New Trial For Beverly Man Accused In 2016 Florence Shooting Death, Superior Court Says

CAMDEN, NJ — A new trial was ordered for a Beverly man found guilty in 2018 of aggravated manslaughter, three judges on New Jersey's Superior Court ruled on Wednesday.

Anthony Harris based his appeal in the 2016 shooting death of Ronald Walker on several factors. Based on court documents Patch obtained, some of those factors were:

• "The court erred when it failed to grant the defendant's motion for a judgment of acquittal."
• "The trial court committed reversible error when it failed to instruct the jury what was and was not evidence, and as a consequence of the court's error the jury clearly considered prejudicial information that was not evidence which should have resulted in a mistrial."
• "The numerous omissions of critical components of the jury's instructions diverted the jury's focus from the pitfall and gaps in the state's case and deprived [Harris] of his right to a fair trial."
• "On two occasions the court allowed the state to impeach its own witnesses with prior inconsistent statements without conducting a hearing outside the presence of the jury ... thus depriving [Harris] his constitutional right to a fair trial."

Prior to these recent legal developments, it had taken two trials for Harris to be found guilty on charges stemming from the death of Ronald Walker, officials said.

A jury in late 2018 found Harris guilty of aggravated assault, according to officials.

That trial was Harris' second trial in connection with Walker's death, according to officials, since a jury in early 2018 could not return a unanimous verdict on a charge of murder against Harris, according to officials.

Harris was arrested in connection with Walker's death on May 23, 2017, approximately nine months after Walker died from a gunshot wound to the chest on Sept. 21, 2016, officials said.

This story also contains reporting by Anthony Bellano.

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