The co-defendant of a Bloomfield man on trial for the murder of a Kearny jewelry store owner in 2009 took the stand today telling of his and the defendant's role in the robbery gone bad and left court with a flair of anger toward the defendant.
The co-defendant of a Bloomfield man on trial for the murder of a Kearny jewelry store owner in 2009 took the stand today telling of his and the defendant's role in the robbery gone bad and left court with a flair of anger toward the defendant.
Elvis Feratovic, 30, of Bloomfield, was led from the witness stand in handcuffs when he turned to the alleged killer, John DeRosa, 58, of Bloomfield, and said "F---- you" before being remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny.
DeRosa, who is charged with murdering Xavier Egoavil, 47, of Kearny, on Aug. 18, 2009, in the victim's Rachel Jewelers on Kearny Avenue, thought it was funny.
On the witness stand, Ferotovic said he and his friend Edmir Sokoli, 29, of Bloomfield, were working security at a Newark club in June of that year when DeRosa approached them with a plan.
"He said he knows about a jewelry store on Kearny Avenue that we could rob that has tons of jewelry and tons of diamonds in the back and it was a good score," Feratovic said, adding that the three then met a number of times to plan, cased the area and arrived at a getaway route. "The plan was no one would get hurt. No one would get hurt."
"To me he was the architect of the whole Rachel Jewelry thing," said the admitted getaway driver. "I guess I felt a sense of entrapment and I kept going with it like an idiot." He said he made up excuses on two occasions which called off the heist.
But on Aug. 18, 2009, he said he was behind the wheel when he pulled up two doors from the store and DeRosa and Sokoli got out wearing wigs and fake beards. He then pulled around the corner to wait. He said DeRosa had a pistol.
"About a minute later, Mr. Sokoli ran into my car out of breath and stressed and he told me Mr. DeRosa shot him, the person who was in there," Feratovic told the jury. "I'm thinking, he's coming, he had a gun, might be better to take off."
But Feratovic said seconds later DeRosa "got in with the gun in his hands. That's when Mr. Sokoli grabs the gun from him, takes the gun and puts it in the front. That was a great idea because he could have shot both of us, got in his car and drove off."
Egoavil's mother was in the store at the time of the shooting and testified to seeing her son murdered before her eyes.
Investigators got a break in the case when Kearny police received a tip that that Feratovic's car was being worked on at a Passaic County auto repair shop to alter its appearance. That led to the three arrest, officials said.
When shown surveillance pictures from the area of the store, Feratovic admitted that the BMW seen in the area that day and the day before was his.
Feratovic was charged with felony murder, but pleaded guilty to robbery and agreed to testify against DeRosa in exchange for a sentence of not more than 20 years. Sokoli was also charged with felony murder and pleaded guilty to robbery. He too agreed to testify.
While cross examining Feratovic today, defense attorney Scott Finkenauer pointed out to the jury that the first time he was interviewed by police he made up a lie about having been carjacked. It begged the question, was Feratovic lying then or on the witness stand?
The defense attorney also worked to show discrepancies in testimony Feratovic gave today and in his confession prior to getting a plea deal.
Finkenauer asked Feratovic if he hoped to get less than 20 years when sentenced. The getaway driver responded "Who wouldn't?"
The jury had already been excused when Feratovic gave DeRosa his parting words.
Testimony in DeRosa's trial will continue on Tuesday in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.