N.J. Murderer Was Wearing Electronic Ankle Bracelet During Fatal Shooting: Prosecutors

Newark, NJ – An Essex County jury has convicted a Newark resident for the “cold-blooded” murder of a 21-year-old man in 2013, prosecutors said.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, a jury convicted Dawan Ingram, 21, of Newark of murdering Najee Montague, 21, also of Newark, on Wednesday following a three-week trial.

In addition to murder, Ingram was also convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, prosecutors said.

Ingram faces a minimum of 30 years in New Jersey state prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 5, prosecutors stated.

“Mr. Montague was killed in a senseless, cold-blooded attack by [Ingram]… We hope this verdict brings some level of closure to the victim's family," said assistant prosecutor Adam Salzer.

Prosecutors said that the murder occurred around 7:35 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2013, in front of a grocery store on South Orange Avenue near Salem Street.

Montague was in front of the store talking to friends when he was shot seven times - including five times in the back – prosecutors said.

Ingram, who was wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, then fled the scene, prosecutors said.

At trial, the defense argued that Ingram was home with his family at the time of the murder and presented family members to bolster that claim, prosecutors said.

But the state relied on testimony from the defendant’s juvenile parole officer, who testified that Ingram was not home at the time of the murder, prosecutors said.

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