The trial of Andre Higgs, 45, concluded with a guilty conviction by an Essex County jury. Higgs was convicted of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, and hindering prosecution.
The incident occurred on May 1, 2015, when Andre Higgs, of Watchung murdered Latrena May, 27, the mother of his four year old daughter and a teacher at Pride Academy Charter School.
On the morning of the murder, Higgs and May were arguing on the front porch of May’s home. A police car was driving by and May signaled for the cop’s attention. The officer, Kemon Lee, pulled over and approached with his gun un-holstered. When Lee took out his gun, Higgs then also produced a gun and shot at May three times and the officer returned the shooting, getting Higgs in the leg before he ran inside the house.
There was then a two-hour standoff where Higgs refused to emerge and more officers arrived but were cautious given the pair’s young daughter was in the house as well. The victim was later taken to the hospital and pronounced dead and Higgs was arrested.
During the trial, the defense attempted to prove the situation had been escalated by Officer Lee and gun used in the murder had originally belonged to May herself.
Higgs is scheduled for sentencing on September 7 before Judge Ronald Wigler. He could face 30 years to life. Higgs has a list of previous convictions for which he has served prison time, including gun charges, drug charges, and assault charges.
Tags: Essex County, Homicide
Photo: Victim Latrena May, taken from Facebook
