A Monmouth County grand jury returned a 15-count indictment on March 14 charging three people for their respective roles in three 2011 home invasion robberies, including one that led to the murder of a Freehold Township man, Monmouth County Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
Ellis W. Goodson, 38, of Neptune, Ranu Sinha, 36, of Manalapan, and Richard Busby, 58, of Newark, are charged under the superseding indictment. A fourth defendant, Jeffrey Mayhue, 52, of Newark, was charged under separate indictment, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The allegations which are the subject of the indictment come in connection with three home invasion robberies at residences in Howell, Freehold Township and Neptune Township between May 14, 2011 and Sept. 8, 2011, and the murder of Michael Conway at his Jackson Mills Road residence in Freehold Township. Goodson and Sinha are charged with conspiracy in the second degree covering all three offenses, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The first home invasion robbery occurred on May 14, 2011 at a residence on Brickyard Road in Howell. Mayhue allegedly entered the residence with a handgun, bound the occupants and stole a large sum of money. In connection with this incident, Goodson and Sinha have been indicted as accomplices for the following offenses: armed robbery in the first degree, and unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the second degree.
The second event occurred on July 31, 2011, when Sinha, Goodson, Mayhue and Busby allegedly committed the home invasion robbery turned murder of Michael Conway at his home in Freehold Township. Mayhue and Busby were armed with a handgun and looking for money when they entered Conway’s home and discovered it was occupied by their would-be victim and his girlfriend during the early morning hours of July 31, 2011.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Freehold Township Police Department revealed Mayhue and Busby allegedly killed Conway, set fire to the house and fled the scene. Conway’s girlfriend was able to escape from the burning house through a window, ran to a neighbor’s house and requested the neighbor call 911.
In connection with this offense, Goodson, Sinha and Busby have been indicted for the following offenses: conspiracy in the second degree, armed robbery in the first degree, felony murder in the first degree, unlawful possession of a weapon in the second degree, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the second degree. Additionally, Busby is charged with aggravated arson in the second degree and attempted murder in the first degree and certain persons not to possess a firearm in the second degree.
A third robbery occurred on Sept. 8, 2011, when Mayhue allegedly forcibly entered a residence on Drummond Avenue in Neptune Township brandishing what appeared to be a handgun. The robbery was thwarted by the victims who held Mayhue until police arrived on scene. In connection with this offense, Goodson and Sinha have been indicted as accomplices for the following offenses: armed robbery in the first degree and possession of an imitation firearm for an unlawful purpose in the fourth degree.
On Dec. 15, 2015, Mayhue pleaded guilty to charges of felony murder in the first degree and armed robbery in the first degree before state Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Reisner, sitting in Freehold. As part of the plea agreement, the state will recommend an aggregate sentence of 30 years in a state prison, with 30 years to be served without the possibility of parole, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Sinha and Goodson are being held in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township, on $1.5 million cash only bail. Busby and Mayhue are also being held in the county jail on $1.5 million bail each.
The next court event will be an arraignment; no date for the arraignment has been set at this time.