Murder Suspect, Involved in '09 Bloomfield Robbery, Says Cousin Pulled the Trigger

A Newark man pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in a string of armed robberies across the county in early 2009, but said his cousin and co-defendant was responsible for the shooting death of one of the robbery victims.

David Fate, 26, was accused with his cousin, Raymond Perry, 45, of killing Verona gas station attendant David Pritchard in February, 2009. Fate said Wednesday in Newark Superior Court that his cousin was responsible for the shooting, officials confirmed today.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Cheryl Cucinello said Fate will be sentenced June 24 at Superior Court in Newark. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will likely be sentenced to 28 years in prison. He was initially facing a life term.

Pritchard, a graduate of Verona High School, was working at the Sunoco gas station located at 195 Pompton Ave. on Feb. 22, 2009 when police say Fate and Perry attempted to rob him at gunpoint. Pritchard was shot and killed in the exchange. The incident marked the township's first homicide with a handgun in more than 30 years, Verona Police Chief Doug Huber said.

Perry and Fate were arrested in March of 2009, and charged with dozens of felony counts each including murder.

The men used stolen cars in a string of armed robberies across the county between Jan. 23 and Feb. 22, 2009. Cucinello said the men robbed laundromats in Irvington and Montclair, a deli in Bloomfield, a dry cleaner in East Orange and gas stations in Bloomfield and Verona. The men are said to have used a .25-caliber automatic pistol in the robberies.

Cucinello said Perry will have a status conference to review his case on Feb. 24, and that his trial is set to begin on April 5 before Judge Michael Petrolle at Newark Superior Court.