TRENTON –Yusuf Ibrahim was sentenced Thursday to two consecutive life terms in state prison for shooting two men to death in Jersey City, cutting off their heads and hands, and burying their remains in a wooded area in Atlantic County, said Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino.
Ibrahim, 31, of Jersey City, was sentenced on Sept.22 in Jersey City by Superior Court Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez to two consecutive life terms in state prison. He was sentenced to an additional 48 years, to be served concurrently, on charges including desecration of human remains, theft, unlawful possession of a weapon, and hindering apprehension. The sentence includes 127 ½ years of parole ineligibility.
Ibrahim was found guilty at trial on June 22 by a Hudson County jury of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree desecration of human remains, and other crimes related to the murders and mutilation of the bodies. He was indicted in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
Ibrahim murdered Hany Tawadros, 25, and Amgad Konds, 27, in the early morning hours of Feb. 5, 2013. Tawadros and Konds were Egyptian nationals who were living in Jersey City. The state presented testimony and evidence at trial that Ibrahim shot each man once in the chest with a .38-caliber handgun inside Konds’ white Mercedes C280. Ibrahim then drove the bodies of the deceased victims to Buena Vista in the Mercedes. There he disposed of their remains in a wooded area behind the unoccupied home of a relative, after stealing the victims’ money and jewelry.
Before burying the victims, in order to hinder their identification, he cut off their heads and hands using a small drywall saw and scissors, and knocked out their teeth with a tire iron. After staying overnight at the relative’s house on Harding Highway in Buena Vista, Ibrahim drove the Mercedes to Philadelphia, where he abandoned it at a secluded location after setting it on fire to destroy evidence of the murders.
A life sentence is defined as 75 years for purposes of calculating parole ineligibility under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA). NERA requires that Ibrahim serve 85 percent of that sentence, or 63 ¾ years, without possibility of parole. He therefore faces a total of 127 ½ years of parole ineligibility on the two consecutive life sentences for murder.
Ibrahim already was serving a state prison sentence prior to the murder trial. He previously pleaded guilty to charges filed by the Attorney General’s Office in connection with an armed robbery in Jersey City on the night of Sept. 19, 2012. He admitted that he shot a man in the foot with a handgun and pistol-whipped the victim while robbing him of his money and cell phone. Ibrahim also pleaded guilty to a robbery charge filed by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office related to a carjacking in Jersey City on Dec. 22, 2011. He was sentenced by Judge Galis-Menendez on Jan. 8, 2015 to 18 years in state prison, including more than 15 years of parole ineligibility, in connection with both of those cases.
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