A New Brunswick man, serving a life sentence for the murder of a drug dealer in the city in 1991, will remain behind bars.
A convicted killer lost his latest effort to reverse his 1993 murder conviction and win a new trial. NEW BRUNSWICK -- A New Brunswick man, serving a life sentence for the murder of a drug dealer in the city in 1991, will remain behind bars.
In a 10-page decision released Tuesday, a two-judge appellate court panel refused to grant Allen Johnson, now 50, a new trial.
Johnson, who has filed several unsuccessful requests for post conviction relief, asked for his 1993 conviction for the murder of Raymond Taylor to be overturned, claiming that his attorney had a conflict of interest.
He argued his trial attorney Benjamin Bucca Jr. was also the attorney for the New Brunswick Planning Board and should not have been allowed to represent him in a criminal case arising in the city.
The appellate judges pointed out that Bucca brought the matter to the attention of the N.J. Supreme Court's Office of Attorney Ethics prior to the trial and was cleared of any possible conflict.
"Trial counsel's representation of a zoning board in the city in which the crime occurred in this case was irrelevant to the process and outcome," the appeals panel said.
Johnson was convicted of murder and related drug offenses for driving the man authorities said actually pulled the trigger that killed Taylor around New Brunswick in search of the victim, according to the appellate decision.
Johnson refused to testify in the trial of the alleged triggerman, Kenneth Jason Woods, at Woods' trial in 1995. Woods was acquitted of all charges.
Johnson was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years to be served before he is eligible for parole. The Department of Corrections' website said he will be eligible for parole on Jan. 3, 2022.
Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
