Trial set in death of N.J. boy, 14

A man accused of firing blindly into a Lindenwold apartment, killing a 14-year-old boy asleep on the couch, backed out of a plea deal in federal court in Camden yesterday. Derrick Jones, 27, said he would rather go to trial despite the possibility that he could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors and the defense had drafted an agreement for Jones to plead guilty to federal charges from New Jersey and Virginia, where he was accused of illegally buying a firearm.

Now, Jones must go to Virginia to face trial on the weapons charges. In the meantime, federal prosecutors in Camden said they would seek to indict Jones in the death of Barry "Reese" Robertson, the boy killed by a stray bullet on Aug. 29, 2005.

The U.S. attorney general could authorize prosecutors to seek the death penalty on that charge.

The shooting happened over a drug dispute, prosecutors said. Jones had been released from prison in early 2005, and he quickly formed a gang dubbed "OGM," or "Organization to Get Money," authorities said.

He intended to take over drug trafficking in the Arborwood Apartments, where the boy lived with his aunt, Thelma "Rochelle" Robertson, prosecutors said.

Jones and Thelma Robertson argued in July 2005 because she refused to sell marijuana under his direction, prosecutors said.

A short time later, Jones and his girlfriend were assaulted by masked men waiting for them at their Clementon apartment. The assailants were arrested in a car owned and driven by Thelma Robertson's boyfriend, court papers said.

After the assaults, Jones went to Virginia, where his sister attended college, and had her purchase a .45-caliber handgun and a box of ammunition, authorities said. He smuggled the gun back to New Jersey in a diaper bag while riding the bus.

Jones then told other members of OGM that he planned to shoot Thelma Robertson and get back his "street creds," according to a criminal complaint.

Shots were fired into Robertson's first-floor apartment around 4:25 the next morning. At least six people were living there.

Barry Robertson was asleep on a fold-out couch in the living room when a bullet tore through his arm, face and chest.

The boy had grown up in Camden, but family members said he went to live with his aunt to escape the violence of his hometown.

His mother, a judge said yesterday, works as a janitor in the federal courthouse in Camden.