Bridgeton, NJ, man serving 45 years for helpful stranger’s murder wins appeal

BRIDGETON — A South Jersey inmate found guilty of shooting a barber who was giving him a ride has won another chance at freedom.

Jule Hannah, 42, was transferred out of New Jersey State Prison and taken to Cumberland County Jail on Monday, according to state Department of Corrections records.

The Bridgeton man was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting of 53-year-old Miguel Lopez, Jr. on Jan. 15, 2017.

Why Lopez was killed remains a mystery.

Father, barber shot to death in Bridgeton

Lopez was shot four times in his vehicle around 8:30 a.m. that morning, according to court documents.

Police found the father of four dead in the driver's seat after it crashed on Spruce Street. Lopez was a lifelong Vineland resident who worked at a local barbershop for years, according to his obituary.

The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office said that a nine-month investigation revealed Hannah had crashed his vehicle earlier that morning and asked Lopez for a ride. Lopez agreed.

Investigators found the shots that killed him were fired from the passenger seat.

Appeals court throws out murder conviction

A Bridgeton police detective presented key evidence at trial in 2021 that helped secure Hannah's conviction. But that same evidence has now given him another chance to go free.

Cell tower data showed the location of Hannah's cell phone on the morning of the shooting. According to authorities, the data showed him taking the same area as Lopez's vehicle at the same time, showing he was a passenger in the vehicle.

However, the appellate court ruled that the detective should not have presented the data because he was not an expert on the matter. He admitted on the stand that he didn't know several things about the towers including the reach of their signal or their strength.

DNA taken from a cigar in Lopez's vehicle also matched Hannah but the cell data was the strongest evidence presented at trial, the court ruled.

Friday's decision vacated Hannah's conviction and called for a new trial.

The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office did not have comment late Tuesday morning.