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The first two suspects, ages 14 and 13, of Somerset and New Brunswick, were each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree conspiracy, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and various weapons charges, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said Monday, May 15. The third suspect, age 13, of New Brunswick, was charged with robbery and conspiracy.
The charges come after officers responding to a shooting report near Rose Street and Sydney Place in Franklin Township found Kofi Addo, of North Brunswick, with a gunshot wound behind the wheel of a taxi crashed into a parked vehicle just after 9:55 p.m. on Thursday, May 11.
Investigators say Addo, 57, had just picked up the suspects near Rose Street when he was confronted by one of the suspects, who then shot and killed him. The trio then fled on foot.
The suspects allegedly intended to rob Addo when one of them fired a fatal shot as he was driving.
A post-mortem examination determined Addo’s cause of death as gunshot wound to the head and manner of death as homicide.
Two of the suspects were found in Franklin Township, and the third was found in New Brunswick on Friday, May 12, McDonald said. The three were taken to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and later transported to the Middlesex County Youth detention center pending a Family Court Appearance.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County SWAT team, the New Brunswick Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Franklin Resident Office also assisted.
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533.
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