Newark Man Pleads Not Guilty to Killing 13-Year-Old Boy

A Newark man accused of murdering a teenager last month entered a plea of not guilty in state superior court in Newark Wednesday morning.

John Brinson, 24, clad in a blue prison-issue button-down shirt and orange pants, was lead into the courtroom by two sheriff's officers, his hands cuffed behind his back. He said nothing and looked at the floor as he stood before Superior Court Judge Peter Vazquez.

Sterling Kinsale, an attorney with the public defender's office representing Brinson, entered a plea of not guilty on his client's behalf. Vazquez ordered him to remain in Essex County jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.

Brinson is accused of killing Dante Young, , outside St. Antoninus Catholic Church on South Orange Avenue near South 9th Street in the city's West Ward, according to officials with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. He was arrested without incident in the basement of a house in the 300 block of Renner Avenue last Wednesday around 5 p.m., according to Newark police officials.

Acting Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio between Brinson and Young about Brinson's girlfriend.

Yvette Graves, the victim's mother, sat silently in the courtroom gallery, her gaze fixed on Brinson as he stood at the microphone.

Thomas McTigue, assistant prosecutor with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Task Force, is assigned to the case. Though he declined to comment on whether the office is seeking any specific "persons of interest," he did say the possibility of other witnesses or people who may be involved in the killing is still being investigated.

"We're still trying to get a full picture of what occurred that evening," he said. "A number of people witnessed the event, witnesses are cooperating and we're speaking to others. This case is open and active in terms of witnesses or other involved people."

Outside the courtroom, Kinsale said he had no comment.

Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman with the prosecutor's office, said prosecutors next must prepare its case to present to a grand jury. She said that process could take months.