Authorities said Friday that a former South Jersey man who was wanted for his involvement in the 2020 shooting death of a man during a robbery in Egg Harbor Township had been extradited to New Jersey following his arrest in South Carolina.
At a detention hearing in New Jersey on Friday, officials ordered 32-year-old Steven Huff to be kept. He is accused of murder.
Huff was wanted for his role in the attempted robbery that resulted in the shooting murder of Arturo Barrera III, a 24-year-old man. Two other guys were previously convicted for their roles in the deadly heist.
Due to his involvement in the shooting, Neco J. Pitts, 31, is currently incarcerated in a state prison for 15 years. Correctional records indicate that he entered a guilty plea to aggravated manslaughter.
According to court documents, Leonard B. Ludwigsen Jr., 30, of Egg Harbor Township, entered a guilty plea to counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and weapons in exchange for the dismissal of a murder allegation.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office verified Friday that Huff was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in early June. According to a criminal complaint, he lives in Spartanburg.
The Atlantic County Public Defender’s Office, which represents Huff, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As previously reported, witnesses claimed that on January 2, 2020, two masked gunmen broke into Barrera’s residence on Vermont Avenue.
An statement of probable cause states that witnesses named Pitts and Huff as the gunmen. Huff was enlisted by Pitts to assist in the heist. According to a witness, Pitts requested that they take Huff to the location where he and Ludwigsen were getting ready for the heist.
According to court documents, Huff’s case will have a pre-indictment hearing in late September.
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