State vs. Jose Feliciano
Dec 22, 2011OUTCOME: As a prosecutor, David prosecuted Jose Feliciano for murder and the defendant was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life without parole.
I tried this case as a Morris County Assistant Prosecutor. The defendant was tried and convicted of first-degree murder, N.J.S.A 2C:11-3a(1), first-degree felony murder, N.J.S.A 2C:11-3a(3), two count ... s of first-degree robbery, N.J.S.A 2C:15-1a(1), third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A 2C:39-4d, fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A 2C:39-5d and third-degree hindering, N.J.S.A 2C:29-3b(1). On October 22, 2009, at approximately 8:00 a.m., a discovery was made in the rectory of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, which is located in Chatham Borough, New Jersey. The body of the pastor, the Reverend Edward Hinds, a Roman Catholic priest, was discovered lying unresponsive on the kitchen floor of the rectory. The body was discovered after the victim had failed to appear for a mass that he was scheduled to officiate that morning. It was determined that the victim was stabbed to death. As part of my responsibilities with the Morris County Prosecutor’s office, I responded to the scene and was responsible for all search warrants, communication data warrants and ultimately an arrest warrant for the defendant. I was assigned the case at its inception and was responsible for many investigative decisions throughout the case. I ultimately tried the case with the County Prosecutor, Robert A Bianchi. The discovery consisted of over three thousand pages of paper discovery and hundreds of hours of audio recorded statements. Throughout the trial, the State called over twenty-five witnesses and the defendant called five, including the defendant. The defendant was convicted of all charges in the indictment and the judge also found an aggravating factor which under our current jurisprudence, leaves the sentencing judge with no discretion but to sentence the defendant to life without parole on the murder charge alone. The Defendant was sentence to life without parole.
