A Paterson man who admitted helping set up an armed robbery of a New York Jets player in the player’s Morristown driveway has been sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison. The term, imposed Friday, will run at the same time as a sentence he is already serving on unrelated Passaic County convictions.
Noah Shaffer, 26, pleaded guilty last month to an amended second-degree conspiracy charge under a negotiated deal that requires him to pay $3,000 in restitution and forbids any contact with the victims, according to Morristown Green. In exchange, prosecutors dropped two first-degree armed robbery counts, which cut his potential exposure from 50 years behind bars to 10.
How investigators say it unfolded
Prosecutors say Shaffer and three masked suspects tailed the player home from New York City on Feb. 15, 2025, then boxed in his vehicle in the Windmill Pond area of Morristown and robbed the player and his driver at gunpoint before taking off, according to ABC News. Investigators allege the crew used a Volkswagen Taos with fake plates and stole the player’s watch and wallet, along with cash from the driver.
The official account of the Feb. 15 incident is also laid out in a public statement from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, which details the alleged follow, the driveway holdup and the getaway.
Sentence details and court notes
In Superior Court in Morristown, Judge Ralph Amirata accepted the plea agreement, ordered Shaffer to obtain his GED as a condition of the sentence and credited him with 230 days of jail time plus 108 days of gap-time, Morristown Green reported.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Conrad urged Amirata to impose the agreed-on five-year term, pointing to Shaffer’s criminal record. Defense attorney Brian Kenney countered by highlighting Shaffer’s work history before he was locked up, his efforts to complete a GED while in custody and his age as reasons to temper the punishment. The judge said the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, yet still noted Shaffer’s credits and rehabilitation steps when he pronounced the sentence.
Legal context
The case played out against the backdrop of recent changes in New Jersey sentencing law that allow judges to treat a defendant’s youth as a stand-alone mitigating factor if the person was under 26 at the time of the offense. Courts and legal analysts have cited that language in recent rulings and sentencing decisions. For background on how that youth factor is applied in adult cases, Justia outlines the New Jersey Supreme Court’s discussion of the change.
Investigation remains open
Prosecutors say Shaffer was one of four men involved in the robbery and that the other three remain unidentified. Authorities are still asking anyone with information to contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit. The original February 2025 announcement and follow-up statements included contact numbers and additional case details for potential witnesses.
With the five-year term now on the books and running concurrently with his existing sentence, Shaffer’s role in the case is settled for the moment, while the Morris County investigation into the Jets player holdup stays open as detectives pursue any remaining leads.
