An appeals court rejected a New Brunswick man's effort to overturn his second conviction for the murder of a city man in 2004. Watch video
Brian Fowlkes lost his bid to overturn his second conviction for the murder of Hassan Bass in 2004. NEW BRUNSWICK -- A New Brunswick man lost his bid Tuesday to overturn his second conviction in connection with the fatal shooting of another city man.
A three-judge appellate panel rejected Brian Fowlkes's arguments for overturning his 2012 murder conviction of Hassan Bass, 24, in May 2004. Fowlkes shot Bass to settle a dispute that occurred when they were both in prison for other crimes.
The judges did order that Fowlkes be resentenced, ruling that he was sentenced to life with no parole but was not eligible for that sentence.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/new_burnswick_man_is_re-indict.html
Fowlkes was tried and convicted the first time in August 2005 for Bass's murder, but his conviction was overturned by an appeals court in January 2010 for what the judges said were errors by the trial judge and the prosecutor.
During the six day trial in 2012, the prosecutor argued that Fowlkes shot and killed Bass over a dispute that began when both men were serving custodial terms at the Garden State Youth and Correctional Facility in Yardville.
After they completed their prison terms for unrelated aggravated assault convictions, the dispute continued, ending when Fowlkes shot and killed Bass outsider a fast food restaurant at George and Hassart streets in New Brunswick on May 22, 2004.
Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.