Two More Charged In 2011 Home Invasion Murder

FREEHOLD, NJ – Two more people have been charged with felony murder in the 2011 home invasion robbery that left a Freehold Township man dead, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Wednesday.

Ranu Sinha, 36, of Precedent Place, Manalapan, and Ellis W. Goodson, 38, of Newgate Lane, Neptune, are each charged with three counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree felony murder, two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, two counts of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and one count of fourth-degree possession of an imitation firearm, said Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Both are charged as accomplices to Jeffrey Mayhue, 52, and Richard Busby, 58, both of Newark, in connection with three home invasion robberies at residences in Howell, Freehold and Neptune Township during the 2011 spree, he said. Mayhue and Busby were indicted in the case in November 2012.

Michael Conway, 42, was murdered at his Jackson Mills Road residence in Freehold Township during the course of the home invasion spree that took place between May 14, 2011, and Sept. 8, 2011, Webster said.

During the first home invasion robbery that occurred at a residence on Brickyard Road in Howell, Mayhue entered the residence with a handgun, bound the occupants and stole a large sum of money. Sinha and Goodson are being charged as accomplices to those crimes, Webster said.

All four are charged in the July 31, 2011 early-hours home invasion with murdering Conway, Webster said. In that event, Mayhue and Busby were armed with a handgun and looking for money when they entered Conway’s home and discovered it was occupied by Conway and his girlfriend, he said. Mayhue and Busby are charged with killing Conway, setting fire to the house and fleeing, Webster said. Conway’s girlfriend was able to escape from the burning house through a window and ran to a neighbor’s house, where she asked the neighbor to call 911.

In connection with this offense, Mayhue and Busby were indicted on charges of murder, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, aggravated arson, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and certain persons not to have weapons.

Sinha and Goodson are now being charged in their roles in the robbery and Conway’s murder, Webster said.

The third robbery occurred on Sept. 8, 2011, when Mayhue is accused of forcibly entering a residence on Drummond Avenue in Neptune brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, Webster said. The robbery was thwarted by the victims, who held Mayhue until police arrived on scene, he said. In connection with this offense, Mayhue was indicted on charges of armed robbery and possession of an imitation firearm. Sinha and Goodson are now charged in this robbery, he said.

Sinha and Goodson are each being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, in lieu of $1.5 million cash-only bail, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen.

If convicted of murder, Sinha and Goodson each face a minimum sentence of 30 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act,” requiring them both to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. Both would also be under parole supervision for five years following their respective release from state prison.

If convicted of robbery, they each face up to 20 years in state prison, also subject to no early release provisions.

The weapons charges carry sentences of 18 months to as much as 10 years upon conviction, and if convicted of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, they would each face a sentence of five to 10 years in prison.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Freehold, Howell and Neptune Township police departments led to the arrests of Sinha and Goodson. The Manalapan Township Police Department also assisted in yesterday’s arrests of Sinha and Goodson, Webster said.