Guilty Verdict In 2011 Freehold Twp Home Invasion Murder

FREEHOLD, NJ — A 61-year-old man is facing life in prison after he was found guilty Tuesday in the murder of a Freehold Township man during a home invasion robbery in 2011, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

Richard Busby, formerly of Newark, was found guilty by a jury following a trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon of robbery, felony murder, and attempted murder in the July 31, 2011 home invasion robbery and arson in Freehold Township, Gramiccioni said. Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 30, the prosecutor's office said.

Busby and his accomplice, Jeffery Mayhue, broke into the Jackson Mills Road home shared by Michael Conway and Cheri Plamondon in the early hours of July 31, 2011. The couple were held at gunpoint, bound with zip-ties, while the intruders searched their home for money, marijuana and other items of value, prosecutors said. During the robbery, Conway broke free and struggled with the intruders and was shot and died. The intruders then set fire to the residence and fled. Plamondon was able to free herself and escape the burning building, prosecutors said.

The subsequent investigation by detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and members of the Freehold Township Police Department let to the arrests of Busby and Mayhue; Mayhue, 54, pleaded guilty to the charges in 2016 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison; he must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.

Two others were charged as accomplices in the case and since have pleaded guilty, the prosecutor's office said. Ellis Goodson, 41, of Neptune, and Ranu Sinha, 39, of Freehold. Goodson and Sinha have pleaded guilty to charges related to this case and two other home invasion robberies and are awaiting sentencing, the prosecutor's office said.

Busby was found guilty following a trial that began Aug. 28. While he was found guilty of first-degree felony murder, first-degree attempted murder and second-degree robbery, he was found not guilty on charges of unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose and aggravated arson, prosecutors said.

The felony murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison and is subject to the “No Early Release Act,” and the attempted murder charge ordinarily carries a sentence of between 10 and 20 years in prison. But prosecutors said Busby has criminal record that increases the potential sentence on the attempted murder charge to life in prison on that crime as well. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors Sean J. Brennan and Lawrence Nelsen.

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