A Pleasantville man has been indicted in the killing of a 15-year-old girl inside a vacated Atlantic City apartment.
Nahquil Lovest, 18, shot Naimah Bell in the head shortly after 4 a.m. July 25. He was arrested the next day.
Lovest is indicted on a charge of aggravated manslaughter, which is a step lower than murder.
His attorney, Alex Settle, had suggested the lesser charge during Lovest's detention hearing in August, when he said the shooting was an accident.
Lovest “pulled the trigger but was only joking,” one witness told the investigator. ““He had thought he took all the bullets out. He didn’t mean to do it.”
But Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy said Lovest knew the gun was loaded and had been warned by others in the room to stop.
Lovest was ordered held pending trial at that time.
Murder carries a term of 30 years to life. Aggravated manslaughter has a maximum sentence of 30 years.
