Donald Higgs, 46, of Irvington, carjacked the vehicle from the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church on Grove Street in Irvington.
Donald Higgs, 46, of Irvington. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)NEWARK -- An Irvington man received a 15-year sentence for a 2014 carjacking and robbery in an Irvington church parking lot, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today.
Donald Higgs, 46, of Irvington, must serve 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, Murray said.
On March 21, an Essex County jury convicted Higgs of the May 11, 2014 incident, which occurred in the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church on Grove Street in Irvington.
The 22-year-old victim was working with his three brothers as DJs at an event at the church when he went to his brother's Cadillac to charge his cell phone, and Higgs carjacked the vehicle, according to Assistant Prosecutor William Neafsey, who tried the case.
OnStar tracked the Cadillac to a sports bar on North 5th Street in Newark, and while waiting there for a tow truck, the victim saw Higgs walking down the street and identified him to police, according to Neafsey.
Neafsey said Higgs was previously convicted of a 1995 carjacking and received a 20-year sentence, but was was released in 2004.
Higgs has a total of 40 prior arrests and 13 adult felony convictions, including burglary and receiving stolen property, Neafsey said.
"This was a fair sentence given the fact there were no physical injuries to the victim, but clearly this defendant is one who needs to be deterred," Neafsey said. "In the past he has had multiple opportunities to turn his life around but failed repeatedly to take advantage of those opportunities.''
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