Ernest Williams Jr., 24, of Montclair, is accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Brian Schiavetti in July 2012
NEWARK -- With an addiction to painkillers, Brian Schiavetti and a friend left their hometown of Ridgefield, Conn. in the late afternoon of July 22, 2012 and made the roughly 90-minute drive to Montclair to purchase oxycodone pills.
But the trip ended with Schiavetti dead in the hallway of a Montclair apartment building.
The drug dealer who allegedly met with Schiavetti - Ernest Williams Jr. - went on trial Wednesday on charges of fatally shooting the 21-year-old college student during a robbery. Williams, 24, of Montclair, is charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, weapons offenses and conspiracy to distribute drugs.
Williams's co-defendant, James Pitts, who allegedly helped set up the meeting between Williams and Schiavetti, pleaded guilty last year to a drug charge and is expected to be sentenced to 364 days in jail. Pitts is the son of Essex County Undersheriff James Pitts.
In opening statements on Wednesday, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Naazneen Khan said Williams led Schiavetti into the building and then robbed him. During the incident, Williams bit Schiavetti, leaving DNA on his body, and shot him twice, including the fatal wound to the back of the head, according to Khan.
By the end of the trial, Khan told jurors, "I'm going to ask you to return a verdict of guilty against the defendant, because that is what the state will have proven to you."
But Williams's attorney, Sterling Kinsale, said Williams "didn't shoot anybody, didn't rob anybody."
Kinsale argued that Schiavetti had brought a gun to the meeting and that he was killed during a struggle for the gun. Kinsale noted how Schiavetti was addicted to painkillers and made the trip to Montclair from Ridgefield to purchase the pills.
"That's the desperation that we're talking about here as he enters into this transaction," Kinsale told the jury.
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The series of events leading to Schiavetti's death allegedly began when Williams called Pitts at about 3 p.m., saying "I got some pills that I need to move," Khan said. The two men were neighbors in Montclair, she said.
Pitts then got in touch with Schiavetti, who had met Pitts as a fellow student at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, Khan said. Schiavetti indicated he was interested in purchasing pills that day, and Pitts referred Williams to Schiavetti, Khan said.
At the time, Schiavetti was hanging out with Connor Gore and three other friends in the basement of a house in Ridgefield, according to Gore, who testified on Wednesday after the opening statements.
As the group's hangout since elementary school, the basement was where they would meet up during summer vacations when they were home from college, Gore said. In the basement, the friends would play video games and "get high," Gore said.
On that afternoon, "we were looking for oxycodones," Gore said.
Ernest Williams Jr., 24, of Montclair, who is accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Brian Schiavetti on July 22, 2012 in Montclair. The Williams trial is being heard by Essex County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Wright in the Essex County Courthouse inNewark. 10/14/15 (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Gore said Schiavetti ultimately received a call from Williams, who initially wanted $25 per pill. After they agreed on a price of $17 per pill, Gore said he volunteered to drive with Schiavetti to Montclair. Gore and Schiavetti had never been to Montclair before, Khan said.
Schiavetti, Gore and another friend pooled together $900 in cash to purchase the pills, according to Gore. "We pooled together as much money as we could," Gore said.
Gore and Schiavetti left Ridgefield at about 4:30 p.m. and used a GPS device to travel to Montclair, Gore said. The two friends had wanted to meet Williams in a public place, but Williams refused and instructed them to drive to an apartment building at 25 Williams Street, Gore said.
Gore said he and Schiavetti met Williams on the street and Williams entered the back seat of the vehicle behind Schiavetti, who was in the front passenger seat. Williams then directed them to the nearby apartment building, where Williams said his girlfriend lived, according to Gore.
Williams said the pills were inside the building and the two friends indicated they wanted to go inside together, but Williams insisted that only one of them accompany him inside with the money, according to Gore.
After Williams and Schiavetti went inside, Gore said he drove around the block and parked outside the building. Gore recalled seeing "little kids running around, kicking a ball."
Gore said he then heard two gun shots. After calling Schiavetti's cell phone and getting no answer, Gore said he drove off.
"I was hysterical, afraid for my life," Gore said.
Gore said he called 911 and the operator indicated police were already responding to the scene. Gore said he called Schiavetti a few more times, but there was still no answer.
Gore called his parents and they ultimately met him in a parking lot at Montclair State University near where a baseball game had been underway, he said. With so many people around, Gore said he thought he would be safe there.
As he waited for his parents, Gore said he was "crying, throwing up, calling Brian."
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.