A defendant who was a fugitive in a 1980 homicide in Atlantic City until his capture this February, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment on Tuesday after waiving the reading of the indictment, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel announced.
Lorenzo Carter, 51, was arrested in New York on murder, weapons, aggravated assault and CDS charges stemming from a March 29, 1980 shooting that left Everton Kelly dead and another individual wounded in front of 9 Delaware Avenue in Atlantic City. On April 2, 1980, Atlantic City police officers executed a search warrant at Carter’s 12 Delaware Avenue residence looking for additional evidence connecting Carter to the shooting. The search resulted in a seizure of a large quantity of marijuana. Witness accounts and other evidence led to a warrant for Carter’s arrest. An Atlantic County Grand Jury indicted Carter and in July 1980 a Superior Court Judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
During today’s proceeding Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chet Wiech asked the Superior Court Judge to set Carter’s bail at $2 million full cash in light of the fact that the defendant is a flight risk.
The United States Marshal’s Service arrested Carter on Feb. 22 after a foot pursuit. “This was like an episode of Law & Order. The defendant was in his pajamas jumping from rooftop to rooftop to try to get away,” Wiech told the Judge.
Superior Court Judge Robert Neustadter agreed with the prosecution with the bail amount but set it at cash or bond.
A status conference is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2011.
