Bloods Gang Member Found Guilty for Murder of New Brunswick Man

A member of the Bloods street gang was found guilty Thursday in the robbery a fatal shooting of a New Brunswick man in January, 2012.

Kevin Vauters, 21, of New Brunswick, was found guilty on 11 counts for the murder and armed robbery of Eugene Lockhart, 26, of New Brunswick, on Jan. 10, 2012.

On that date. police received a 911 call from a passerby who found Lockhart’s body at Pittman Park on Handy Street in New Brunswick. Lockhart was pronounced dead at the scene.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Vauters allegedly lied to police during questioning and approached three witnesses, one of whom he allegedly threatened, to demand they provide false information to authorities, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

During the trial, Assistant Prosecutors Christine D’Elia and Akesha Williams presented evidence that Lockhart had obtained a gun from Vauters to commit a robbery. However, Vauters then shot Lockhart because he felt that Lockhart had not given him a fair share of the stolen money, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Vauters was also found guilty of unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, hindering his own apprehension; hindering the investigation, three counts of witness tampering and attempted false incrimination for trying to blame another person for Lockhart’s murder, according to the prosecutor’s office. 

Vauters is expected to be sentenced to life without parole on Oct. 29 in New Brunswick by Superior Court Judge Michael A. Toto. 

Vauters, who has been in custody since his arrest, was charged following an investigation by Det. Drew Weiss of the New Brunswick Police Department and Investigator Michael Daniewicz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.