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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a Galloway Township man was
sentenced to state prison today in the fatal
shooting of a gas station owner during a
robbery on the White Horse Pike in 2007.
According
to Director Taylor, Nasir Salaam, 20, of
Galloway Township, was sentenced to 40 years
in state prison, including 30 years without
possibility of parole, by Superior Court
Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr. in Atlantic
County. Salaam pleaded guilty to felony
murder on Aug. 23, on the eve of his trial
on the murder charge. He admitted to participating
in the robbery on March 9, 2007, at the
AAR gas station and mini-mart on the White
Horse Pike in Atlantic City. The owner,
Makhan Singh, 47, was fatally shot and an
attendant was wounded
In
May 2009, Salaam had been convicted at trial
of charges related to the robbery, namely
two counts of robbery (1st degree), aggravated
assault (3rd degree), possession of a weapon
for an unlawful purpose (2nd degree), unlawful
possession of a weapon (3rd degree), hindering
prosecution (3rd degree), and conspiracy
to distribute cocaine (3rd degree). The
jury did not reach a verdict on the felony
murder charge and additional robbery charges.
Judge
DeLury sentenced Salaam to 30 years without
parole on the felony murder charge. He sentenced
Salaam to consecutive sentences of five
years each on the charges of unlawful possession
of a weapon and conspiracy to distribute
cocaine, bringing the total sentence to
40 years. The judge ordered that the sentences
for the other charges be served concurrently
with the 30-year felony murder sentence.
Deputy
Attorney General Brent Hopkins prosecuted
the case for the Division of Criminal Justice
and represented the state at the sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Atlantic
City Police Department, Atlantic County
Prosecutor’s Office and Division of
Criminal Justice.
The
investigation revealed that Salaam, who
was 17 at the time, and two other teenage
males committed the robbery while armed
with at least two handguns. One of the accomplices,
Darrick Hudson, 20, of Atlantic City, is
awaiting trial. They were assisted by two
other teenagers who drove them to the gas
station. Salaam admitted that, during the
robbery, he brandished a handgun and demanded
money from two attendants who were outside
the mini-mart. He admitted that, after hearing
gunfire in the mini-mart, he fired a shot
at one of the attendants who tried to flee,
wounding him, and fired two shots at the
mini-mart, where his two accomplices were
robbing the owner at gunpoint. One of the
gunmen fatally wounded Singh.
Five
defendants were indicted in 2008 on charges
including felony murder. One defendant,
Basir Biggins, 20, of Atlantic City pleaded
guilty on Dec. 22, 2008 to three counts
of first-degree robbery. He admitted that
he provided one of the handguns used in
the robbery. Biggins was sentenced on March
26, 2010 to 12 years in prison, including
10 years of parole ineligibility.
The
charges in the indictment, including felony
murder, remain pending against Hudson, who
is scheduled for trial in December. The
indictment is merely an accusation and he
is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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