On a cold December night in 1996, 18-year-old Willie Graves III was standing with two friends near a pay phone on Pero Street in Orange, New Jersey. It was shortly before 10:40 p.m. on December 29th when two men approached the group and suddenly opened fire. Graves was struck by four bullets, with a fatal shot to the back of his head. His companions, Phillip Satterfield and Devon Boyd, were also wounded in the attack but survived.
The ensuing investigation led authorities to identify
Stacey Faulcon and Maurice Franklin as the assailants. Their motive appeared to be retaliatory, stemming from an incident a few days prior where an associate of theirs had been 'jumped' at a local nightclub. Witnesses provided crucial information that assisted the police in their investigation. One witness, who was stopped at a nearby traffic light, saw a man in a white jacket with his arm extended, heard a 'popping sound,' and then watched as the man fled in a white car. She also saw another man get into a brown car and was able to write down its license plate number, which was later traced to Franklin.
Both Stacey Faulcon and Maurice Franklin were arrested and faced a host of charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and attempted murder. Following a trial, both men were convicted for their roles in the death of Willie Graves. The legal proceedings were extensive, with Faulcon filing multiple appeals in the years that followed, though his conviction was ultimately upheld. The case stands as a somber reminder of the devastating impact of gun violence on the community.
