Plea Near in Hackensack Roommate Beating Death
By Mary K. Miraglia
HACKENSACK, N.J. (March 20, 2017) — Progress is finally happening in the case of a Hackensack man who was charged with murder after his roommate was found in a closet suffering from severe injuries March 6, 2014.
Paul Cali had been in the closet for at least 13 hours when he was found, grievously injured, and taken to Hackensack University Medical Center. The 41-year old died a week later.
Police arrested 29-year old Clayton Robinson in the Bronx after Cali was found, and the charges were upgraded to murder after he died.
Senior Assistant Homicide Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer told Judge Christopher Kazlau Monday that a change in attorneys has produced productive talks in moving toward a plea agreement. She said before defense attorney Ilene McFarland came into the case, “We were too far apart to make an agreement. But since Ms. McFarland has been involved, negotiations have been more productive. I am now looking at a sentence in the lower range of the charge, which is to say 10 to 15 years.”
McFarland, a senior member of the Public Defender’s office, said she wants a specific plea offer before she commits to a deal. She also said she believes 10 years is more appropriate under the circumstances.
Judge Christopher Kazlau explained to Robinson that if convicted at a trial, he could face as much as 30 years in state prison. “That’s 30 years with 30 in. Do you understand that?” Robinson said he did.
Grootenboer told Kazlau she needs time to discuss the new offer with Cali’s sister and brother-in-law.
“I just received the counteroffer minutes ago,” she said. Cali’s family has attended previous court hearings, but she said his parents no longer live in the area.
At the time of Robinson’s arrest, authorities said he had viciously beaten Cali and hidden him in the closet. But, McFarland told Attorney Weekly, thorough testing by the medical examiner has shown that although Robinson did hit Cali, the fight may have had less to do with Cali’s death than originally thought.
“When autopsy results were examined, Cali has brain injuries that developed over a period of time from heavy drug use,” McFarland said. “So while my client did beat him up, the status of his health was already very precarious and it’s not at all conclusive that the injuries from Mr. Robinson killed him.”
Kazlau set April 24 at 9 a.m. for Robinson’s next court hearing, and said he hopes the case can be resolved then. If it goes to trial, the attorneys agreed the only pending motion will be a Miranda hearing. Kazlau said if there is no agreement April 24, he will move the case to trial.
Robinson has been in the Bergen County Jail on $2 million bail since March 17, 2014.
