FREEHOLD – A Newark man was found guilty by a Monmouth County jury for the attempted murder and robbery of a Freehold man during a home invasion in 2011, officials said.
Richard Busby, 61, was found guilty of felony murder for the shooting of 42-year old Michael Conway during a home invasion on May 14, 2011. Busby was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Cheri Plamondon, Conway’s girlfriend, and charged with two counts of second-degree robbery; he was acquitted of 15 other offenses related to the home invasion.
Busby is facing 30 years to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for November.
Busby’s defense attorney called the verdict “inconsistent,” noting that he is considering filing for a new trial.
The trial, before Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon, revealed that there were two other accomplices to the murder and home invasion, as stated by assistant Monmouth County prosecutors Sean Brennan and Lawrence Nelson.
The county prosecutors stated that 54-year old Jeffrey Mayhue, also of Newark, was involved in the home invasion. Mayhue is currently serving 30 years in prison after admitting to the fatal shooting of Conway.
The other accomplice was 41-year old Ellis Goodson of Neptune, who allegedly drove Busby and Mayhue to the home on Jackson Mills Road. Goodson and another accomplice, Ranu Sinha, 38 of Freehold, are currently awaiting sentencing for armed robbery.
According to county prosecutors, Busby was inside the home when Conway was shot. He allegedly engaged in a struggle with Conway, placing both Conway’s blood and Busby’s DNA from an adhesive bandage on a glove found in Conway’s abandoned vehicle.
Mayhue also attempted to murder Plamondon by setting the home on fire, as she was a witness to the crime, said prosecutors. Plamondon reportedly escaped through a window.
