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The crackdown comes as Trenton's total number of fatal shootings this year is starting to rival last year'd record total homicides involving guns, as reported here by Daily Voice.
“The tenacity and resolve of the Homicide Task Force (HTF) are truly remarkable,” Mercer County Proosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said Friday. “Even with the continual shooting violence in Trenton, their hard work never lets up. Their efforts are a demonstration of the commitment and efforts to ensure safety in the city and bring justice to the families ruined by the plague of gun violence.”
Just after 11 p.m. on Wednesday, Trenton police received a Shot Spotter activation for multiple rounds at 900 Southard Street. Also, a Trenton police Donnelly Homes post was parked stationary approximately 50 yards away from the shooting and heard gunshots. The officers immediately drove toward the shots and encountered the male victim who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim, identified as 26-year-old Melvin Williams of Trenton, was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later.
Investigation revealed that Williams and the suspect engaged in a verbal dispute in the same area shortly before the shooting. The suspect allegedly fired at Williams multiple times, and when Williams tried to run away, the suspect reportedly chased him and continued firing, striking Williams multiple times in the face and body, Onofri said. Eight spent shell casings were found by detectives at the scene, the prosecutor said..
After reviewing several area surveillance cameras, HTF detectives were able to identify the shooter as a 16-year-old Trenton male whose name is being withheld because he is a juvenile, Onofri said.
The 16-year-old suspect is charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. He was taken into custody Thursday evening and is being held in the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center.
Quamir Bradley, 28, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, also was arrested on Thursday in Trenton by members of the HTF and the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force, Onofri said.
Bradley was charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and certain persons not to possess a firearm for the Sept. 17, 2021 shooting death of Jeff Charles, Onofri said. The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain Bradley pending trial.
Trenton police were dispatched to a home on Race Street at approximately 12:50 a.m. on Sept. 17 after Charles was found by a family member unresponsive in his bed, Onofri said.
An investigation revealed that Charles, 37, was shot in front of his residence on Race Street about 20 minutes earlier, Onofri said. There was a gathering across from the victim’s house and, at some point, Charles allegedly got into a verbal dispute with the suspect. Charles was shot in the shoulder and two .40 caliber shell casings were found at the crime scene, Onofri said. Through the review of video surveillance and witness interviews, detectives identified Bradley as the shooting suspect, Onofri said.
ALSO SEE: Trenton On Track TO Surpass Its 2020 Fatal Shootings Record
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