Two Newark men cleared in shooting of bystander

An Essex County jury found two men not guilty in the shooting of a bystander outside a Newark housing project three years ago, but convicted them on related charges that carry lengthy prison sentences.

Ryan Griggs, 25, and Brian Williams, 27, were acquitted Friday in Superior Court of aggravated assault in the April 19, 2006, shooting of Byron Kelly outside the Baxter Terrace apartments.

Griggs and Williams, both from Newark, were convicted of weapons charges and of leading police on a high-speed car chase the same day, said the office of Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow.

Kelly, who was walking through the building's courtyard on the 100 block of James Street, was shot in the elbow and lower back. He survived but a bullet is still lodged in his back, said Assistant Prosecutor Eileen Cosgrove, who prosecuted the case.

In May, a jury acquitted Griggs of the attempted murder of a Newark police detective during an unrelated traffic stop, which took place while Griggs was out on bail from the Baxter Terrace shooting.

Four hours after the April 19 Baxter Terrace shooting, police caught up with Griggs and Williams, who were in a stolen gold Nissan Maxima with two other men. The four were arrested after a chase ended in a crash in Newark.

Griggs, Williams and Nelson Martinez were charged with firing their guns during the Baxter Terrace incident. In December, Martinez, 25, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and weapons possession.

The fourth man in the car was not involved in the shooting, and pleaded to lesser charges.

Griggs was convicted of receiving stolen property, unlawful possession of a weapon and resisting arrest. He faces 11 years in prison when he is sentenced in January.

That sentence will be tacked on to the 4 years he received for eluding police in the Aug. 31, 2007, traffic stop, Cosgrove said. In that case, police officers fired on Griggs after claiming he pointed his weapon at a detective.

In the Baxter Terrace shooting, Williams was convicted of eluding -- for driving the Nissan -- aggravated assault while eluding, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He faces 30 years in prison.

There were no witnesses to the crime, Cosgrove said, though a handgun in the Nissan matched shell casings found in the building's courtyard. "I'm very pleased with the verdict," Cosgrove said yesterday, adding she understood the jury's unwillingness to convict both men of the shooting given the lack of evidence.

Kelly, who was not the intended target, never testified at the three-week trial despite being called -- Cosgrove believes he may have been scared -- and was later issued a bench warrant.

No motive for the shooting could be established. A report that it had been payback after one of the shooters was himself fired on the previous night was never verified, Cosgrove said.

Alexi Friedman may be reached at (973) 642-0341 or afriedman@starledger.com.