Kingston murder suspects convicted on all counts (video)

Trevor 'Little T' Mattis, left, and Gary 'G-Money' Griffin are led to a police van in the Ulster County Courthouse parking lot on Friday after being convicted of murder. Freeman photo by Tania Barricklo

KINGTSON -- Trevor "Little T" Mattis and Gary "G-Money" Griffin were convicted of first degree-murder and numerous other charges on Friday in the February 2010 gangland killing of Charles "C.J." King Jr.

The three-man, nine-woman jury delivered its verdicts just before 4 p.m., about 4-1/2 hours after beginning deliberations in Ulster County Court.

Mattis, 23, was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, intimidating a witness, witness tampering and two counts of weapons possession, all felonies.

Authorities say Mattis fatally shot King, 21, on Feb. 9, 2010, with a gun supplied by Griffin and that the hit was retaliation for King testisfying against Mattis' brother, Jarrin "Phat Boy" Rankin, in a previous shooting case.

The King killing occurred outside a deli on Cedar Street in Midtown Kingston.

Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright, who prosecuted the defendants, talks about the case in a video here:

Judge Donald A. Williams said he will sentence Griffin and Mattis on May 6. Each man faces a maximum term of life in prison without parole.

The two defendants -- who District Attorney Holley Carnright has said are members of the Bloods-affiliated street gang Sex Money Murder -- showed no emotion as the verdicts were read.

Relatives of Mattis and King wept as the jury foreman said "guilty" after the court clerk read each of the six charges against each of the men.

Griffin didn't speak as he was led from the courtroom, but Mattis mouthed "call me" to one of his relatives, thanked his attorney and congratulated Carnright. He then turned to King's family and said, "I apologize if you feel I did anything. My condolences."

Mattis' father, who's first name also is Trevor, twice attempted to address the judge. But when Williams wouldn't allow it, the man looked across the courtroom to where Kingston police Detective Eric Van Allen was sitting and called over to him, "Van Allen -- love you, man."

Mattis' family blames Van Allen for King's death, saying the detective broadcast to the community that King ratted out Rankin for a November 2009 shooting in Midtown Kingston.

"The real triggerman is Van Allen," said Mattis' sister, Sylvia Mattis. "That boy (King) was a confidential informant, and Eric Van Allen released that boy's name knowing the magnitude of this case."

On Nov. 21, 2009, Curtis Williams, who authorities have said is a member of the Crips street gang, fired a shotgun at a group of people on Henry Street that included Rankin and King. Rankin, who authorities say is a member of the Bloods, drew a gun and fired back, striking Williams in the face.

After Rankin was arrested on weapons charges, King testified against him before a grand jury and was expected to be a prosecution witness against Rankin when the case went to trial.

Van Allen declined to comment after the verdicts were announced on Friday, but Carnright said blaming Van Allen for King's death "is such an inappropriate comment for them to make."

"There is one person who killed C.J. King and that is Trevor Mattis, with the aid of another individual, Gary Griffin," Carnright said.

Carnright said the killing of King was an "execution."

During the trial, Carnright painted the killing as a gang-sanctioned hit because, he said, King violated the gang's "code of silence."

Carnright said Rankin orchestrated the hit from behind bars, using Dametria "Meatie" Kelley as an intermediary between him and other gang members.

Carnright said another woman, Amanda "Blazer Bitch" Miller, traveled to the state prison in Coxsackie to seek aid of Bloods member Ashton "Ashmatic" Dixon, in arranging the hit. Prosecutors say Dixon was high enough up the gang's chain of command to reach out to those in the gang who had authority to order such ah a hit.

On the witness stand, Miller testified that she drove Mattis to the Cedar Street deli, where he met King minutes before shooting him twice. King was shot once in the arm and once in the back of the head.

Kelley and Miller both were charged in connection with King's death, but in exchange for their testimony, Carnright agreed to drop the charges against Kelley and promise Miller only county jail time.

"I can only hope we've sent a message here," Carnright said after Griffin and Mattis were convicted. "A year ago, the attitude of Sex Money Murder is that they were above the law. They felt they could execute a prosecution witness and get away with it."

He said charges against others involved in King's shooting, including Rankin and Rondy "Ski" Russ, are still pending.

On Friday, as Williams was explaining to the jury the charges against Mattis and Griffin, the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team arrested Cynthia M. Pompey, 42, of 3 Garraghan Drive, Kingston, and charged her with the felony intimidating a victim or witness. Authorities said Pompey, who was in the courtroom on Tuesday, made threatening gestures toward a witness on the stand. They did not identify the witness, but that was the second day that Kelley testified.