On a November night in 2018, a seemingly amicable conversation between two acquaintances on a Newark street took a fatal turn, ending the life of 25-year-old Daquan Cuttino. The verbal exchange escalated into a physical altercation, culminating in a burst of gunfire that echoed through the 600 block of South 18th Street. Cuttino was struck by eight of the eleven bullets fired. He was rushed to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the early hours of November 1, 2018.
The investigation into the shooting led authorities to Harold Colbert, a 45-year-old man from the neighboring town of Irvington. It was revealed that Colbert and Cuttino knew each other. Following the altercation, it was Colbert who drew a handgun and repeatedly shot at Cuttino.
The motive for the initial argument that spiraled into deadly violence was not publicly detailed.
In August 2021, an Essex County jury found Harold Colbert guilty of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The trial was notably the first jury trial to be held in Essex County since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Given Colbert's prior criminal record, which included convictions for drug offenses and aggravated assault, the state sought the maximum possible penalty. He faced a minimum of 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
