Ali Bass, 33, of Newark, is accused of crashing head-on into a pickup truck while fleeing from police in 2009 when he drove in the wrong direction on Irvine Turner Boulevard in Newark
NEWARK -- On the morning of Dec. 11, 2009, Ali Bass is accused of fatally shooting a man inside a vehicle in Newark, marking the third homicide he allegedly committed in less than five months.
But about two hours later, Newark police officers have said they attempted to pull over Bass in a vehicle for a much different offense - he was not wearing a seat belt.
Yet when the officers activated their lights and sirens, Bass allegedly sped off and headed south on Irvine Turner Boulevard before veering into the northbound lanes and crashing head-on into a pickup truck.
Nearly six years later, Bass, 33, of Newark, went on trial Thursday on eluding, resisting arrest and related offenses in connection with that incident. The murder cases are being tried separately.
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The eluding case hinges in large part on the extent of Bass's injuries and where he was discovered in the vehicle.
During opening statements on Thursday, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab told jurors Bass broke his left leg in the collision. When police officers approached the vehicle afterward, they saw Bass going from the driver's seat to the back seat, Edwab said.
Bass was trying "to avoid being caught in that driver's seat," Edwab said.
Bass had been driving a Ford Taurus and he crashed into a Toyota Tundra, Edwab said. Witnesses are expected to testify about how Bass was driving the vehicle that day, Edwab said.
His front-seat passenger, Arsenio Payton, also known as Marvin Smith, ran from the vehicle and was quickly apprehended by police, according to Edwab. The driver of the Tundra complained of dizziness and later went to the hospital, Edwab said.
By driving the wrong way on Irvine Turner Boulevard, Bass "put himself, his front-seat passenger, the police and other drivers out there in harm's way with those actions," Edwab said.
But Bass's attorney, Thomas Ashley, told jurors that Payton had been driving the vehicle. Ashley noted how Bass was arrested in the back seat and argued his broken leg made it impossible for him to quickly move there from the driver's seat.
"The injuries themselves create more than a reasonable doubt, because it would have been impossible for Mr. Bass to have performed this because of the nature and extent of the injuries," Ashley said.
The collision occurred roughly two hours after Bass, Payton and Tyree Miller allegedly participated in the fatal shooting of Quawan Robinson, 31, of Newark, in front of 26 Johnson Avenue in the city. Robinson was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and torso while inside his vehicle.
Bass also is charged with fatally shooting Hassan Brown, 29, of Newark and Franklin Johnson, 47, of East Orange, during a July 20, 2009 incident at 109 South 12th Street in Newark. Authorities have said that killing was an act of vengeance after Brown was arrested and charged with the slaying of Bass's sister in 2008.
The attorneys did not discuss the homicide cases in their opening statements.
When the officers tried to pull over Bass on Dec. 11, 2009, they were unaware he had allegedly committed a murder about two hours beforehand, authorities said. The officers were attempting to pull over Bass for the seat belt violation, authorities said.
At that early stage, investigators did not know who was involved in the homicide yet, authorities said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.