NJ Man Sentenced For Roadside Killing Of Freehold Woman

Freehold NJ

03 May, 2022

3:07 PM

Description

FREEHOLD, NJ — The Mercer County man who fatally shot a Freehold woman along a state highway in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Tuesday. Kader Mustafa, 40, of Hightstown will not be eligible for parole until he reaches the age of 104, under the provisions of New Jersey's No Early Release Act and the terms set down Monday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano, Jr. Mustafa shot and killed 24-year-old Sciasia Calhoun on May 3, 2018, along Route 33 West near the exit ramp for Halls Mill Road, police said. The Freehold Township Police Department responded to a 911 call from a vehicle parked on Route 33. Officers arrived to find Calhoun, who had a single gunshot wound to the head, as well as her boyfriend and 1-year-old daughter, who were both unharmed. Calhoun was taken to nearby CentraState Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead approximately one hour later, police said. An investigation revealed that Mustafa was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Impala when he fired a single shot at Calhoun after following her vehicle for several minutes and colliding with its rear bumper at one point, Linskey said. Mustafa was apprehended at his cousin's residence in Manalapan at approximately 8:10 a.m. the morning after the shooting when two handguns were recovered from the vehicle, police said. "This was completely random," Falcetano said. "I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe it." "The defendant chose to randomly fire a shot and randomly kill a 24-year-old who had done absolutely nothing to him," said MCPO Director of Investigations Christopher Decker, who represented the State at sentencing. "There's nothing more depraved or heinous." Monday's sentencing followed a multi-week trial that concluded in Oct. 2021, when the jury convicted Mustafa of all six charges against him: first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and two counts of third-degree endangering another person. Thank you for reading! Have a news tip, correction or comment? Email [email protected]. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter here.