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.
