New details emerge in killing of Fort Drum NY soldier in Byram NJ njherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from njherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New Jersey Herald
It was supposed to be a simple exchange of vehicles between the two Army soldiers in upstate New York: Hayden Harris Ford Mustang for Jamaal Mellish s Chevrolet Silverado.
But the transaction outside Fort Drum last month quickly went awry, prosecutors said on Wednesday: Mellish, they said, pulled a handgun and gave it to his girlfriend s 16-year-old brother, who was also at the meeting. The 20-year-old Harris was forced into the backseat of Mellish s truck and bound and gagged while the teen aimed a silver and black pistol to his head, authorities said.
After a nearly 4½-hour, 275-mile trek to the south, Harris was allegedly pulled out of the truck in a dark, empty cul-de-sac at the end of Ross Road in Byram Township. Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 19, prosecutors said, Mellish shot his fellow soldier in the head, then left his body partially buried in the snow.