Powers Appears in Court, Aspects Of Case Will Be Heard in January

COURT HOUSE – On Nov. 18, in what is becoming routine for Derrick Powers, he was led into the courtroom of Superior Court Judge John Porto. He is charged with the murder of 15-year-old Nicole “Nikki” Angstadt. 
It has been nearly a year since the Erma teen was last seen at a bus stop in Rio Grande, only to be found murdered two weeks later.
She was discovered in a crawl space of an empty Rio Grande home that had been visited by investigators on at least one prior occasion.
Two men were arrested and charged with her murder, Powers and co-defendant Charles Mosley, 33, both of Middle Township.
Mosley was set to appear before Porto Nov. 18 following the motion made by First Assistant County Prosecutor Robert Johnson at the last hearing, in which he asked that the two men share the same court dates to spare the victim’s family any undue burdens from excessive travel. Porto agreed.
Before the hearing began, a sidebar was called by the judge to discuss Mosley’s absence. It was relayed by defense attorney Ed Weinstock that there had been “A wrinkle as there usually is with this case,” this time involving transportation of the suspect from Atlantic County.
In September, Powers appeared at a continuation of his status and bail hearing application before the court. His plea of “not guilty” was rendered by his attorney Stephen Funk and accepted by the judge.
At that appearance, Johnson told the court he had delivered voluminous amounts of discovery evidence to the defense, and they would most likely need a few weeks to go through it all. The hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 18.
If Porto was hoping that the discovery process was at an end last week, he was to be disappointed. Citing a dearth of transcripts about comments made by Mosley purportedly in the possession of the prosecutor, Funk said he would need to review those and asked for a short postponement until Dec. 2.
Johnson replied that those transcripts were the last bit of discovery and he would provide it to the defense.
Funk also revealed that a recent motion by the prosecutor to add charges of armed robbery to the case, a motion made Nov. 15, necessitated a delay.
Confirming that he had submitted a motion to link two charges of armed robbery to Powers, Johnson said he had turned over transcripts from Powers and possible plea bargain witness, 21-year-old, LaQuan Harris, who had been arrested with the two co-defendants on Dec. 15, 2015, but subsequently discarded as a suspect.
Porto announced that the specific facts about the allegations against Powers and Mosley, what the court calls substantive aspects, would be heard on Jan. 27, 2017.
Once established, the plea positions of the co-defendants would be heard, and then the case would head to a grand jury.
According to Johnson, the Prosecutor’s Office is looking to impose on Powers with a 45-year sentence for first-degree murder, conspiring to commit murder, sexual assault, conspiring to desecrate a body, hindering apprehension, endangering the welfare of a child, and two consecutive sentences for the added robbery charges.
Mosley faces 30 years in prison for similar charges but including aggravated assault. Both men are being held on a $1 million bail.
As has been the case since the beginning of the hearings in March, Angstadt’s family and friends were present, taking up a row of seats and presenting Powers with a wall of lavender-colored shirts bearing the slogan “Justice for Nikki.” It has been a silent, yet poignant act of strength and resolve to keep the young teen’s memory alive.
To contact Christopher Knoll, email cknoll@cmcherald.com.