An Irvington man convicted of a 2014 carjacking and robbery spree through Essex County was sentenced to 65 years in prison Thursday by a Superior Court judge who said he wanted to deter others from the man's unorthodox legal tactics.

George Gaymon. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)

George Gaymon, 30, was convicted by a jury in January on a 20-count indictment that included two carjackings and an armed robbery, despite his proclamation of being a "sovereign citizen" over whom the court had no authority.

Superior Court Judge Martin G. Cronin previously had ordered Gaymon removed from the courtroom during jury selection for his trial in Newark after Gaymon made inappropriate comments in front of potential jurors "that basically tainted the entire jury panel," Cronin said Thursday.

Assistant Prosecutor William Neafsey, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Perez, said Gaymon and his-conspirator, Mario McClain, "terrorized Essex County" in a series of carjackings and a robbery in March 2014.

Investigators said the pair would use one stolen car to bump and carjack another, ultimately stealing two cars and carjacking two more in Orange, Newark and Irvington.

They also robbed a gas station, authorities said, and were arrested after they used credit cards stolen in a carjacking at a deli where they were caught on video.

McClain ultimately cooperated with prosecutors as part of a plea agreement, and was offered a lesser sentence.

Last March, attorneys said, Gaymon began ignoring his lawyer and started filing his own legal correspondence with the court as part of his "sovereign citizen" defense -- a theory popularized by anti-government extremist groups that has since spread to prison populations.

While Cronin denied prosecutors' request he impose extended sentences on Gaymon, he granted their motion to make each sentence run consecutively.

Among other reasons, Cronin cited the need to deter other defendants from pursuing sovereign citizen legal strategies, which he said have no basis in the law. "It virtually assures conviction," he said.

Gaymon must serve 51 years before he's eligible for parole.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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