The deaths of a father and son had far more connection than a name and a family bond. Sadly, both were gunned down in New Jersey.
Demond Tally was a mourning father when he was fatally shot on Feb. 10, 2019, after picking up the cell phone he left at the home of best friend, Mayor Marty Small.
He was just doors away from his own home. .
His son, Demond Cottman, had been killed more than two years earlier, as he waited with other Black Friday shoppers outside the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing early Nov. 25, 2016.
Three men were sentenced Wednesday for their involvement in the murders.
Steven Martinez, 31, of Egg Harbor City; Shiraz Khan, 36, from Bergen County, and Deshawn Hose, 28, of Atlantic City, were sentenced in Superior Court for their involvement in a racketeering organization operating throughout Atlantic County between 2016 and 2020.
Each defendant previously entered guilty pleas before the court with sentencing pending until all codefendants had resolved their respective cases.
“These convictions follow a several-years-long investigation into the murders,” according the the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
Co-defendant Shamar Scott went to trial in March, and was found guilty of being one of the shooters hired by Martinez to kill Tally.
Hose admitted to providing a gun and assisting in locating Tally on the night of the 2019 murder.
Khan was not believed to be involved in either murder but pleaded guilty to acting as a leader of the drug trafficking network, as well as paying a corrections officer to smuggle contraband into the Atlantic County Justice Facility during his incarceration on drug-related charges.
Cottman, 21, was a new husband and father when he died after 1 a.m. Nov. 25, 2016, the day after Thanksgiving. His brother Shadi Cottman also was wounded.
Martinez used a GPS monitor hidden on Cottman's vehicle to track his victim, BreakingAC previously reported from the affidavit of probable cause. It was retaliation because Martinez believed Cottman robbed him that Aug. 25, the affidavit states. No information has ever been released tying Cottman to a crime.
Surveillance video seems to show someone taking something from under Cottman's SUV before the shooting, the affidavit states. That matches information about when the tracker was removed before the shooting.
Martinez pleaded guilty in both killings and the drug-trafficking case. Tally was struck by gunfire seven times, just seconds after leaving then-City Councilman Small's home at about 5 a.m. Feb. 10, 2019.
Martinez had put out a bounty on Tally due to an ongoing beef between the two sides, the state alleged at Scott's trial.
Martinez was shot days earlier, outside Lighthouse Plaza, Assistant Prosecutor Paige Jedlicka told the jury. No one was charged in that shooting.
Small testified at Scott's trial, relating how his best friend had stopped by to pick up the phone he had left there the night before, when both headed to a party Small threw at Harrah's Atlantic City. Small met Tally on his porch, gave him the phone, went inside and closed his door. Then Small heard the gunshots.
Scott was sentneced to 45 years in prison.
Martinez pleaded guilty to a total of six crimes in two separate cases. He was sentenced to the following: 30 years in New Jersey State Prison to serve 85 percent before parole eligibility for the aggravated manslaughter of Demond Cottman; 30 years in New Jersey State Prison to serve 85 percent before parole eligibility for the aggravated manslaughter of Demond Tally; 30 years in New Jersey State Prison with 15 years of parole ineligibility for acting as a leader of a narcotics trafficking network; five years with three and a half years of parole ineligibility for possessing a handgun with the purpose to use it unlawfully against the person or property of another; and 20 years for possession with intent to distribute over five ounces of heroin.
Each of these terms will run concurrent to each other.
In addition, Martinez was sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison for possessing a weapon known as a “shank” while incarcerated at the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
That five-year term will run consecutively to the other five terms of imprisonment, for a total aggregate term of 35 years in prison, 30 of which he must serve eighty-five percent of his time before becoming eligible for parole.
Upon release, Martinez will be placed on five years of parole supervision.
Khan pleaded guilty to three crimes related to his involvement in the racketeering organization. He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 15 years in New Jersey State Prison with a period of five years of parole ineligibility for acting as a leader of a narcotics trafficking network, racketeering, and official misconduct.
Hose pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 12 years in New Jersey State Prison to serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole. Upon release, Hose will be subject to parole supervision for an additional five years.
The remaining co-defendants involved in the racketeering scheme are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
