Two Newark, N.J. Men To Appear In Federal Court, Charged With Armed Carjackings

NEWARK, N.J. – Two Essex County, N.J., men arrested in connection with two gunpoint carjackings and an attempted carjacking in December 2012 are expected to make their initial appearances today in Newark federal court, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jamie Manning, 28, and Corey Thermitus, 21, both of Newark, are each charged in a superseding complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence and intimidation (carjacking); two counts of carjacking; and one count of attempted carjacking. Additionally, Thermitus is charged with one count of discharging of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and Manning is charged with one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Manning and Thermitus are scheduled to appear this afternoonbefore U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson.
 
Manning was arrested on Jan. 5, 2013, and has been in custody in Essex County since that time; he was taken into federal custody today to face these charges. Thermitus has been in custody since his arrest by Newark police officers on Dec. 29, 2012, and was previously charged by federal complaint with offenses related to a carjacking he allegedly committed the previous day. A superseding complaint charging both men was recently filed in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

During the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 2012, Manning and Thermitus approached two individuals entering a parked 2002, four-door Nissan Altima on a street in Newark. Manning pointed a firearm at one of the victims and both Manning and Thermitus ordered the victims to get out of the car. After robbing and threatening the victims, Manning and Thermitus fled the area in the carjacked vehicle.

On Dec. 28, 2012, Thermitus approached an individual sitting in a 2011, four-door Honda Accord that was parked in the driveway of a home in Newark. Thermitus pointed a firearm at the victim and ordered the victim to get out of the car. After threatening to shoot the victim, Thermitus, Manning and another man fled the area in the victim’s car.

Later that night, Thermitus, Manning and a third man drove in the carjacked Honda Accord to a residential area in Newark. Thermitus and Manning approached two individuals, one of whom was a young child, who were sitting in a parked 2006, four-door Nissan Pathfinder in the driveway of a residence. Thermitus pointed a gun at the driver of the vehicle while Manning approached the rear passenger side of the vehicle, but the driver managed to escape in the car. As the assailants fled in the Honda Accord, Thermitus fired a gun in the direction of an individual who had come outside of a residence to investigate.

The conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. The carjacking and attempted carjacking counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The charge of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. The charge of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; and the Newark Police Department, under the leadership of Director Samuel A. DeMaio and Chief Sheilah A. Coley with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dara Aquila Govan of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the superseding complaint are merely accusations and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
           
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Defense counsel:

Corey Thermitus: Assistant Federal Public Defender Peter Carter, Newark
Jamie Manning: Frank Arleo Esq., West Orange, N.J..

Thermitus, Corey and Manning, Jamie Superseding Complaint