NJ Man Guilty Of Suffocating Victim, Stealing Debit Card To Buy Pizza

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — A Lindenwold man was found guilty this week of suffocating a person in a Mount Laurel hotel room before stealing the victim's debit card to order pizza.

Jawaad Ali, 32, was convicted Wednesday of multiple charges including first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping, desecration of human remains, wrongful impersonation, and credit card theft, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw announced.

According to prosecutors, Ali and two others lured 31-year-old Samer Alhalayqa of Camden to the Fairfield Inn on Century Parkway, where Alhalayqa was suffocated in a third-floor room. Prosecutors said Alhalayqa's body was then dragged into the hallway.

Following his death, Alhalayqa's debit card was used to withdraw funds from a nearby ATM. It was also used to purchase items from Amazon.com and pizza from Papa John’s, prosecutors said.

Ali's co-defendants — Asia Boone and Anthony Sermond-Guyton — also pleaded guilty to related charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Ali's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 27.