Muhammad Al-Barr told the jury yesterday that Damien Johnson, 38, had come to the barber shop he co-owns in Camden several days after the incident to ask if Al-Barr could help him sell about 800 bags of heroin that he had acquired during a robbery.
TRENTON — One of the two men currently being tried for the December 2008 killing of a Hamilton resident during a home invasion said he had “shot one or two people” during a robbery and tossed the gun into a body of water, according to a new witness called in the case.
Muhammad Al-Barr told the jury today that Damien Johnson, 38, had come to the barber shop he co-owns in Camden several days after the incident to ask if Al-Barr could help him sell about 800 bags of heroin that he had acquired during a robbery. Johnson, a longtime acquaintance of Al-Barr, said he was worried that the heroin could possibly be traced back to him if it was sold in Trenton through stamps on the bags, Al-Barr said.
During the conversation, Johnson told Al-Barr he had acquired the drugs from a robbery where he had shot “one or two” people before taking the drugs and later disassembling his gun and throwing it into a body of water, Al-Barr said.
Johnson is being tried alongside Brian Johnson, 44, in the death of 38-year-old Joseph Costanzo, who was killed on Dec. 1, 2008, during a home invasion. The pair, who are not related, are charged with murder, first-degree felony murder, robbery, burglary and weapons charges. Both men face a life sentence if convicted.
A previous witness in the case, called by Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Al Garcia, said heroin had been used in the house before and witness Mark Walker, a friend of the two men, said last week the Johnsons admitted stealing heroin from the house and shooting Costanzo.
During Al-Barr’s testimony, defense attorney Bruce Throckmorton continually asked about his numerous past convictions for several different crimes, including burglaries and drug charges, and asked about an agreement Al-Barr had made with a federal prosecutor regarding one of those cases, which is ongoing.
“Aren’t you going to need support from these guys at this table to tell the prosecutor you did what you needed to do?” Throckmorton asked, pointing at Garcia and the others seated at his table.
Al-Barr said that he was asked to “be honest,” and that it was possible for the federal prosecutor to write a letter asking for a reduced sentence in his case.
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