Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Synike White was going on trial accused of murder in the death of Jarrette Johnon. He was originally charged by police with Johnson’s murder but a grand jury did not indict him for that murder. The grand jury indicted White on attempted murder charges for a different shooting on July 28, 2021. He is on trial for that crime with Carl Newton, who is accused of killing Johnson.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- A prosecutor Monday said that a 2021 murder was retaliation for the robbery of the sister of a man charged with the fatal shooting over a decade earlier.
Carl Newton Jr., 37, is set to go to trial next Monday for the murder of Jarrette Johnson, 31. Johnson was shot on the 700 block of North Alvord Street on Aug. 15, 2021, and died less than a month later.
Newton is also on trial with Synike White, 32, for attempted murder after a shooting on the 200 block of Allen Street on July 28, 2021.
During a court appearance Monday, prosecutor Anthony Mangovski said that he is planning on using evidence to show that Johnson’s murder was retaliation for Johnson robbing Newton’s sister in 2010. Three years after the robbery, Newton’s sister was the victim of a fatal shooting.
The motive was suggested by officers in police reports following the 2021 shooting, Mangovski said.
Johnson was convicted and sent to prison for robbing Newton’s sister, Mangovski said. Johnson was released from prison in 2018.
Newton served five years in prison on gun charges, getting out in December 2020, according to state records. Mangovski said that is why the retaliation occurred over a decade later.
Newton was on parole at the time of the shooting.
Newton’s attorney, Heather Vincent, argued that introducing evidence that Newton was incarcerated could prejudice the jury against him and lead them to draw inaccurate conclusions.
Vincent also requested the judge let the jury hear about Johnson’s arrest history, which she indicated included other robberies in addition to the robbery of Newton’s sister. She said that if the prosecution is arguing that a robbery is motive for murder she could use that record as evidence that others had equal motive as her client.
Mangovski conceded that was certainly a fair argument that would have to be left up to the jury to decide.
Newton was originally tied to the murder because of a silver SUV that was used in another shooting just a month earlier, detectives said at a hearing last year.
The trial is likely to run for over a week with jury selection beginning next Monday. White is still in custody at the Onondaga County Justice Center jail. Newton has been released on bail.
Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.