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Essex County Men Found Guilty in Hillside Carjacking Will Get New Trial

Hillside

A state appeals court ruled this week that an East Orange man and a Newark man found guilty of a 2008 carjacking in Hillside, will get new trial after a juror with racial prejudice was not removed.

In 2012, Rashon Brown and Malik Smith were sentenced to serve 25 years and 23 years respectfully for a carjacking that occurred in Hillside in 2008.

Following the jury's guilty verdict, Brown was sentenced to 25 years and Smith received a 23-year term.

According to appeal, on the second day deliberations, a juror - identified only as juror number 4 - told two others that she was concerned and nervous about seeing two African-American men - Brown and Smith - in her neighborhood.

Trial judge was notified, however after questioning juror number 4 and the two others in the conversation, they were allowed to remain on the jury.

The convictions was later overturned after judge failed to remove juror number 4 and failed to determine if the other two jurors had similar latent racial biases.

On Dec. 11, 2008, Smith and Brown approached a woman sitting in her vehicle - a new white Infiniti - outside of her daughter's Hillside apartment building. Despite the victim's plea not to take her car, Brown forced the woman out of the vehicle after showing her he was armed. Police located the vehicle and the men minutes later ensuing a chase for a several blocks. During chase, police shot at Brown wounding him in the foot but he was not apprehended till later when he was found hiding under a porch. Smith who fled the scene was arrested later.

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