Leroy Tutt, 26, of Trenton was a member of the Gangster Killer Bloods when he pointed a .45 caliber handgun at Paul “P-Funk” Jiles, then fired and missed, striking bystander Rochelle Soloman in the upper chest instead.
Leroy Tutt of Trenton.
TRENTON — A former gang member who shot a woman in the chest in 2005 was sentenced to seven years for that and another shooting in Superior Court yesterday.
Leroy Tutt, 26, of Trenton was a member of the Gangster Killer Bloods when he pointed a .45 caliber handgun at Paul “P-Funk” Jiles — a high ranking member of the Crips gang — then fired and missed, striking bystander Rochelle Soloman in the upper chest instead. She fully recovered from her injuries.
Tutt was arrested as part of a crackdown on rampant gang violence in 2005. At his sentencing yesterday, Tutt apologized to Soloman and her family for the pain he has caused them.
“At the time, I wasn’t thinking of the effect that (my actions) would have had on anybody else,” Tutt said. “Being a part of the game, I was thinking about how the people I was associated with would view me at the time. I was just lost.”
Tutt said he left the gang in March 2007.
The shooting was part of a drive-by attack along North Logan Avenue on July 23, 2005. Tutt was also sentenced yesterday for another shooting during the summer of 2005, one that also involved an attack on rival gang members.
Tutt admitted to firing a .30-30 rifle at the home of a member of the Nine Trey Gangsters, another rival gang, on Aug. 27, 2005. He said the gun jammed after he fired one shot. For that incident he was charged with weapons offenses.
Yesterday, Tutt said he was no longer involved with gangs. “I haven’t been involved in the game since then,” Tutt said. “I am going to take responsibility for my actions.”
Tutt will have to serve less than six years in prison before he is eligible for parole, Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier said.
Billmeier warned Tutt that after he is released from prison, he should work hard to “turn away from the street activity and turn away from the gang.”
Tutt has been arrested 14 times and has been convicted on two prior drug charges.
Tutt was charged along with 13 other gang members in July 2010 after an investigation called “Operation Capital City” conducted by the Attorney General’s office, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Trenton police and the State Police. Investigators tapped suspects’ phones and recorded their calls.
During the summer of 2005 three people were killed, including Sharee Voorhees, a young woman who was on her porch when she was caught in the crossfire during a gang shootout.
All but three of the gang members — the gang’s “five star general” Bernard “Petey Black” Green, Curtis “Little Curt” Hawkins, and Bruce “Black Magic” Duette — have entered into negotiated plea agreements with the state. A trial is expected to begin for the three remaining next month.
Billmeier has given Green, Hawkins and Duette until tomorrow to decide if they would like to accept plea agreements or proceed to trial.
At a hearing where Duette appeared in court earlier this week, Deputy Attorney General Daniel Bornstein offered Duette a plea agreement requiring him to admit to conspiracy to commit murder for helping to plan a shooting of rival gang members on July 27, 2005 in return for a 20-year prison sentence.
If Duette were convicted on that count after a trial he would face between 30 years and life in prison.
Bornstein outlined the evidence against Duette and Green for that incident including several recorded phone calls in which the men were allegedly planning a shooting of a group of Crips that had gathered on Logan Avenue.
In approximately 10 recorded phone calls, Duette calls Green to tell him that he wants to take action against the Crips and asked if Green could get him a high capacity weapon to shoot them, Bornstein said.
“He did not want to just do a drive-by and do a couple of shots,” Bornstein said. “He wanted to get as many as possible.”
Christopher Campbell, an attorney representing Duette, declined to comment about the allegations or evidence in the case. He declined to say if his client would enter into a plea agreement with the state when he appears again on Friday.
Bornstein said that although Duette was out of the area and could not get back in time to perform the shooting himself, Green had ordered other gang members to do the shooting.
Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.