Appellate Court Denies Bank Robber’s Petition

TRENTON – On Jan. 31, the Appellate Division of the state Superior Court dealt convicted bank robber Donald Kelley Jr., 51, a serious legal setback when it denied his post-conviction petition that blamed his attorney for “ineffective assistance” of counsel at the time of his guilty plea in 2012. 
This is the second appeal from a Jan. 28, 2015 appeal to the sentencing Judge Patricia Wild, who denied Kelley’s initial appeal of his plea and his sentencing. The case arose from an April 7, 2012, robbery of the Cape Bank on New Jersey Avenue in Wildwood. 
As reported by the Herald at that time, on April 7, 2012, at approximately 9:16 a.m., Wildwood Police Department received a 911 call that reported a bank robbery at Cape Bank, New Jersey Avenue committed by a single gunman.
After an investigation by Wildwood Police, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI, Kelley was arrested and charged with robbery and weapons offenses.
Kelley subsequently pled guilty to armed robbery and, based on a negotiated plea agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, was sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison; five years supervised parole and restitution to Cape Bank in the amount of $4,328 by Wild.
In the most recent appeal, Kelley alleged that his attorney “misinformed him about the sentence (to be imposed), failed to investigate, failed to argue mitigating factors at sentencing, and cajoled him into pleading guilty.” 
The Appellate Court rejected those arguments and denied Kelley’s petition for relief, thus re-affirming Wild’s initial denial of his appeal from 2015.
The court noted that “For defendant to obtain relief based on ineffective assistance (of counsel) grounds, he is obliged to show not only the particular manner in which counsel’s performance was deficient but also that the deficiency prejudiced his right to a fair trial.” The court essentially found that Kelley’s argument of ineffective counsel to be without merit. 
The court also noted that he received the lowest possible sentence permitted by law for a first-degree offense.
According to the state Department of Corrections website, Kelley was sentenced Dec. 7, 2012 to a maximum 10 years. He would become eligible for parole Dec. 30, 2020.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.