He said he was away when advocate was killed. Surveillance showed otherwise, court docs say. – NJ.com

The man accused of killing Newark education advocate Johnnie Lattner told police he had been out of town when authorities suspect the murder occurred, but surveillance showed otherwise, court records obtained by NJ Advance Media say.

Joshua Wise, 28, called 911 to report an injured person and greeted police at Lattner’s Mt. Pleasant Avenue apartment on Aug. 17. Authorities say everything Wise originally told them was a ruse, according to the court complaint.

Lattner was a co-founder of Parents Unified for Local School Education (PULSE), a non-profit that advocated for students and parents in Newark. His group helped file a civil rights complaint in 2014 that claimed school closings in Newark proposed under then-Superintendent Cami Anderson’s administration discriminated against African American students. He also unsuccessfully ran for Newark school board in 2018.

“Johnnie felt like the only way kids are going to survive is if their parents are involved in their educational experience,” said Yolanda Johnson, who worked with him and considered him a mentor. “And Johnnie wanted the best. He wanted the best educational experience. He wanted future doctors. He wanted future lawyers. He wanted future successful children.”

Lattner was most recently working on a parents bill of rights and was a strong advocate for community schools in Newark. He moved to Jersey City from North Carolina around 1983 and worked at Snyder High School as a security guard, according to his obituary and Johnson.

“He was a loving person who loved everyone that he met,” his obituary read, which also explained he had no children of his own. “Johnnie had a smile that would light up a room. You could always find Johnnie with a pen and pad. Because of this, the kids called him ’Mr. Clipboard.’”

Wise told police that Lattner, 55, was his uncle and that he lived with him at the apartment, the court complaint says. Wise explained to cops at the scene that he had been away from Aug. 13 and returned to the apartment on Aug. 17 and smelled a foul odor when he came home.

While no suspected murder weapon is indicated in the complaint, it says an autopsy determined that Lattner died from sharp force injuries to his chest and extremities. Apparent defensive wounds were also found, the complaint says.

Lattner’s cousin later told law enforcement she had a key to his one-bedroom apartment and checked on it Aug. 18 after she learned of his death. She told authorities that she was greeted by Wise and another unidentified man in the apartment, the complaint says.

She didn’t know who Wise was. Wise told her that he was a friend of Lattner’s and that he had been staying in the apartment since March, the complaint says.

The cousin told the two men to leave and asked Wise for the key to the apartment. Wise left carrying a small bag. She tried to fit the key in the door, but it didn’t fit, the complaint says.

She told police that Lattner would frequently post on social media, but his posts stopped on Aug. 13.

Detectives obtained surveillance footage from Lattner’s building that showed Wise going into the apartment at approximately 10:30 pm. on Aug. 12 and leaving about a minute later. He’s observed entering and exiting the apartment several more times for about 25 minutes. He was seen going inside the apartment the last time detectives say they saw Wise that day in surveillance video, the complaint says.

Wise was seen leaving the apartment on Aug. 15 in the morning carrying two garbage bags and he returned four minutes later without them. Wise gave a statement to authorities on Sept. 2 saying he didn’t see Lattner between Aug. 13 and 17 because he spent the weekend with his girlfriend, the complaint says.

Authorities confronted Wise while he gave his statement with video stills they say contradicted his account about being away for the weekend. He then admitted he was home all weekend, but did not know what happened to Lattner, the complaint said.

No one else entered or exited the apartment between Aug. 12 and 17, authorities wrote in the complaint.

A detention hearing for Wise is scheduled for Wednesday.

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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.