Man Sentenced in Fatal Shooting of Newark Detective

A northern New Jersey man has been sentenced to 39 years in prison for the fatal shooting of an off-duty Newark police detective during a 2011 robbery outside a Paterson strip-club.

The Record newspaper reports Jerome Wright was sentenced Tuesday in Paterson in a courtroom packed with police officers.

The 25-year-old Newark resident pleaded guilty in May to aggravated manslaughter and other counts in the death of 32-year-old Michael Morgan.

Passaic County prosecutors say Morgan was at the Paterson club for a friend's party. Morgan was walking a dancer to her car when Wright tried to rob them.

Wright's girlfriend and accomplice, Nashali Gadson of Newark, was also sentenced Tuesday. She was given a 10-year prison term after earlier pleading guilty to armed robbery charges.

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