An East Orange man who shot two people on a PATH train at Jersey City's Newport Station in 2013 was sentenced to 30 years in prison today and at the hearing he showed no remorse and did not accept responsibility for the crime which was captured on video.
JERSEY CITY - Sentenced today to 30 years in prison for shooting two people on the PATH train at Jersey City's Newport Station, an East Orange man showed no remorse and accepted no responsibility for the crime, which was captured on video.
Instead, Tari Turpin, a 36-year-old father of three, shocked Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella by blaming his lawyer, Michael Rubas, for his conviction.
"I would like to say I didn't receive a fair trial at all due to my counsel. I did not," Turpin said. "I was not carrying a gun that day."
Isabella wasn't having it. "I presided over the trial, I've been doing this 16 years and the evidence was absolutely overwhelming," he told Turpin. "Did you see the video? It's mind-boggling how you can stand there and deny this.
"The video shows the whole thing," Isabella continued. "Your lawyer did an excellent job. Actually, he made only one mistake. There is only one deficiency in his performance. He couldn't convince you to take the plea... He tried to convince you. I tried to convince you. Based on the video, we saw there was a really good chance a jury would convict you, and they did."
The state's offer, which Turpin turned down, would have put him behind bars for 8 1/2 years.
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Isabella sentenced Turpin to 20 years in prison for shooting Diamond Drummer in the leg and 10 years for shooting Aubree Marshall in the hand during the Aug. 25, 2013 incident.
Drummer, whose leg was shattered by a hollow-point bullet, now has a rod and screws in the leg and permanent disability. Another bullet ripped three fingers off Marshall's dominant hand, leaving him permanently disabled.
Turpin had 20 prior contacts with the justice system, two criminal convictions for receiving stolen property and a handgun conviction for which he served one year in prison in New York. It is due to his prior record that he was eligible to be to be sentenced to an extended prison term on one of the aggravated assault convictions.
Drummer testified that she and friends were returning from New York on Aug. 25, 2013 after a night of drinking. She said when she sat on the floor of the packed train, Turpin began kicking her. She told him to stop but that led to an argument between Drummer and Turpin's girlfriend, who had a baby in her arms and another in a stroller.
Eventually, Turpin pulled out a gun and Drummer and her friends backed off and decided to get off the train. But as it rolled into the Newport Station, Aubree Marshall, one of Drummer's friends, took a swing at Turpin, Drummer testified.
Marshall testified that he was upset because Turpin "was arguing with a female and it wasn't a situation you would take out a gun." He said Turpin again reached into his pocket for the gun, so Marshall put his left hand over Turpin's pocket and as they struggled, shots rang out.
The packed train cleared, but Drummer realized Marshall was not with her so she returned to find him struggling with Turpin who had the gun in his hand. Eventually, Turpin ran from the train and fired two rounds at Drummer, striking her in the ankle, she testified.
Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Kazanchy asked Isabella today to sentence Turpin to 48 years. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez attended the sentencing as did agents of The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
After the sentencing, Suarez said Turpin put the lives of everyone on the train in danger. "The court imposed a sentence that is entirely proper based on this defendant's prior criminal history and the facts adduced at trial," Suarez said. "The defendant will now serve the better part of the next 30 years in prison for his criminal actions."
The state's case was bolstered by more than a dozen security videos that captured the incident from various perspectives, including one showing Turpin hiding the gun as he left the station limping from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg.
Several Port Authority police officers testified, as did a gun expert and both victims. The ATF was able to track Turpin's gun form Virginia to New Jersey where it was sold to him.
"Today's lengthy conviction is a confirmation of ATF's commitment to making our neighborhoods safer," George P. Belsky, the special agent in charge of ATF's Newark's Field Division, said in a release.
"Targeting and arresting armed criminals and those who engage in firearms trafficking remains a top priority for ATF. Together with our law enforcement partners the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutors Office and the Jersey City Police Department, we will continue to focus on combating violent crime and seeking the maximum penalties for armed offenders that put the public at risk."
Turpin was convicted on June 16. He must serve 25 years before becoming eligible for parole. He was convicted of additional charges but those sentences are to be served concurrently.