Jury wipes smile off the face of man who witnesses saw laughing after robbery-gone-bad left taxi driver, a father of 4, dead – NJ.com

An Essex County jury on Friday convicted a man in the robbery-turned-killing of a cab driver and father of four, who was found shot in his crashed taxi more than two years ago.

Following a one-month trial, Sheedley Pierre was found guilty on all six counts, including felony murder, robbery, conspiracy and using a 14-year-old boy in the holdup that led to the slaying of 55-year-old Jonas Larose, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced.

“Mr. Larose was a hardworking family man who was simply trying to make an honest living when his life was taken by Pierre and the juvenile. While there is nothing we can do to bring him back to his family members, hopefully, the jury’s verdict will give them some sense of justice,’’ said Jason Goldberg, an Essex County assistant prosecutor who tried the case.

Pierre and the juvenile called for a cab Nov. 30, 2016, and when Larose arrived they pulled a gun to rob the driver, according to prosecutors. Witnesses heard popping sounds and police later discovered Larose shot twice in his damaged taxi on Snyder Street in Orange.

Witnesses heard the assailants, who ran off before taking any cash, laughing and saying they just killed the taxi driver, officials said.

Pierre, of Orange, gave a statement to homicide detectives admitting being at the crime scene and that he knew there would be a robbery, but claimed he wasn’t involved, according to the prosecutor’s office.

DNA from a bloody jacket also linked the victim to Pierre. Investigators said they recovered Facebook messages between Pierre and his juvenile accomplice after the murder.

Larose, a native of Haiti who lived in East Orange, came to the United States in 1992 “for a better life,” his obituary stated.

“I do not know what words that I can use to describe my father. The person that I am today is because he had done a lot for me,” one of his children was quoted as saying in the obituary. “My father was and remains my hero; my rock, my best friend and a life without him didn’t seem possible.”

Officials said the 14-year-old was previously sentenced to 10 years. His name was not released because he was tried as a juvenile.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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