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Quintin Thompson was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree robbery, weapons offenses and theft of movable property, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said on Monday.
The arrest was made in connection with the Nov. 28 shooting death of Omar Billups, according to Onofri.
A warranted search was made on Saturday of Thompson’s Whitehorse Avenue apartment in Hamilton Township as well as an apartment on Oakland Street in Trenton, Onofri said.
Thompson was taken into custody without incident by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Mercer County Tactical Response Team.
Multiple items of evidentiary value were recovered from the Oakland Street apartment of Thompson’s girlfriend, Emoni Henderson, including a 9mm Glock 26 handgun, Onofri said. The weapon was equipped with an extended magazine and was loaded with hollow-point rounds, the prosecutor said.
Henderson’s vehicle was located on Oakland Street and seized pending application of a search warrant, Onofri said.
Henderson, 22, also was taken into custody without incident and charged with burglary, theft, and related weapons offenses, Onofri said.
The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain Thompson pending trial.
At about 2:50 a.m. on Nov. 29, Trenton police were dispatched to an apartment at 326 Centre St. on report of a man shot. Upon arrival, police found the victim, later identified as Billups, on the living room floor with blood coming from the back of his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim’s cellphone and keys were not found inside the apartment during a subsequent search, police said.
During the course of the investigation, task force detectives located area surveillance footage from various sources and spoke with witnesses. They learned that Billups had been driving a white Jeep Cherokee rental vehicle and that Billups had been with Thompson in that vehicle on Nov. 28. The white Jeep Cherokee was located and secured by police on South Westfield Avenue on Dec. 4.
Further investigation by detectives tied a second vehicle to Billups’ homicide. At approximately 5 p.m. on Friday, a black Mitsubishi Uplander was seen arriving at the Winding Brook Apartment Complex on Bradford Drive in Hamilton. An individual with similar physical characteristics to Thompson was seen exiting the Mitsubishi and walking toward one of the buildings. That individual returned a short time later and got back in the Uplander, which then left the area, authorities said.
On Nov. 29 around 9:10 a.m., Hamilton police responded to an apartment on Bradford Avenue for a reported burglary. When a resident returned from work, she found someone had rummaged through the belongings in the bedroom. The only item missing was a shoe box that belonged to Billups containing a large unspecified amount of cash, authorities said. Further investigation revealed that Billups had a key to the Bradford Avenue apartment.
Both Thompson and Henderson also were charged in connection to the burglary and theft of cash in Hamilton, Onofri said.
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