Authorities: NJ Gunman Shot Victim In Back Seat Of Car, Dragged Him Into Street To Die

Surveillance tapes show that a man later identified as Nasir White, 24, drove a gold Honda Accord onto Chase Street, then stopped in the middle of the road around 3:30 p.m. Dec. 8,  Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.

The driver then got out, walked to the back seat driver side and shot 43-year-old Joel Alexander in the head, Onofri said. White then dragged Joel onto the pavement, got back in the car -- where Monet Maiden, 22, was waiting for him, and drove away, the prosecutor said.

Authorities responding to the scene on reports of a man dumped out of a vehicle found Alexander lying in the street, Onofri said. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

A bulletin with a photograph of the Accord captured from surveillance video was sent out to surrounding municipalities on Dec. 10, and detectives began investigating.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 13, Lawrence police found a matte black Honda Accord at the Wawa on Brunswick Pike for an unrelated criminal investigation. During the course of that investigating, police arrested White, Maiden and Anesha Joynes for possession of two handguns and drug offenses, Onofri said.

Further investigation revealed that the Accord was spray painted black and ultimately determined to be the gold Honda Accord used in Alexander's killing, according to Onofri. 

The car belongs to Maiden and, in the days after the shooting, Maiden and White bought black spray paint to repaint the car, authorities said.

White also attempted to clean the interior of the Accord, but a search of the car found an obvious bloodstain on the backseat, along with upholstery cleaner, Onofri said.

White, of Ewing, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree felony murder, one count of first-degree robbery, weapons offenses, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence. Maiden was charged with hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence.

A motive had yet to be identified and the incident remains under investigation.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office filed a motion to detain both White and Maiden.

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