Lamont Richardson was resentenced after his attorneys took issue with comments made by a Superior Court judge who initially sentenced Richardson
TRENTON -- A Trenton man who won a resentencing last year for the 2009 slaying of his ex-girlfriend received his new prison term Tuesday, and little changed about his case.
Lamont Richardson Lamont Richardson was resentenced to 60 years in prison - again - Tuesday for strangling Ashle McKinney in the apartment they once shared, in Trenton.
Prosecutors have said Richardson left his and McKinney's 8-month-old child alone in the apartment after the murder.
The 60-year term was basically the same one Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier handed Richardson in 2012.
That sentence stuck for years until Richardson's attorneys learned about comments Billmeier had made in an unrelated case that caused them to appeal his ruling.
In the unrelated case, Billmeier said that he "always," gives defendants who are convicted by a jury of first-degree murder at least a 60-year sentence. The statement caused concern for a Appellate Division panel, who questioned in a ruling whether Billmeier had followed court directives in the Richardson sentencing.
Convicted killer gets 2nd sentencing
In 2015, the appellate court sided with Richardson's attorneys and ordered that the Trenton man be resentenced by a different judge.
Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw was assigned to the case and handed down the new sentence Tuesday.
Richardson's resentencing was held just two months after a similar Trenton murder resentencing, of Patrick McFarlane.
Like Richardson, McFarlane was sentenced to 60 years in prison by Billmeier in 2013 for gunning down Richard Mason in 2008. Also like Richardson, McFarlane was given the same 60-year sentence by Warshaw when he came back to court in August.
Richardson will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman