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Video captured by surveillance cameras and personal cellphones helped authorities identify Kadeem A. Dockery, 29, and one of his co-defendants, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
Rather than face trial, Dockery accepted a deal from the government, pleading guilty Wednesday to attempting to obstruct, impede, or interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder.
He still faces state charges of throwing another firebomb at New Jersey State Police troopers during the riot.
SEE: Trenton Rioter Threw Makeshift Molotov Cocktail At State Troopers, New Indictment Charges
The incident followed large-scale protests on May 31 in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis less than a week earlier.
Although the protest in Trenton was peaceful earlier in the day, violence erupted later, as a mob spread down East State Street, smashing windows, looting stores and attacking city police vehicles.
Dockery is seen in video footage “lighting an explosive device and throw it through the open front driver’s side window of a Trenton Police Department vehicle,” Honig said.
Dockery then “removed his shirt and handed it to [Killian] Melecio, who attempted to stuff the shirt in the gas tank of the police vehicle and ignite it,” the U.S. attorney said.
Police grabbed another man, Justin Spry, as he tried to light the shirt, authorities said.
Melecio fled and Dockery “lit another explosive device and threw it over the Trenton police vehicle at the arresting officers,” Honig said, adding that it “exploded at their feet.”
Investigators identified Melecio and Dockery “through their distinctive tattoos seen on the video footage,” she noted.
BUSTED! Tattoos Help ID Men In Trenton Protest Firebombings, FBI Says
Melecio and Spry, like Dockery, took plea deals.
SEE: Rioter Admits Torching Trenton Police Cruiser After George Floyd Protest
SEE: Middlesex Man Admits Trying To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest
Spry is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Trenton on Aug. 3 and Dockery on Sept. 21. A sentencing date for Melecio wasn’t available.
Honig credited special agents of the FBI and officers with the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark with the investigation leading to the arrests and pleas, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Michelle Gasparian of her Criminal Division in Trenton.
She also thanked Trenton police, New Jersey State Police and officers with the state Department of Corrections for their assistance.
Handling the case for the government is Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Michelle S. Gasparian of her Criminal Division in Trenton.
Dockery also faces state charges of throwing another gas bomb at New Jersey State Police troopers who were arresting Spry.
The device “exploded at the feet of the troopers, causing one to suffer temporary loss of hearing,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
SEE: Trenton Rioter Threw Makeshift Molotov Cocktail At State Troopers, New Indictment Charges
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