NEWARK — During the trial of a reputed Bloods gang member accused of shooting at two Newark police officers following a car chase in October 2004, an Essex County assistant prosecutor used the words "liar" and "sociopath" to describe the defendant, Omar Bridges, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison. The assistant prosecutor, Frederick Elflein,...
Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Frederick Elflein, left, holds a TEC-9 handgun during the 2007 trial of Omar Bridges. That case was overturned and a new trial was ordered today, partly due to the way Elflein acted during the trial.NEWARK — During the trial of a reputed Bloods gang member accused of shooting at two Newark police officers following a car chase in October 2004, an Essex County assistant prosecutor used the words "liar" and "sociopath" to describe the defendant, Omar Bridges, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
The assistant prosecutor, Frederick Elflein, also insulted Bridges’ public defender, Edward Peranio, calling him incompetent and repeatedly leveling sarcastic, caustic and demeaning remarks at him.
Today, an appeals court panel overturned Bridges’ February 2007 conviction and ordered he be given a new trial, citing Elflein’s comments and the trial judge’s failure to properly instruct the jury before it deliberated.
The court’s 44-page decision pointedly criticized Elflein, saying he "engaged in multiple acts of misconduct that cumulatively cannot be countenanced...A prosecutor occupies a unique position in the criminal justice system because his role is not to obtain convictions, but to see that defendants are treated fairly and that justice is done," the court said.
Tom Rosenthal, a spokesman for the state Office of the Public Defender, which represented Bridges on his appeal, said "the opinion speaks for itself." Peranio could not be reached for comment.
In a statement, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said it was reviewing the decision to determine whether it will retry the case.
Bridges, now 30, was convicted of shooting Newark Police Officer Eduardo Patinho with a semiautomatic pistol from the backseat of a stolen Jaguar, and shooting at Patinho’s partner, Officer Kimberly Gasavage.
The Oct. 9, 2004 incident, in which the officers returned fire and struck Bridges, followed a high-speed car chase.
The appeals court also found that Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini failed to give the jury clear instructions about elements to consider before determining Bridges’ fate, like lighting at the scene and the amount of time Officer Patinho had to see his assailant. Though the officer never clearly saw the gun or the shooter, he identified Bridges, who he said briefly peeked his head out of the rear passenger side window before firing.
Bridges testified at trial and maintained his innocence, saying he was drunk and asleep in the car’s front passenger seat before waking to sounds of gunfire. He said because of his 6-foot-6-inch frame, he is forced to sit in a car’s front seat.