NJ Man Murdered Teenager, Fired Barrage Of Bullets After Child’s Birthday Party

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An Essex County jury has returned a guilty verdict against a man who fatally shot a teenager in the face, then tried to murder another victim after a child’s birthday party with the same gun, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

James Tolbert, 31, of East Orange, was found guilty of charges in connection with two shootings, both of which took place in Essex County.

The first shooting took place in November 2022, after Tolbert and several other men picked up 16-year-old Alsanir Hall from a residence in Newark and drove him to Irvington. After exiting the vehicle with the teenager, Tolbert demanded money and shot him in the face at close range. Tolbert and other occupants of the vehicle then fled the scene, prosecutors said.

Tolbert also used the same handgun to fire a hail of bullets into a Newark home in January 2023, authorities said.

During that attack – which took place shortly after a five-year-old’s birthday party – Tolbert and another gunman threw items outside the home to lure a 26-year-old man outside. The pair fired 19 rounds at their victim, striking him twice, prosecutors said.

After a day of deliberations, a jury found Tolbert guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose in connection with the 2022 fatal shooting.

The jury also found Tolbert guilty of first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose in connection with the 2023 shooting.

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