Boy, 14, Charged With Killing Trenton Man With Headshot During Argument

Detectives from the Mercer County Homicide Task Force took the boy into custody at his home Tuesday morning, they said.

They filed a delinquency complaint charging the boy with killing 37-year-old Danavan Phillips during a fight the night before in the 100 block of Oakland Street, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said in a news release.

The teen, whom Onofri didn't identify because of his age, shot Phillips once under the chin, the prosecutor said, without discussing a possible motive.

Responding officers found Phillips unconscious but breathing shortly before 6:30 p.m. Monday, Onofri said.

He was pronounced dead a little over a half-hour later at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, the prosecutor said.

The Hamilton teen was being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center in North Brunswick pending a closed-door hearing in the Family Part of Superior Court in Trenton.

Onofri's Homicide Task Force is handling the investigation.

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