Lawyer for a woman charged with killing her friend argued her bail should be lowered
UPDATE: Monmouth County judge reduces bail for Long Branch murder suspect
ELIZABETH -- A woman charged with attempting to gun down a Linden woman last November, and then with killing the victim in Long Branch earlier this year had conspired to hire a killer, according to documents filed in court.
Jennifer Sweeney, 33, was scheduled to appear in Superior Court Wednesday for a first appearance on charges of attempting to kill Tyrita Julius, 41, and her 15-year-old daughter, who were shot as they got into their car in Linden last November.
Sweeney is also charged, along with co-defendant Andre Harris, 32, with killing Julius, whose body was found buried behind Harris' home in Long Branch. Harris also faces attempted murder charges for the earlier shooting of Julius and her daughter in Linden.
Technical glitches prevented Sweeney from appearing in court but her lawyer, Edward Bertucio, agreed to have the hearing without his client being present.
Court papers state that Sweeney and Harris conspired to kill Julius last November.
The defendants "engaged in conduct in an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime (of murder)," according to complaints filed for the arrest warrants for Sweeney and Harris.
Bertucio entered not guilty pleas to the charges against Sweeney and argued for her bail to be lowered from $500,000 to $250,000.
He said police "have statements from two or three witnesses who were with my client at the time both of the incidents (in Linden and Long Branch) occurred."
Sweeney, according to the lawyer, was a close friend of Julius and was 'shocked' by her killing. The defendant cooperated with police during the investigation of the Linden shooting and cooperated with investigators after Julius was reported missing, the lawyer said.
The lawyer said his client has no prior criminal record, is a college graduate, was working full time for Comcast prior to her arrest and was living with her mother.
Union County Assistant Prosecutor Jill O'Malley countered that Sweeney faces two counts of attempted murder.
"This is not one charge. She is charged of the attempted murder of Tyrita Julius and the attempted murder of Tyrita Julius' 15-year-old daughter," O'Malley said.
Judge Brenda Coppola Cuba left the bail at $500,000.
Bertucio, when asked after the hearing to describe Sweeney's relationship with Julius, said simply "close friends." Julius' friends and family said Sweeney and Julius met through a local motorcycle club and that Sweeney was a regular at the Julius home.
Several relatives of Julius were present for the court hearing, including one woman wearing a black T-shirt with the words "Team Tyrita." The relatives declined to comment after the hearing.
Authorities say that on Nov. 25, Julius and her daughter were getting into their car in front of their home on Middlesex Street in Linden about 7 p.m. when a man walked up to the passenger side, exchanged a few words and then pulled out a gun and shot the mother and daughter.
Both the mother and daughter were taken to area hospitals where they were treated for wounds and later released.
Then in March, Julius was reported missing, having last been seen at the Long Branch train station. Julius had been expected to return home on March 8, but never arrived.
On Aug. 17, authorities announced that Sweeney and Harris had been arrested and charged with killing Julius, and that the victim's body was found buried in the backyard of Harris' home on Joline Avenue in Long Branch.
On Thursday, a Superior Court judge in Monmouth County reduced Sweeney's bail on the murder charge from $1.5 million to $1.25 million. This is separate from the bail in Union County.
Harris is scheduled to appear in court in Elizabeth on Friday for the attempted murder charges.
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.