Race not at play in ex-chief's conviction, so why is he getting new sentence?

PHILADELPHIA – An appeals court has upheld the conviction of a former South Jersey police chief who argued racial tensions improperly influenced the jury at his hate-crime trial.

But the three-judge panel also ordered a new sentencing for Frank Nucera Jr., 66, who once led Bordentown Township’s police force.

Nucera, who received a 28-month sentence in May 2021, is in a minimum- to low-security prison at FCI Ashland in Kentucky, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Kugler, who was ordered to begin his term on April 30, 2022, has a current release date of Dec. 11, 2023, the BOP says.

Nucera was accused of using excessive force during the arrest of an 18-year-old Trenton resident in September 2016.

Prosecution witnesses at his 2019 trial said Nucera pushed Timothy Stroye's head into a door jamb while removing the Black teen from a Bordentown Township hotel. The jury also heard multiple recordings of the former chief using racial slurs.

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The jury found Nucera had lied to FBI agents during a secretly recorded conversation when he denied touching Stroye.

But the jurors could not agree on charges that alleged hate-crime assault and a civil rights violation.

Nucera jurors alleged Black-white divide

Nucera’s appeal presented affidavits from four white jurors who said they faced “racial vitriol, intimidation and other misconduct" during tense and sometimes-tearful deliberations.

The four jurors said they believed in Nucera’s innocence but “yielded to pressure from other jurors to convict him of something so they would not be painted as a racist,” the ruling said.

The jurors approached Nucera's attorney, Rocco Cipparone Jr. of Mullica Hill, shortly after the trial.

Nucera’s jury was torn by the “volatile mix of the evidence with issues of race and racism,” the May 5 decision said.

“On one side sat nine jurors who would vote to acquit Nucera and on the other side were three jurors — all Black women — who thought Nucera was guilty on each count,” it observed.

The decision upheld an earlier ruling by Nucera’s trial judge, who said the defendant had not showed “clear, strong evidence of juror misconduct."

Ruling: Black juror at Nucera trial acted properly

It also supported U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler’s view that court rules largely prohibit the use of the jurors’ affidavits to challenge the verdict.

Limited exceptions to those rules were not applicable to Nucera’s case, the decision continued.

The ruling also backed Kugler’s view that a Black juror, Pamela Richardson, acted appropriately when discussing the impact of racism on herself and her children.

It said Richardson had brought “her life experiences to bear on how she viewed the evidence, which is precisely what courts expect jurors to do.”

Former chief to get new sentence

But the Third Circuit decision said Kugler erred in sentencing Nucera to the 28-month term in May 2021.

It said the sentencing guidelines were too high because Kugler cross-referenced Nucera’s conviction for lying to the FBI to a more stringent penalty for the unproven civil rights violation.

Nucera “lied about what he did, but his lie does not constitute or establish a civil rights violation.," the ruling said.

“I am pleased Mr. Nucera will have the opportunity to be re-sentenced," said Cipparone.

He said his client can present information "on re-sentencing concerning his incarceration for approximately one year already, the impact it has had on him and his family, and other facts and factors which can be considered starting from the correct lower guideline range.”

Nucera faced a second trial on the remaining charges in 2021, but that jury also deadlocked.

Kugler dismissed the charges at the prosecution's request in December 2021.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Frank Nucera Jr. argued race tensions tainted ex-police chief's trial