A New Jersey man will spend the rest of his life in prison over the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend outside her home as she tried to flag down a police officer for help.
Andre Higgs, 53, was convicted in December by a jury in Essex County for the 2015 murder of 27-year-old Latrena May, a teacher at Pride Academy Charter School in East Orange. Higgs and May were previously in a relationship.
On Friday, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison on the murder charge in addition to 20 years in prison for related weapons charges.
The shooting took place late on the night of May 1, 2015, following an argument between Higgs and May outside her residence on Tremont Avenue in East Orange.
"The shooting occurred after May ran from her home to escape an attack by Higgs and flagged down a police vehicle," prosecutors explained in a press release. "As East Orange Detective Kemon Lee exited his vehicle and approached, Higgs fired multiple shots at May."
The detective returned fire and hit the killer in the legs. Then, Higgs retreated back into May's house where the victim's 4-year-old daughter was still asleep. After barricading himself inside the residence, he was eventually arrested.
Higgs was originally sentenced to life in prison in 2017 following a trial and conviction for May's murder. But that sentence was overturned by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2023, which granted him a new trial.
In the ruling, the justices found that defense attorneys should have been granted access to Lee's "internal affairs file, which included prior incidents of the officer firing his weapon while on duty" and should have been able to question the detective about those prior incidents.
However, the second trial also resulted in Higgs' conviction on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, first-degree unlawful possession of a handgun by a person who has previously been convicted of a crime under the No Early Release Act, and second-degree certain persons not to have weapons.
