The man accused of robbing and fatally bludgeoning an acquaintance at the Morristown train station a week ago had been living in the station for two weeks, and was arrested sleeping on a bench at the station two nights after the incident.
That’s according to a lawyer for Lamar A. Harris, 33, who on Monday sought his release from the Morris County Jail, suggesting other homeless people who frequent the station could be responsible for the crimes.
“It is troubling that Mr. Harris may be detained today when he could simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Public Defender Brittany Calzone, asserting these first-degree charges of murder and robbery are “the dictionary definition of a circumstantial case.”
But Superior Court Judge Thomas Critchley said the risks to public safety, and of Harris fleeing, were too great to let him go.
“We’re talking about a homicide. And we’re dealing with someone who is homeless…I think it would be wrong to release the defendant,” Critchley said at the virtual detention hearing.
He plans another one in two weeks. The judge wants to review business surveillance videos, evidence that is central to the case.
Authorities allege Harris killed “M.P.” with a brick to the head, and robbed him of several hundred dollars.
Morristown Green has learned the victim was Matthew Palla, 60, of Morristown.
PIZZA, A BRICK, AND A VIDEO
The two were seen eating pizza together at the 7-Eleven on Morris Street late on Sunday, March 28, 2021. Palla allegedly produced a wad of $100 bills when he paid the cashier. A cooperating witness who was present at 7-Eleven later helped authorities identify Harris.
Store video shows Harris and Palla leaving 7-Eleven at about 11:23 pm, according to Morris County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Schellhorn. Just over an hour later, around 12:29 am on March 29, law enforcement received 911 calls about a body in a stairwell at the station.
A brick, believed to be taken from the nearby M Station construction site, was near the body. The money was missing. In a sworn statement, a Morris County detective said surveillance videos show Harris following Palla in the direction of the train station, and later, depict a man fitting Harris’ description on Lackawanna Place, running from the station.
But Calzone said there is no video of the killing, no witness, and no fingerprint- or DNA evidence implicating Harris.
Nor was Palla’s cell phone — presumably a prized item for thieves– stolen from his front pants pocket.
Asserting the victim “struggled with severe addiction…did not always live a safe lifestyle, and at times did not keep good company,” the attorney suggested Palla could have spent his money on substances, or misplaced the cash, in the hour between his 7-Eleven departure and the 911 reports of his death.
Or, she speculated, his body could have been robbed by “one of the many homeless individuals who live in that area.”
NJ Transit referred Morristown Green’s questions about the investigation to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. Asked about security and homelessness at the Morristown station, spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said:
“Safety and security is the highest priority of our agency, and NJ Transit reassures our customers that they are safe traveling throughout our transit system.
“Additionally, we have one of the most proactive police outreach programs in the state in assisting homeless and at-risk individuals with accessing needed resources and social services.”
‘TWO DOLLAR BILLS, TWO BAGS OF CHEETOS, TWO PACKS OF GUMMY WORMS’
Although Calzone had not yet seen the 7-Eleven video, she said a still photograph appears to show Harris walking ahead of the victim, not tailing him. She also said it made no sense for Harris to continue staying at the station if he were guilty of a murder there.
“My client was discovered sleeping on a bench, in plain view, at the train station. He was only discovered after a police officer tried to wake him up to inform him he was not allowed to sleep on the bench,” Calzone said.
He had no weapons, drugs, or contraband to indicate he committed a robbery, the defense lawyer said.
“My client was found with two dollar bills, two bags of Cheetos, two packs of gummy worms, a pillow, a blanket, a backpack, and the clothes on his back. That was it.”
Wearing a mask, Harris watched Monday’s proceedings via a video hookup from the jail. He did not speak.
The 2007 Morristown High School graduate has lived locally for 25 years with his mother, a certified health aide; and his brother, who works in mall security, the attorney said.
But she said Harris became homeless about three weeks before the killing.
His family offered to find temporary housing for Harris if he were released from the county lockup to await trial, Calzone said.
She said Harris completed an outpatient program last year at the Willow Tree Center in Morris Plains. Until recently, he held two jobs — as a dishwasher at the Morris View Healthcare Center in Morris Township, and as a maintenance man at Planet Fitness in Morris Plains. And he had kept up with child support payments for his now 19-year-old daughter, Calzone said.
Arguing for Harris’ release, Calzone cited his health issues, without elaborating. She acknowledged a criminal record that includes a theft conviction, three shoplifting convictions, and a probation violation. None of these were violent offenses, she said, and Harris was allowed to continue probation, finishing last month.
When all the details unfold, a jury might find merit in Calzone’s arguments, Judge Critchley said.
But for now, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has pieced together a narrative that “establishes opportunity, motive, and certainly, evidence, that places the charged party at the right place at the right time,” Critchley said.
