2 former Rutgers football players headed to prison

Suzanne Russell | Courier News and Home News Tribune

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NEW BRUNSWICK - Two former Rutgers University football players are headed to state prison after each was sentenced Friday to 12 years for several home invasion armed robberies in which the victims, also Rutgers students, were targeted for drugs and cash.

Tejay Johnson, 26, of Egg Harbor, was sentenced for his role in three home invasions, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey.

Johnson received a 12-year term for each of the three-armed robberies, which are to run concurrent to each other. The sentence he received on the other six counts are to run concurrent to the 12-year term. The prison term is subject to the No Early Release Act which means Johnson will have to serve 85 percent of the term before he can be released on parole.

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Johnson was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement reached by First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet and former Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Ma. Johnson pleaded guilty in January to three counts of armed robbery, three counts of armed burglary and three counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Former Rutgers football player Andre Boggs, 22, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced for his role with Johnson of forcing their way into a home, and armed with a bat and knife robbing a student of about $900 and an undisclosed amount of marijuana.

Boggs was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement reached by Kuberiet and Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Amber Gibbs. Boggs pleaded guilty on June 25 to three counts of armed robbery, three counts of armed burglary and three counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Kaylanna Ricks, 22, of Perth Amboy, was sentenced to three years of probation. Ricks was sentenced in accordance with the plea agreement she reached on April 30 for conspiracy to commit theft by extortion.

EARLIER: Former Rutgers football player Tejay Johnson pleads guilty to armed robbery

Johnson, Boggs and Ricks were arrested and charged following an intensive investigation by New Brunswick Detective Drew Weiss and Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Detective Gregory Morris.

In pleading guilty, Johnson and Boggs admitted their participation in three home invasions, which occurred in New Brunswick and Piscataway, in which victims, who also were members of the student body, were targeted for drugs and cash. Ricks admitted her participation in a single home invasion.

The sentencing for three other former Rutgers students; former football player Lloyd Terry 23, of New Brunswick, Dylan Mastriana, 22, of Rio Grande (Cape May County), and Jianan Chen, 22, of New Brunswick have been postponed.

A police investigation determined that on April 26, 2015, Johnson was one of three masked men who forced their way into a home on Prosper Street in New Brunswick, while armed, and stole an undisclosed amount of cash and marijuana from five students.

On April 27, 2015, police linked Johnson and two others to a home invasion on Hartwell Street in New Brunswick. The investigation determined that Johnson and another individual forced their way into the home, armed with a bat and a knife, and robbed a student of approximately $900 as well as an undisclosed amount of marijuana.

On May 5, 2015, a third home invasion took place in which Johnson and another man tried to force their way into another student’s room in a dormitory complex at Livingston College in Piscataway.

Both fled when the students targeted in the robbery resisted by closing and locking the door; nothing was stolen in that incident. Three other individuals were involved in the planning and execution of the robbery.

Johnson spent more than three years with Rutgers' football program but retired due to chronic injuries.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com