Four others are already serving jail terms.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The last remaining defendant in the Divyendu Sinha trial has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars for his role in the unprovoked assault nearly four years ago.
Steven Contreras was sentenced by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz, after a long litigation process that has already sent Contreras’s four co-conspirators to jail for stints ranging from six months to 15 years. Contreras, the only sober person on the night of the attack, drove the getaway car, was acquitted of several harsher charges in 2012, but was still convicted on a handful of assault charges that ultimately landed him more than a decade in prison.
On June 25, 2010, Sinha, 49, was taking a late-night walk with his two sons and wife when he was accosted by Contreras and four other young men: Christopher Conway, Julian Daley, Cash Johnson, and Christian Tinli. The men, for no apparent reason, attacked Sinha, who was punched in the head during the assault. His two sons also received minor bruises, while his wife, Alka, was not harmed.
Sinha, who worked as a computer scientist for Siemens Corporation, was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, but succumbed to his injuries three days later. The four youths were subsequently located and arrested by law enforcement. Last year, Conway was sentenced to a seven-year prison term, while Johnson and Tinli received six months each for the minor assaults on Sinha’s sons. Daley was sentenced in November to 15 years behind bars.
Contreras’s trial was considerably more eventful than those of his cohorts, however. In May of 2012, Contreras was acquitted of the two most serious charges he was facing, murder and aggravated manslaughter, but was convicted of several smaller assault charges. In November of that year, Contreras agreed to a plea deal, which stipulated that if Contreras agreed to testify against the four others involved in the crime, his maximum sentence would be mitigated to just four years.
Contreras agreed to the deal, but Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet later asked prosecutors and the judge to repeal the deal, because evidence surfaced that Contreras lied under oath and thus breached the terms of the plea bargain.
Kubieret told local media that he was pleased with the outcome of the trial, saying Contreras deserved the harshest penalty possible. Contreras’ lawyer, Carlos Diaz-Cobo, tried to show that his client was a good kid who made a mistake, and should be let off with a low sentence.
Alka Sinha, the deceased’s wife, said in November that she could never forgive any of the young men for their crime, saying that they have needlessly robbed her of a husband, and her sons of a father.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com