Judge Michael L. Ravin denied a motion for a new trial by Rodolfo Godinez, one of the six men convicted in the case Watch video
NEWARK -- In an effort to overturn the conviction of Rodolfo Godinez, his co-defendant, Melvin Jovel, testified last month that he was solely responsible for the 2007 execution-style killings of three friends in a Newark schoolyard.
Jovel claimed Godinez and four other co-defendants were wrongfully convicted in the case. Jovel said he "forced" them to commit certain acts - such as attacking one victim with a machete - and he also said they pleaded with him to stop.
But Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin didn't buy Jovel's claims.
After finding Jovel's testimony was "not credible," Ravin denied Godinez's motion for a new trial in the Aug. 4, 2007, shooting deaths of Terrance Aeriel, Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey in the schoolyard behind the Mount Vernon School. Terrance's sister, Natasha Aeriel, was also shot in the head, but survived.
"The Court does not find it reasonable that Mr. Jovel was forcing all of his co-defendants to commit acts, such as chopping off a victim's head with a machete, while at the same time all of the co-defendants were pleading for the victims not to be harmed," according to the judge's March 1 written decision.
The alleged ringleader of the group, Godinez, 32, formerly of Newark, was the first of the six defendants to be convicted in the case. Godinez was convicted of murder and related charges at his trial in May 2010 and then sentenced in July 2010 to 245 years in prison.
Three co-defendants, Jose Carranza, Alexander Alfaro and Gerardo Gomez, were later convicted at separate jury trials. Jovel and another co-defendant, Shahid Baskerville, each pleaded guilty.
Collectively, the six defendants received more than 1,000 years in prison. According to prosecutors, the six men had ties to a Central American gang known as MS-13, and the murders were gang-related.
During Godinez's trial, Will T. Jordan, an inmate at the Essex County jail, testified that Godinez told him he had ordered the killings. Prosecutors also presented jurors with Godinez's statement to the police, in which he discussed his position in the gang and how the incident unfolded.
Jovel - who did not testify at Godinez's trial - pleaded guilty in September 2010 and admitted shooting all four of the victims. When Jovel was sentenced in November 2010 to 245 years in prison, he said Godinez had nothing to do with the crimes.
Jovel, 26, formerly of Elizabeth, reiterated that assertion at a Feb. 8 hearing for Godinez's motion for a new trial.
Godinez's attorney, Susan Gyss, relied on Jovel's claims in arguing for Godinez's conviction to be overturned.
Since Jovel's statements were made after Godinez was convicted, Gyss said they represent newly discovered evidence that entitles Godinez to a new trial. The motion for a new trial relied in part on Jovel's remarks during his sentencing hearing.
Godinez has admitted he was present at the time of the incident, but Gyss said during the hearing that if Jovel had testified at Godinez's trial, his testimony "could have raised some doubt as to the actual involvement of Mr. Godinez."
But in his decision, Ravin rejected Gyss's assertion that Jovel's testimony could have changed the outcome of Godinez's trial.
"Having heard Mr. Jovel testify at the evidentiary hearing and having found that his testimony was not credible, the Court finds that a reasonable jury would not have discarded the overwhelming evidence of Petitioner's guilt, particularly the statement of Defendant and of Mr. Jordan, and found that Petitioner was not guilty," the decision states.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.