Karim Sampson, 24, told fellow members of Sex Money Murder that Arrel Bell “snitched” on him about a 2007 robbery they committed together.
Mugshot of Karim Sampson, 19, who was charged on 6/5/2008 with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the killing of Arrel A. Bell. Bell, 20, of Euclid Avenue was flound shot to death in Stacy Park in Trenton on May 1, 2008. Karim Sampson, 24, told fellow members of Sex Money Murder that Arrel Bell “snitched” on him about a 2007 robbery they committed together, Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley said. The gang, headed by Keith Williams, decided to retaliate against Bell.
“He was the person who had a motive to get Mr. Bell eliminated,” McCauley said.
While Bell had snitched on Sampson about the robbery, McCauley said, Sampson did not tell the gang he had also snitched on Bell. Williams, who was sentenced in June to 20 years for conspiracy to commit murder, planned the killing with Sampson on Myspace, McCauley said.
Bell was shot dead in Stacey Park on May 1, 2008. Prosecutors have not been able to identify who shot him or who was at the scene of the crime, so they were only able to prove the conspiracy involving Sampson and Williams, McCauley said. If evidence comes forward in the future that implicates either of them as the shooter, they can be prosecuted for Bell’s murder as well.
Two other men, John Murphy and Brandon Edwards, pleaded to lesser charges and faces sentences of time served.
Bell’s parents, Gilbert Bell and Beatrice Smith, spoke in court before Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier issued his sentence yesterday. They said they were very happy with the prosecuters’ work but wished the justice system made it easier to give more severe sentences to people implicated in murders.
“You both committed a crime. You both snitched on each other,” Smith said to Sampson. “But you are still alive.”
Gilbert Bell said that he thought that 12 years in prison was a small price for Sampson to pay compared to what his family has gone through.
“For our family, it’s a lifetime. For Arrel, it’s life,” Bell said.
Sampson apologized to Bell’s parents and said that growing up without a father had left him vulnerable to the negative influences of street life.
“I don’t want to make excuses; I want to make changes,” Sampson said. “I wish there was a way that I could give him his life back.”
Sampson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder last month in a deal that recommended a 12-year sentence.
His attorney, Frank Gleason, asked Billmeier to reduce that to 10 years and 1000 hours of community service, saying his client understood what he did and wanted to work with nonprofits to prevent other young people from entering gangs. McCauley asked the judge to honor the terms of the plea agreement.
“It is in the best interest of society that the court keeps him locked up for all 12 years,” McCauley said.
As Billmeier issued his 12-year sentence he told Sampson that getting out of prison as early as age 29 was a pretty good deal considering his involvement in a “cowardly murder.”
“Honestly, you’re going to have your whole life ahead of you, while Arrel Bell won’t,” Billmeier said.
The judge said he would have issued a much longer sentence if there were no plea deal. He said he hoped Sampson lives up to what he and Gleason said during the hearing and dedicates himself to organizations aimed at keeping young people out of gangs when he is released.
“So you can turn young people away from crime in the city of Trenton,” Billmeier said.
Contact Brendan McGrath at (609) 989-5731 or at bmcgrath@njtimes.com.
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