Convict’s plea in fatal assault case rejected

OLD BRIDGE, NJ — A New Jersey man serving a 12-year sentence in the 2010 beating death of Indian American computer scientist Divyendu Sinha has lost his appeal in a New Jersey Appellate Court.

Five youths were convicted and sentenced in the case. Steven Contreras, the driver of the car that took the four teenagers to the scene of the crime, was sentenced to 12 years. He appealed for reprieve on grounds the sentence was too harsh and that he should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea.

The appellate court rejected his appeal on August 7, saying the convict’s arguments “are without sufficient merit to warrant discussion.”

Sinha, who died 3 days later from a brain hemorrhage, as a consequence of the June 25, 2010 attack just yards from his home on Fela Drive, in Old Bridge, N.J., was taking a walk with his wife and two little sons when they were assaulted by four youths.