Legal loophole could set a convicted robber free

A Bronx man serving a 30-year prison sentence for robbing and kidnapping a Harding resident could end up released because a court has determined the Morris County Prosecutor's Office failed to give him a speedy trial, according to authorities and court documents.

Shakur Carrasquillo, 32, who had been arrested in New York and later was transferred to New Jersey to stand trial, was supposed to be tried within 120 days under an "Interstate Agreement on Detainers" law.

However, it took the Morris County Prosecutor's Office more than a year to bring Carrasquillo to trial. After he was convicted, he appealed on the basis that he was not given the required speedy trial.

In March, the state Appellate Division issued a ruling that criticized the prosecutor's office for dragging its feet in the case, and for failing to tell the trial judge Carrasquillo was subject to the IAD trial deadline of 120 days.

"The record reveals that the long delay was principally due to the prosecutor's inaction and failure to diligently move the matter to trial. Indeed, the record is devoid of any evidence that the prosecutor attempted to change the rather desultory pace at which this prosecution was moving," the appellate ruling states. "Simply put, the state made no attempt to try defendant within 120 days of his arrival in New Jersey."

An IAD timeline is not necessarily strict, and often stops and starts again as various motions are filed. The appellate ruling ordered the trial judge, Superior Court Judge Joseph Falcone, now sitting in Passaic County, to determine what the timeline should have been, taking into account delays for pre-trial motions and proceedings.

If Falcone found the timeline went past the 120 days, the appellate division ordered him to dismiss the charges "with prejudice," meaning Carrasquillo must be freed and could not be prosecuted again on them.

On Oct. 28, Falcone determined the 120-day window closed on Sept. 11, 2006. Because the trial had not started until a full 80 days later, on Nov. 30, 2006, Falcone dismissed the indictment and ordered Carrasquillo to be freed from Trenton State Prison.

The judge granted a stay, or delay, of his order to give the prosecutor's office time to file an appeal, and late yesterday the appellate division extended the stay.

A spokesman for Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi, who did not take office until June 2007, noted Carrasquillo was tried under an administration prior to Bianchi, and said the office is filing an appeal.

Joel Harris, a public defender who handled Carrasquillo's appeal, said he was not surprised that a stay would be granted, but believes Carrasquillo ultimately will go free. He said the issue is not one of a mere technicality.

"I don't think it's a technicality. They had 120 days to prosecute him and didn't, and now they have to pay the consequences," Harris said.

The robbery occurred on April 8, 2003, when Carrasquillo and a prostitute robbed one of her customers in his million-dollar home in Harding. The woman handcuffed the man as part of their sexual encounter, but left the room. Carrasquillo then entered and robbed the man of cash, credit cards and jewelry at gunpoint, hit him on the head with the gun and fired a shot into a wall, authorities had said.

Carrasquillo and the woman were arrested the next day in Queens, N.Y. He was transferred to New Jersey in August 2005, but the case lagged until the trial began on Nov. 30, 2006. In December 2006, a jury found him guilty of kidnapping, robbery, assault and other charges, and he was sentenced in February 2007.

Jim Lockwood may be reached at jlockwood@starledger.com or (973) 539-7119.