned to her seat, Jones-Meighoo's mother, Miss Jones, stepped to the front of the courtroom and said Meighoo was a "predator" who took her daughter's life.
"You took it. How dare you?" Jones yelled at Meighoo. "You are a predator. You are a menace, and I hope you rot.
"I hope you suffer for the rest of your days that God give you in this world," Jones added. "I hope you suffer and I hope they go quick, hope your days is quick."
As she returned to her seat, Jones screamed: "Rot! Rot!"
The incident occurred at the couple's home at 56 Stone Street in Newark. When he pleaded guilty, Meighoo admitted to shooting Jones-Meighoo in the residence after the couple got into an argument and she struck him with a laptop computer. While Meighoo said his wife hit him, he admitted he did not act in self-defense.
The day after the shooting, Meighoo fled to his native Trinidad, authorities said. Meighoo was ultimately arrested there and extradited to the United States by U.S. Marshals in December 2014, authorities said.
Since Meighoo is not a U.S. citizen, he will likely be deported after completing his sentence, Wigler said during the Nov. 30 hearing. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended an 18-year prison sentence for Meighoo.
During Monday's hearing, Meighoo's attorney, Martin Goldman, asked the judge to consider a 17-year prison sentence. Goldman also claimed the couple's argument before the shooting stemmed from the fact that Jones-Meighoo was selling marijuana out of the house and Meighoo told her to stop.
Goldman asked Wigler for "some mercy based upon the circumstances."
Miss Jones, mother of the victim speaks in court. Shazam Meighoo, 38, of Newark, was sentenced to 18 years in prison before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler in the June 20, 2012 fatal shooting of his 21-year-old wife, Sanithia Jones-Meighoo. Meighoo shot his wife in front of her young daughter. Sentencing was at the Essex County Courthousein Newark 1/11/16 (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) But Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Naazneen Khan, who handled the case, told the judge there is "absolutely no evidence" that Jones-Meighoo was selling marijuana.
Khan called on Wigler to impose the recommended 18-year prison sentence, noting how Meighoo killed Jones-Meighoo in front of her daughter. According to Khan, the state agreed to the plea deal to "save Shyaa the additional trauma" of having to testify at Meighoo's trial.
"There was some very serious concerns about what that would do to her emotionally and mentally, because of what the defendant did to her," Khan said. "He took her mother in front of her."
In handing down the sentence, Wigler noted the impact on Meighoo's family and also said Meighoo has "decimated young Shyaa and the Jones family."
"They're never going to be the same," the judge said.
As for the pleas of mercy from Meighoo's niece, Wigler told him: "I think the plea agreement itself has shown all the mercy you are entitled to and then some."
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.