No new trial for man convicted in 2007 Newark schoolyard killings

NEWARK (WABC) -- A Superior Court judge has refused to overturn the conviction of one of the six men who murdered three friends in a Newark schoolyard.

Jose Carranza was found guilty of murder and armed robbery in the 2007 shooting deaths of three college students.

They were killed behind Mount Vernon school, shot execution style. Carranza, sentenced to 155 years in prison after his conviction, was in court in Newark Wednesday.

He claimed his defense lawyer was ineffective, and coerced him not to testify and failed to conduct any pre-trial investigations.

But Judge Michael Ravin found that Carranza's latest testimony was not credible, and contradicted his prior inconsistent statements at his trial.

The three victims and a fourth who survived were enrolled or about to enroll at Delaware State University.