After a five-day trial, a jury found McFarlane, 24, of Trenton, guilty of murdering 44-year-old Richard Mason.
Patrick McFarlane TRENTON — Patrick McFarlane was found guilty yesterday of killing a man who was playing dice and robbing him as he lay dying in on a city street in 2008.
After a five-day trial, a jury found McFarlane, 24, of Trenton, guilty of murder, felony murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon in the death of Richard Mason, a 44-year-old construction worker from Bordentown.
McFarlane, known on the street as “Taz,” had only been out of jail for a few months when he armed himself with a silver revolver and decided to raid a dice game with Roderick Armstrong, 25, prosecutors said during trial this week.
Mason decided to play a game of dice on the corner of New Willow Street and Kirkbride Avenue before he headed home for the day on May 4, 2008. He called his wife, Tammy, to let her know he would soon be on his way home.
One witness the prosecution brought forward this week said that he had played dice with Mason many times, and when he saw the game going on as he drove by, he decided to play.
After playing for about 15 to 30 minutes, the witness saw two men wearing hoodies walking down the street toward the dice game. He realized that one of the men was McFarlane, whom the witness knew, but the group did not react to the two men before they arrived at the corner.
“Nobody move,” McFarlane said when he arrived, according to the witness. There was a moment of pause before McFarlane pulled out his revolver. Then everybody ran, the witness said.
As he ran for his car, the witness said he saw from the side of his vision that McFarlane was chasing after Mason who was running across New Willow Street. Then he saw, and heard, the first shot. He said he was startled by it and dropped his keys.
When he turned around to pick them up, the witness said, he saw the two men robbing Mason and saw him get shot again.
Mason was clearly robbed of the cash he was holding in his hand from the dice game, the witness said, but he could not tell what McFarlane and Armstrong took off of his body.
Medical personnel arrived and tried to save Mason’s life, but he died that night. Assistant Prosecutor Jim Scott showed Mason’s two blood-soaked T-shirts as evidence in the trial.
Scott also focused on a teardrop tattoo that McFarlane received after the murder. Multiple witnesses said that McFarlane got his tattoo as a sign he had “caught a body,” specifically Mason’s.
Armstrong, the detectives and medical examiner involved in the case, and various people who were around the scene of the crime all testified this week.
In closing arguments, Scott made the case that their testimony proved McFarlane was the shooter. McFarlane’s attorney, Steven Slaven, argued that the key witnesses all had criminal records and that there was no other evidence to build a case. Scott argued that all of the witnesses testimonies supported the same story line, and that a criminal record did not make them liars.
“Yea, he’s a drug dealer,” Scott said. “But that doesn’t mean he’s lying,” referring to a witness.
The jury asked to rehear the testimony of three witnesses and spent yesterday morning doing so. They deliberated for about an hour after that, before they came back with their verdict, finding McFarlane guilty on all counts.
McFarlane is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier in September and faces at least 30 years in prison.
Contact Brendan McGrath at (609)989-5731 or at bmcgrath@njtimes.com.
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