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MAPLEWOOD — The co-defendant who testified last month at the trial of a man charged with fatally shooting a transgender female in Maplewood was sentenced today to time served, after pleading guilty to a lesser crime.



He will likely be released from jail today or Friday, authorities said.



Marquise Foster, 26, was originally charged along with Alrashim Chambers in the September 2010 killing of Victoria Carmen White. Foster soon pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension in exchange for his planned testimony against Chambers. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office put Chambers on trial for murder and bias intimidation, saying he shot and killed White, 28, after discovering her gender identity.



A jury acquitted Chambers, 25, of all charges at his murder trial late last month in Superior Court in Newark, despite Foster's testimony that pointed to him as the killer. Chambers was released from jail a day later.



At Foster's sentencing today, Assistant Prosecutor Eileen O'Connor said the defendant testified truthfully at the murder trial, despite difficult circumstances, with many of Chambers' supporters in court that day. Chambers' relatives and friends attended most of the trial.



O'Connor added that Foster had been been kept in protective custody "for a substantial period of time" because he had put himself in the position of being labeled a "snitch."



Foster already served nearly two years in prison since his arrest shortly after White's killing. His plea deal, which was merged with a previous gun possession guilty plea on a different case, called for a 5-year-flat prison sentence.

Foster's attorney, Sterling Kinsale, requested the time-served sentence, and O'Connor said she had no objection.

About a dozen of Foster's relatives were in court today, but surprisingly, it was Victoria Carmen White's two aunts who addressed the court, saying they forgave him and thanked him for testifying against Chambers.

"You basically laid your life on the line for us," said Robelia Tyra White. "We know how it is on these streets and we appreciate you doing the right thing on her behalf."

Foster also addressed the court, asking the judge for leniency before the sentence was handed down.

"Please allow me to get myself together and get past the mistakes I made in my life," said Foster, whose criminal record includes eight arrests. "Give me the opportunity to start my life over."



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