Robert Bartley said his cousin knew about, and saw, his .32-caliber handgun, which he kept stowed away in a shoebox inside the room of the cousins’ home in Trenton.

Bartley, formerly of Chicago, moved to Trenton sometime around 1999, he testified Thursday. At some point, he moved in with his cousin, Raheem Currie, and his girlfriend, Endia Kaver, at a home on the 600 block of Greenwood Avenue.

Wearing a blue and orange polo shirt pulled over his bright orange prison jumpsuit, Bartley offered dramatic testimony that his cousin knew about his gun, asked him to bring it with him to an East State Street home, and brandished it in front of him, on the day Bartley fatally shot 18-year-old James Austin, the fallen son of former city cop Luddie Austin.

Robert Bartley

“I pulled my gun out and asked him what he’s trying to do,” said Bartley, prosecutors’ star witness in Currie’s murder conspiracy trial.

Bartley took the stand the same day as another Trenton man who testified about Currie’s possible motive for retaliating against Austin.

The man, Brandon Hill, who was with Currie and drove him and Bartley from the murder scene, said that Austin robbed Currie two days before the murder.

Defense attorneys say that Bartley has his own motive for testifying. He accepted a plea, and agreed to testify against Currie, in exchange for a 25-year sentence.

Currie’s attorneys have not gotten an opportunity to cross examine Bartley yet, but plan to press him up about why he changed his story after repeatedly telling police during an interview a day after Austin was shot that his cousin was not involved and did not plan the killing.

Bartley, who is 18 months older, bigger and stronger than Currie, has been painted by the defense as someone who was protective of his cousin and took matters into his own hands when learning Austin broke the windshield of a Honda Civic belonging to Currie’s aunt.

Currie and some friends used it the day Austin was killed. Currie and Austin were involved in a fist fight prior to the shooting. They traded blows then broke each other’s windshields.

Currie was with Brandon Hill and his girlfriend, Kaver, who witnessed the fight and testified about it.

Hill, a 2012 graduate of Trenton Central High School, said Thursday he grew up with James Austin and they were friends. He was also “friendly” with Currie, who

James Austin with his twin daughters.

was best friends with his brother.

On Feb. 26, 2013, Hill was with Currie and his girlfriend. They came from a Dollar General in West Windsor and headed back to Trenton, when they encountered Austin on on East State Street.

Hill, who gave, short quick answers and at grew angry with Currie’s defense attorney under cross examination, said he drove Currie’s car the day Austin was killed. He was never charged for having any role in the murder, and prosecutors stressed he was a witness.

At one point, Hill raised his hand while testifying and told the prosecutor he didn’t want to be photographed.

He described a phone call between Currie and Bartley that happened after the fight as well as the shooting, after they picked up Bartley and returned to Austin’s East State Street home.

Hill said Bartley went up to Austin’s door, and moments later, he heard a gunshot. Bartley ran back and got in the car.

“[Bartley] said, ‘Nobody better say sh-t,’” Hill said.

Raheem Currie

Hill also testified about an apparent “beef” between Currie and Austin that predated the window-breaking.

He described it in detail at a hearing outside the jury’s presence. He said Austin robbed Currie of three bags of marijuana and punched him in the face with brass knuckles outside Currie’s home, two days before the murder.

Hill was at Currie’s home and learned about the alleged robbery when Currie came in with a swollen eye and told him about it.

The jury heard a cleaned-up version that did not include details about drugs or the word robbery. They were told that the men had a dispute and Austin took property from Currie.

Luddie Austin, James’ father, said Hill’s testimony was tough to take.

“It was troublesome,” he said. “You can see what some people are trying to do. I know my son and his character wouldn’t have been him out there robbing nobody.”

One of Bartley’s close friends, Ryan Small, told a jury Thursday what happened after Bartley shot Austin.

Bartley, who considered Small to be “like a brother,” admitted he hid his gun in Small’s parents’ home after the murder.

Small, who knew Bartley since third-grade, said he was with him in the basement when Bartley placed the gun in a black bag and stashed it in a small crawlspace, behind loose bricks.

“He didn’t ask me,” Small said. “It’s my house. I guess I had an option.”

Small was arrested with Bartley the next day, Bartley said. But after interviewing him, police ruled Small out as a suspect.

Police searched his home, and found the gun.

Small has lost contact with Bartley. They have not spoken in two years, he said, since Bartley was arrested for Austin’s murder.

It wasn’t enough that Robert Bartley shot retired Trenton cop Luddie Austin’s son to death in 2013.

The admitted killer had to get in another shot Thursday at Austin, and his brothers in blue – some of whom have testified at the trial of a man suspected of conspiring with Bartley to kill Austin’s son, 18-year-old James, on Feb. 26, 2013.

(left to right) Amanda Austin holding Jakalya, one of James Austin's twin daughters, Kim Bellamy, and Luddie Austin holding the other twin Janalya.

Bartley, who has accepted a 25-year plea deal from prosecutors for his cooperation, took the stand and testified against his cousin, Raheem Currie.

During his testimony, he was asked about his arrest on the morning of Feb. 27, 2013. He claimed that he was brutalized by police prior to being taken to an interrogation room at Trenton Police headquarters, where he later confessed to the murder.

When he was asked by Assistant Prosecutor James Scott whether he gave a statement to police about James’ murder, Bartley responded, “Yeah, after they beat me up.”

The emotionally charged courtroom fell dead silent. Austin’s death touched the Trenton Police department, which Luddie Austin worked for over 18 years. A K-9 officer, Drew Astbury, testified this week that police lost “one of our own” – which led to a tense legal squabble and a request for a mistrial from the defense.

Bartley did not elaborate about who “they” were, or if he was referring to Trenton Police officers. He was captured by the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Task Fugitive Task Force, which is comprised of several law enforcement agencies including Trenton Police.

Trenton Police spokesman Lt. Stephen Varn, when reached by phone by The Trentonian late Thursday evening, said he wasn’t prepared to address the allegation.

It was unclear if Bartley reported his allegation to officials.

Caroline Turner, Bartley’s attorney, declined to comment, saying her discussions with her client about his alleged beating were privileged. She also would not address whether she lodged a formal complaint against police.

Former Trenton police officer Luddie Austin, Austin’s father, told The Trentonian in an interview that while he found most of Bartley’s testimony believable, he was taken aback by the allegation of police brutality and found it appalling and self-serving.

“To make an allegation like that it has no bearing on the case,” he said. “The bottom line is, I guess you want compassion because you say you got beat up. You just took somebody’s life. Three years later, you can sit here and complain that you got beat up. But my son can’t laugh or play with his daughter, or do anything.

Luddie Austin said he has seen Bartley’s mugshot online and it appear to undercut his claims. He does not appear to have any injuries to his face, he said.

“That would have been taken within hours of him being arrested,” Austin said. “If there would have been any allegations that would have come out from the beginning. He’s been in numerous status hearings. I don’t think any of the guys that I worked with would have done anything like that.”

Luddie Austin, who spent time on the fugitive task force, said he never witnessed acts of police brutality while he and colleague pursued some of Trenton’s most violent felons.

Police officers, he said, are trained to use as much force necessary to make an arrest. He said he never expected special treatment from his brothers in blue or knew of a police pact police that encouraged retaliation against someone accused of killing a cop’s child.

“What one may interpret to be abusive may not be,” he said. “As an officer, you can meet force with a greater level of force. You don’t have to meet with the same level of force. [Bartley] has nothing to lose. “I don’t know what his motivation is. I don’t know if he was just saying that just to say enough to try to discredit something. Whether in law enforcement or in life, you can’t spend all your time trying to figure out what he was thinking.”

Regina Thompson-Jenkins stood before a sea of supporters outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. as “a grieving mother.”

At a rally this month, she called for tighter gun control to quell the violence on the inner city streets. She described how she lost her only son, Tre Lane, who was shot in Trenton in 2012 after sacrificing his life to save two women who he barely knew.

“My story today can be yours tomorrow,” she told the crowd.

Then, one by one, she rattled off names of murder victims in New Jersey’s capital city who were taken from their families too soon.

“David Lewis III, Ira Charles, Ciony Kirkman, James Austin,” she said. “All lives matter.”

James Austin’s family knows Thompson-Jenkins’ pain all too well.

Their son was gunned down in February 2013, when a dispute between he and another city man, Raheem Currie, turned deadly after they busted out each other’s car windows.

Robert Bartley, Currie’s cousin, admitted shooting Austin on East State Street on Feb. 26, 2013, and is testifying against him at the trial which began this month.

Robert Bartley

Austin was 18 years old, a father of twin infant daughters, and the son of retired city cop Luddie Austin. He died before Blacks Lives Matter became a sweeping movement following a string of police shooting of young black men from the hardscrabble streets of Trenton to suburban St. Paul, Minn.

And he died before a rash of killings of police officers from Dallas to Baton Rouge, La., that some in law enforcement blame on a perceived anti-cop sentiment from the Black Lives Matter movement that has divided America along racial lines.

But as Currie’s case plays out in the courts in Trenton, a city roiled by its own near-fatal police shooting of a 14-year-old black youth named Radazz Hearns, Austin has become a symbol embodying Thompson-Jenkins’ message of unity.

Because of his unique connections to the urban community and to the Trenton Police department that his father worked for over 18 years, James Austin appeals to both aisles in this tense political dialogue.

“You feel more responsibility,” said Lewis Korngut, a former Mercer County prosecutor who headed the homicide until he retired last year. “It’s only human.”

Assistant Prosecutor James Scott took over the case for Korngut. His measured demeanor in the courtroom has been a tonic to a case rife with emotions, further illustrated when Korngut, now doing defense work, showed up on his day off to take in the testimony of one witness.

Korngut tried to play it off to a defense attorney that he no longer has a “horse in the race.” But his mere presence at the trial said otherwise.

Korngut grew close with Austin’s relatives while the case was his. He also worked with Luddie Austin on other cases while the elder Austin, known for his appearance on the A&E reality television show, “Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force,” worked the city streets for nearly two decades.

Luddie Austin, a lifelong Trenton resident, has clout in the community. He did a tour of duty in the Iraq War, in 2004, and retired from the city’s police force in 2011 with the rank of sergeant.

His extensive knowledge of the capital city and his wide network of informants and citizens whom he turned to for information is part of the reason James’ death touched such a nerve in Trenton.

Luddie Austin actually learned from those people that Currie had posted bail and was free in the streets.

James’ death also hit the police department hard.

Trenton Police officer Drew Astbury, when he testified last week, called James “one of our own.”

Earlier this year, a candlelight vigil was held for James at Hamilton Manor.

And earlier this month, Thompson-Jenkins put James Austin’s name out to a national audience, during her powerful speech in D.C.

“We always hear about the Trayvon Martins and Jordan Davises or the Sandy Hook kids,” said Thompson-Jenkins, whose son’s murder remains unsolved. “But our kids in the city of Trenton are just as important as those children because they all got killed with a gun.”

Luddie was moved by the gesture.

Currie’s defense attorneys have tried to keep a stranglehold over the emotions in the courtroom, asking for a mistrial over Astbury’s comment, afraid that it may lead the jury to feel sympathy for one side.

Defense attorney Jack Furlong asked a judge to bar the Austin family from wearing memorial buttons because it could inflame the jury.

James Austin's relatives have worn memorial buttons like these at the murder conspiracy trial of Raheem Currie.

The request pressed Luddie Austin’s buttons. He called Furlong a “money-hungry” attorney who will defend anybody.

“I’m not going to take any bait from Luddie Austin,” Furlong said. “The man lost his son. It’s not my day to take a shot at him. He’s been emotional throughout these proceedings. He’s accused judges of corruption and is accusing me of being hungry for money. He’s not wrong. Let this story be a reminder to my other clients who owe me.”

Furlong made no apologies about asking for the ban on the memorial buttons, one which touched on Thompson-Jenkins’ message: “Our daddy missed our first steps because of guns.”

“As one Supreme Court justice said, ‘There is no First Amendment right inside a courtroom for spectators to try to put their thumbs on the scales of justice,’” Furlong said. “All you’re doing when you sit in a courtroom with a picture of James and his children is trying to give a good character reference for James and curry sympathy with the jury.”

Thompson-Jenkins said she feels victims’ rights are trampled by defendants’ rights to a fair trial.

She feels the fear of retaliation discourages people from cooperating with the police and suggested that information should be shielded from defendants who are entitled to confront their accusers in court.

Luddie Austin also feels cooperation is a problem in his son’s case, but for different reasons. He lashed out at witnesses for giving incomplete testimony that diminishes their roles in his son’s death.

Bartley and Currie were the only ones charged, even though two others, Brandon Hill, and Endia Kaver, Currie’s girlfriend, were in the car when Bartley said he was going to “spray up” James Austin’s home.

Hill, who prosecutors have stressed was a witness, drove and dropped off Bartley and Currie after the shooting.

Kaver claimed on the witness stand she had no idea what Bartley meant when he said he was going to spray up the house.

Kaver said that while she heard the conversation between Currie and Bartley prior to them picking him up, Currie only asked Bartley if his mother was home.

Neither she nor Hill mentioned hearing Currie ask his cousin about a gun.

Bartley said that prior to the shooting, Currie knew about his gun, which he kept stowed in a shoebox inside the home they shared. He said he flashed it in front of Currie moments before the shooting.

Hill, who said he was James’ friend, said that Bartley warned them not to tell anybody about the murder when he got back in the car after the shooting.

“It’s going to eat [Hill’s] conscience up and it may haunt him the rest of his life, and good, you drove someone somewhere that killed a person you consider a friend,” Luddie Austin said. “What they’re trying to say is no one talked. In that moment, what, did they become devout monks who took a vow of silence? Come on.”

Some of the Hill’s testimony painted James in unflattering terms.

It contrasted with the portrait James’ girlfriend, LaPorsha Guy, put on for the jury, of an attentive father who came to her East State Street home to visit their twin daughters. She said he had a cheesesteak and a soda in his hands when Curry called out to him to come outside and fight.

But Hill said that two days before the murder, he was over at Currie’s house. Currie came inside with a swollen eye, from allegedly being punched by James Austin during a drug-fueled robbery.

Raheem Currie

Toxicology results taken during an autopsy showed that James had marijuana in his system.

“If he did [use it], I’m gonna say it was probably recreational,” Luddie Austin said. “The street life, he wasn’t out there like that.”

If there is one thing everyone agrees on, it’s that James Austin, regardless of his race or connections to Trenton Police, did not deserve to be shot to death.

“An aggrieved percentage of the community has assumed that the words, ‘Black Lives Matter’ is more important than other lives, and they got the message exactly wrong,” Furlong said. “‘Blue Lives’ shouldn’t matter any more than brown lives, yellow lives, red lives, black lives or even white lives. It shouldn’t matter who James Austin was. It should be enough to say he was a human being.”

Thompson-Jenkins said she is perturbed by what she views as increasing violence in the capital city. The alleged killers are getting younger, she said, pointing to recent murders allegedly involving city teens.

“People don’t get it until it knocks on their door,” Thompson-Jenkins said. “I do have hope for our city. I was born and raised here. But do I want to stay in this city? No.”

About a cop’s son not being safe on the city streets, she added: “It speaks volumes.”

A day after he shot a retired Trenton cop’s son to death, Robert Bartley was more worried about perception – and $258 – than reality.

The Trenton transplant, formerly of Chicago, told detectives as they walked into an interrogation room that he was missing a wad of cash. It was taken from him after he was arrested Feb. 27, 2013, and charged with the murder of James Austin, the 18-year-old son of retired Trenton sergeant Luddie Austin.

“I know that’s the least of my worries,” Bartley said. “The money wasn’t in my property. Can you write down that the money wasn’t in my property?”

“There’s a lot of worries, but nothing is the least of the worries,” said Gary Britton, a Trenton Police detective. “I will make it part of my continuing investigation to see where your money is. It’ll be a string around my finger. I gotta find Robert’s money. I promise I will do that for you.”

Robert Bartley

Britton played the part of calm, cool cop, trying to build rapport with the suspect, at a time when the department was under pressure to solve the murder of “one of their own,” as a Trenton cop testified to last week.

Britton solved the murder and also tracked down Bartley’s missing cash.

The taped interrogation, which was shown Tuesday for jurors in Raheem Currie’s murder conspiracy trial, happened hours after Bartley claimed he was beaten by police officers who kicked him in the mouth, his side and smashed his head into a parked police cruiser.

Inside the witness box, Bartley rested his head on his balled-up fist while listening to the taped statement.

Bartley stressed during his interview with detectives that he didn’t want them to believe he was a “cold-blooded animal” for shooting Austin.

Britton acknowledged he was friends with the retired cop, Luddie Austin. But he assured Bartley he didn’t believe he was a heartless person and that he would be treated fairly by police.

Britton said he believed the people who were involved in James Austin’s death were “good kids” and Austin had been gunned down after a “street fight went stupid.”

“He was your friend for 20 years,” Bartley said of Luddie Austin. “He has a dead son.”

Britton said cops learned “not to take things personally,” and that it would not benefit him to act like he wanted to “kill this mother—ker.”

“I would get amped up and die of a stroke while you’re still doing pushups in the yard,” Britton said.

After confessing to the murder, Bartley denied that his cousin, Currie, or anyone else, plotted to kill James Austin. He told cops he took matters into his own hands after Currie and James fought earlier that day, resulting in each man breaking car windows.

Bartley has now turned against his cousin and is cooperating with prosecutors as their star witness.

Jack Furlong, Currie’s attorney, questioned Bartley about differences between two statements he gave police.

The first statement he gave was Feb. 27, 2013, about 28 hours after the murder. He spoke to police a second time Sept. 3, 2014, a day before he formally accepted prosecutors’ plea in court.

The deal required him to provide “truthful testimony” against Currie, in exchange for Bartley pleading guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter and serving 25 years in prison. Prosecutors will dismiss conspiracy and weapons charges as part of the deal.

Bartley, who was on probation for an aggravated assault conviction at the time of the shooting, faced the possibility of life imprisonment if he was convicted of murder at trial.

Furlong went over Bartley’s responses to answers he provided when he pleaded guilty, pointing out circumstances that were not consistent with what witnesses have testified to at Currie’s trial.

“You were just trying to get it done,” Furlong said. “You wanted the deal didn’t you?”

Bartley was not shy about admitting his motivation in taking the deal. He also was pretty straightforward with detectives after initially claiming early on in the interrogation that he was not involved in Austin’s murder.

Britton told the then-22-year-old man that he had been identified and urged him to come clean.

The detective said Bartley was going to “take a hit” for Austin’s murder but said he would feel better if he didn’t wrap up others in a “spider web of shit they don’t need.”

“We actually have consciences,” Britton said, describing his police cohorts. “I would hate to see anybody in jail if they’re completely innocent. I would hate to see someone go to jail longer than they need to. Sometimes you just have to know, ‘I f–ed up.’ … Soften the hit rather than take a big hit. Don’t stick your chin out defiantly.”

Raheem Currie

A teary-eyed Bartley, breaking down several times throughout the interrogation, told detectives he understood “100 percent” and confessed to killing James Austin with a .32-caliber handgun he stashed at a friend’s home in Trenton.

“I hope you don’t think I went there with the intentions,” of killing him, Bartley said.

“I feel bad for everyone involved, including you,” Britton said. “I’m dumbfounded by this entire case. How old are you? You don’t look like a bad kid. I’ve gotten to meet some thugs, and I don’t get that vibe from you.”

Bartley admitted his role but told detectives several times that his cousin, two others who were in the car with him at the time of the shooting, and another friend whom he described as a “brother” were not involved in Austin’s killing.

Bartley urged detectives at the end of his interrogation to let his friend, Ryan Small, whom he described as being closer to than Currie, go free.

Small was picked up with Bartley and was in custody during Bartley’s interrogation.

Police raided Small’s home and found the handgun that Bartley used to kill Austin. It was stashed in a basement crawlspace, behind loose bricks, at Small’s parents’ home on the 100 block of Hanford Place.

During the first interview in February 2013, Bartley told detectives that he received a phone call from someone after the fight but didn’t say who was on the other end of the line.

A group including driver Brandon Hill, never charged with a crime, and Endia Kaver, Currie’s girlfriend, drove to pick up Bartley and returned to Austin’s home.

Bartley was at Small’s home drinking Jamaican rum and orange juice when he got a call from Currie, on Kaver’s phone.

Bartley testified that Currie asked him if he had his gun. He said that later he showed his gun to Currie and his girlfriend, who were both seated in the back of a silver Honda Civic that had its window bashed in.

Other witnesses did not mention hearing a conversation over the gun or seeing it when they took the stand last week.

Bartley said Kaver, who was never charged and testified last week, called her boyfriend a “p–y” prior to them driving back toward Austin’s home.

When they got there, Bartley said he knocked on the door of Austin’s East State Street home, demanded he pay for “his people’s” broken window and shot the retired cop’s son after Austin cursed out him and refused to pay.

At one point during his interrogation, Bartley asked police, “I’m the only one being charged with murder?”

Britton responded: “You had a carload of people. I’m trying to decide what to do. … Was it a plan? Was it a big conspiracy? Was it something that got out of hand? I don’t know.”

Bartley was initially unflinching about his cousin’s innocence.

“It wasn’t planned,” he said. “I’ll tell you that now. It wasn’t planned. I just knew his window was busted. He said he was fighting. I was like, ‘All right, let’s go.’”

“I believe you,” Britton said.

James Austin with his twin daughters

Currie at first was charged with gun possession, for allegedly knowing Bartley was armed when they returned to Austin’s home. The charges were upgraded following further investigation.

During his cross examination, Bartley would not answer questions about where he got the gun, which he started carrying after he said he was stabbed in Trenton.

Bartley was also asked about the alleged police beatdown.

Furlong wanted to know why he did not mention it to Britton.

“I just took it on the chin,” Bartley said. “It was to be expected.”

Bartley asked the detective later in the interrogation if he could arrange for him to be placed into protective custody at the Mercer County jail.

He claimed on the stand that he was frightened because police officers made threats about what would happen to him in jail.

While he refused to toss out a more serious charge of murder, a judge on Wednesday dismissed a murder conspiracy count against a city man who allegedly plotted with a cousin to kill a retired city cop’s son in 2013.

Assistant Prosecutor James Scott conceded that there was not enough evidence to support a charge of conspiracy to commit murder against Raheem Currie, the cousin of admitted killer Robert Bartley.

The jury will still consider a lesser conspiracy charge, as well as counts of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The murder carries a potential life sentence for Currie if he is found guilty.

Prosecutors pursued the murder charge under the state’s accomplice liability law that makes Currie responsible for James Austin’s death even though he did not pull the trigger.

Raheem Currie

Bartley, Currie’s cousin, admitted fatally shooting James Austin, the slain 18-year-old son of retired Trenton Police sergeant Luddie Austin, in February 2013.

Judge Pedro Jimenez said that under accomplice liability Currie, who chose not to testify, could still be “vicariously responsible” for Austin’s murder because his death from Robert Bartley’s actions was “reasonably foreseeable.”

“The defendant did not balk when Mr. Bartley showed him the gun,” Jimenez said. “Why else bring a gun to a fist fight? Bringing a gun, it’s not inconceivable that gun can be utilized for more than talk.”

Bartley admitted fatally shooting James Austin, following a dispute outside Austin’s East State Street home.

The dispute started when Currie and Austin fought each other and then broke each other’s car windows.

Currie and two others picked up Bartley and later returned to Austin’s house.

Bartley confronted Austin about the broken window, demanded the cop’s son pay for it and shot him once in the chest when he refused and cussed out Bartley.

Bartley struck a plea with prosecutors by admitting to aggravated manslaughter. He testified against his cousin, saying Currie called him and asked him if he had his gun, and is expected to receive 25 years in prison for his cooperation.

For Currie, the dismissal of the murder conspiracy count was a minor win.

The jury can still consider whether a conspiracy existed between Currie and Bartley to possess and use a handgun against James Austin.

It was distinction that confused some of Austin’s family members.

The four-count indictment against Currie, in effect, contained two forms of conspiracy under the single charge -- conspiracy to commit murder and the weapons conspiracy.

The dismissed murder conspiracy charge carried a maximum of 20 years in

Robert Bartley

prison upon conviction; the weapons conspiracy carries a maximum of 10 years for Currie if he is convicted.

“There is a zero evidence of a conspiracy there is affirmative evidence of no conspiracy,” defense attorney Jack Furlong said.

Furlong pointed to the testimony – or lack thereof – from witnesses Brandon Hill, the driver who was never charged, and Endia Kaver, Currie’s girlfriend.

Kaver testified that her boyfriend used her phone to call Bartley, but he never asked him if he had his gun. She recalled that when they got to the house, Bartley said he was going to spray up the house.

Kaver said she didn’t know what that meant. But she told police she remembered thinking, “Lord don’t let this get out of hand.”

Her testimony conflicted with Bartley, who said he received a call from Currie and that his cousin asked during the phone call whether he had his gun.

He said he flashed that gun toward Currie and Kaver inside the car, prior to their arrival at Austin’s home.

When he testified, Hill, who was driving at the time, did not mention anything about hearing or seeing a gun.

“Why would Mr. Currie call Mr. Bartley and ask him if he had a gun unless there was a purpose to use it against Mr. Austin in some way,” Scott said.

Facing life imprisonment for murder, the cousin of a city man on trial for killing a city cop’s son did whatever he could to get a deal.

That included lying under oath at his cousin’s murder conspiracy trial, a defense attorney said.

Raheem Currie

Defense attorney Jack Furlong didn’t stop there, laying out bold and inflammatory allegations against the admitted killer, Robert Bartley, and his defense attorney, Caroline Turner, who helped broker a deal with prosecutors that included cooperation against Bartley’s cousin, Raheem Currie.

“Why do we bargain for the truth? Don’t we tell the truth naturally?” said Furlong, referring to what he contended was Bartley’s only truthful statement, when he was interrogated by detectives a day after 18-year-old James Austin, the son of a retired Trenton cop, was gunned down in February 2013. “He had a certain truthfulness to him when he was emotionally honest.”

The accusations from Furlong incensed Assistant Prosecutor James Scott, and Bartley’s attorney who said they hit “below the belt.”

“I would never accuse another defense attorney of suborning perjury,” Turner told The Trentonian.

Scott rebuffed Furlong’s suggestion in his closing, and also countered allegations from Bartley, who testified at trial that he was beaten by police the day he was arrested for fatally shooting James Austin.

The closing arguments turned into a referendum on the use of self-interested cooperators and police brutality, an issue that has spawned the Black Lives Matter movement and a counter-resistance, Blue Lives Matter, amid a string of high-profile killings of black men and police officers that has ravaged the nation.

The prosecutor pointed out how well Trenton Police detective Gary Britton treated Bartley when he interrogated him. And in a rare show for a defense attorney, he stood up for Turner.

“A lawyer is supporting perjury?” Scott said. “That’s what the lawyer’s gonna do? Ask her client to lie? Please.”

About Currie’s involvement, the prosecutor said: “Actions speak louder than words. Raheem Currie is responsible for James Austin’s death.”

Because he was the black son of retired Trenton Police sergeant Luddie Austin, James Austin’s death in Trenton three years ago cut across factions of urban Trenton, which distrusts police, and the law enforcement community that is sometimes at odds with residents.

That much was clear when a Trenton Police officer, Drew Astbury, described James Austin as “one of our own.”

Furlong, invoking a Greek historian and past images of urban warfare that plagued the capital city streets for decades, cautioned the jury not to let James Austin’s connections to police influence the outcome of the case.

He called what happened to James Austin a tragedy, but said the only thing Currie agreed to with his cousin was to get money back over the smashed window. Then Bartley took matters into his own hands.

“A Greek historian said, ‘In times of peace, sons bury fathers. In times of war, fathers bury sons,’” Furlong said. “But Herodotus has never been to Trenton, New Jersey.

“The state has a homicide victim the state does not have a murder victim. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances and a young man died. That’s called being 19. … That’s called testosterone. That’s called being a young man.”

James Austin with his twin daughters

Scott said “silly kid stuff” turned deadly serious when Currie called up Bartley moments after he and James fought, and busted each other’s car windows, and asked his cousin if he had his gun.

His cousin testified that he told Currie to come see him. And when he did, he flashed the gun at Currie and his girlfriend, Endia Kaver, and said, “I have it, so whatever you want to do.”

Currie told the driver, Brandon Hill, who was friends with James Austin, to head back toward the cop son’s East State Street home, Scott said.

“One shot, several lives destroyed,” the prosecutor said.

During an interrogation in February 2013, Bartley cried and confessed to killing James Austin but said he acted alone and his cousin wasn’t involved.

He urged police to send his friend, Ryan Small, home after Small got wrapped up in the case when Bartley hid his .32-caliber handgun in a crawlspace at Small’s home. Small was never charged and testified as a witness.

Bartley gave a second statement to police in September 2014, a day before he pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter.

In the second statement, which was not video recorded but transcribed by a detective, Bartley told authorities that Currie asked him if he had a gun.

“That’s not a recipe for accuracy,” Furlong said. “That’s a recipe for conformity.”

The defense attorney said Bartley has animus toward his cousin because he is sitting prison for intervening in Currie’s beef.

“You got me in this mess, and I’m the one serving time,” he said. “Dude, you shot the gun.”

Then Furlong turned his sights on Turner, suggesting he knew how her conversation with Bartley went. He said she suggested she could get him a deal if he gave prosecutors information that helped their case against Currie.

He also accused prosecutors of “cherry-picking” Bartley’s testimony. They want the jury to believe him testimony about Currie but not about the cops beatdown.

“These are polemic times in terms of police relationship with the community,” Furlong said. “There’s a wealth of emotions and people are being killed. It obviously struck a nerve when he said I got beat up. … They want you to cherry-pick Robert’s testimony, the one that is most favorable to us. The state was supposed to pick a lane. It straddled the middle.”

Robert Bartley

At trial, Scott called a detective to the stand to get Bartley’s mugshot in evidence, to show he was not battered by police officers who retaliated over James Austin’s death.

He defended the decision.

“These are charged times. Lots of people are concerned about police conduct,” Scott said. “And I knew you would want to see [his mugshot]. Am I saying Robert Bartley is lying? No. I’m not. His perspective is he’s being surrounded by police officers who know he used a gun. What are those officers gonna do? They’re gonna make sure they have control of Mr. Bartley.”

TRENTON >> Anthony Hemingway shot once.

If a famous author could visit the violence-plagued streets of New Jersey’s capital city, he might say, “Every man’s life ends the same way.”

Anthony Hemingway(Left) and Quosheon Williams (Right)

In this case, it was 25-year-old Kayron Jones, who was gunned down in Trenton in 2013 by a group of men, including two friends, that planned to rob him. Things went awry.

The authorities believed at the time that gangs and drugs were involved, according to Trentonian archives. A grand jury returned an indictment against four men.

They pleaded guilty Wednesday. They’re headed to prison. Hemingway will serve the longest term under his plea deal.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter Thursday before Judge Peter Warshaw and is expected to spend 20 years in prison.

Kayron Jones

His codefendants, Naquan Chance, London Feliciano, both of Trenton, and Quosheon Williams, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty to robbery. They’re headed to prison for 10 years, under terms of their plea deals, according to the county prosecutor spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio.

The four suspected gangsters were named in a 16-count indictment charging them with causing Jones’ death after a home invasion in August 2013.

Each was charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault and weapons offenses before they struck plea deals.

Cops arrived on an early summer morning at the Jones’ home on the 600 block of North Olden Avenue and found the service worker and amateur baseball standout Jones suffering a gunshot wound to his chest. He died at a city hospital.

The four suspects allegedly scattered across the country and were tracked down by U.S. Marshals.

Williams fled the state and was arrested and extradited from Surprise, Ariz.

Trenton detectives charged the four men after they obtained surveillance video and eyewitness accounts.

They are being sentenced Oct. 4, more than three years after Jones lost his life.

The man who was shot in the head at a young girl’s birthday party Saturday night has been pronounced legally brain-dead.

Nolman Vidal Rodriguez, 24, was pronounced legally brain-dead Sunday afternoon at Capital Health Regional Medical Center. He's expected to be taken off of life-support sometime Monday.

Rodriguez was attending a birthday party outside of an apartment building in the 600 block of Greenwood Avenue around 9 p.m. Saturday when an unknown man approached on foot and randomly fired at the crowd.

Dozens of people including several children were outside the apartment building when at least five shots rang out, sending kids scattering into the building.

“There were approximately 30 people attending an 8-year-old’s birthday party,” Capt. Don Fillinger said.

Nolman Vidal Rodriguez

Video of the shooting, obtained by The Trentonian, shows a man in a hooded sweatshirt walking on the opposite side of the street. The man stops at the Hanford Place intersection and fires several shots across the street toward people attending the party. The video captures the muzzle flash of the first shot, then shows the man with his arm extended as he continues to shoot.

When the gunsmoke cleared, Rodriguez was lying on the ground suffering from at least one gunshot wound to his head.

Witnesses say Rodriguez was talking to someone else at the time of the incident and may have been an innocent bystander. People close to him say Rodriguez definitely was not the target of the shooting, and that the real target was someone who lives in the apartment building.

“The shooter didn’t aim at one person, he just randomly fired shots,” a witness told The Trentonian. “There was a woman holding a baby standing right next to the guy who got hit. Even if the shooter had a motive, it didn’t make sense to fire because there were kids right there.”

Nolman Rodriguez was shot outside of this apartment building where a girl's birthday party was being held at the time. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

Witnesses say a bullet hit a speaker that was setup outside the front window of an apartment, but a second bullet actually entered the home through the window pane and then traveled through a wall separating the living room from the kitchen. That bullet almost hit a young child who was in the home with his parents.

“The speaker saved one of my kids, but another bullet was inches away from my other child,” the kid’s parent said.

According to his family and friends, Rodriguez is from Honduras and has lived in the capital city for two years. He has a brother and a sister living in the area, but his parents are still overseas. Rodriguez was employed as a roofer.

Rodriguez’s family and friends are now trying to raise enough money to send his body back to Honduras.

At this time, no one has been arrested in connection with the shooting. Anyone with information about Rodriguez's death is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406. Or call the Trenton Police confidential tip line at 609-989-3663. Individuals may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at 609-278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

The jury in the Raheem Currie murder conspiracy trial on Tuesday asked to re-hear testimony from prosecutors’ star witness, focusing on a phone call in which two cousins allegedly discussed a handgun used to kill a retired city cop’s son.

The 12-member panel this morning listened a second time to excerpts of Robert Bartley’s testimony. They returned minutes later and asked a judge for clarification about a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter.

Raheem Currie

Currie’s attorney expressed concerns about the jury hearing portions of the testimony and not having the full context.

Prosecutors suggested at trial the cousins engaged in a conspiracy to kill Austin.

But Judge Pedro Jimenez tossed out a conspiracy to commit murder count against Currie because of a lack of evidence.

Bartley, Currie's cousin, has admitted to fatally shooting 18-year-old James Austin in February 2013, after he intervened in a spat between Currie and Austin that prosecutors said started as a “silly street fight.

Austin, a father of twin girls and the slain son of retired Trenton sergeant Luddie Austin, was shot once in the chest in the doorway an East State Street home as his girlfriend, LaPorsha Guy, held one of the couple’s infant daughters.

Bartley accepted a plea deal calling for 25 years in prison and is awaiting sentencing.

Currie faces life imprisonment if he is convicted of murder as an accomplice. He also faces a conspiracy charge for possessing weapons as well as weapons charges.

A jury can also find him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter if it can't agree on the murder charge.

Currie, who did not testify at trial, has denied having anything to do with Austin’s death, pitting his word against his cousin's.

The trial has gripped Trenton, the home of Luddie Austin, a reality TV cast member and black cop who worked the city streets for nearly two decades.

Luddie Austin has appeared on the A&E reality television show, “Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force."

James Austin, the black son of the well-known cop, has become a unifying symbol amid outcry and distrust of police in urban neighborhoods across the nation.

James' name  was read by Regina Thompson-Jenkins, the mother of another murdered city man, at a rally last month outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., where supporters called for tighter gun control to quell violence on the nation’s inner city streets.

A city cop testified that the death of James Austin, whom he referred to as “one of our own,” took a toll on the Trenton Police department.

The defense asked for a mistrial over the comment.

Bartley took the stand and claimed, among other things, he was beaten by police when he was arrested, turning the trial into a referendum on police brutality.

That was one of the most dramatic moments in the trial, eclipsed only when defense attorney Jack Furlong, in his closing argument, suggested Bartley’s attorney supported perjury by allowing her client to strike a deal with prosecutors in exchange for false testimony against Currie.

The accusation created a rift between Furlong and public defender Caroline Turner.

And a New York law professor said the defense attorney crossed an ethical line by making the accusation with no facts to corroborate the claim.

James Austin's relatives have worn memorial buttons like these at the murder conspiracy trial of Raheem Currie.

But it was Bartley’s testimony that came back into focus Tuesday, when the jury listened to clips of his direct and cross examinations prior to returning to the jury room to resume deliberations.

During an interrogation a day after the murder, Bartley confessed to killing Austin and said he was solely responsible for Austin’s death.

He denied that he and his cousin conspired to kill the retired cop’s son.

But a day before he accepted a 25-year plea deal for aggravated manslaughter, Bartley gave authorities a second statement where he said for the first time that Currie knew about his gun and asked him to bring it to Austin’s home.

Bartley kept the gun in a shoebox in his room, he testified. He said his cousin and two others picked him up the afternoon of Feb. 26, 2013, prior to the fatal shooting.

Currie and James Austin were involved in a fist fight earlier that day, which culminated with the men busting out each other’s car windows.

Currie threw a tire iron threw Austin’s windshield, while Austin jumped on top of the windshield of a Honda Civic that belonged to Currie’s aunt.

Bartley said he went with his cousin, Endia Kaver, Currie’s girlfriend, and Brandon Hill, a friend of Austin, over to the East State Street home to get Austin to pay for the broken windshield.

Bartley said that before he was picked up, he received a phone call from Currie in which his cousin asked him if he had his gun.

Neither Kaver nor Hill – both of whom testified – mentioned hearing Currie ask during the phone conversation about a gun.

Kaver, who has been in a seven-year relationship with Currie, said that her boyfriend asked for her phone to call home.

She heard Currie ask someone on the other end of the line, presumably Bartley, whether his mother was home.

Bartley said that when the group arrived to pick him up, he showed his .32-caliber gun to Currie and Kaver while they sat in the back seat of the car. Kaver called Currie a "p----," Bartley said.

Bartley recalled saying that he had the gun so it was “whatever” Currie wanted to do.

Robert Bartley

Currie told the driver, Hill, to head back toward Austin’s home, Bartley said.

When they arrived, Bartley hopped out of the car. Kaver said she heard Bartley say he was going to “spray up” the home, but she repeatedly said she did not know what he meant.

She told police during an interview after the fatal shooting that she remembered thinking, “Lord, don’t let this get out of hand.”

Bartley, when he testified, denied saying he was going to spray up the home. He said he got out of the car and found Austin’s door cracked open.

The men argued. Austin cussed him out and refused to pay for the broken windshield.

Bartley told the cops he didn’t know who Austin was and whether he had something in his hand. He said Austin lunged toward him and he fired one shot.

Bartley got back into the car, he said, and told everyone to keep their mouths shut.

He got dropped off at the Hanford Place home of a friend, Ryan Small, where he hid his gun in a basement crawlspace, behind some loose bricks. He and Small were arrested the next day.

Small was released when police determine he was not involved in the murder.

Raheem Currie

TRENTON >> When the jury forewoman said “not guilty,” to one of the conspiracy charges, Luddie Austin’s heart dropped. He shook his head in disbelief. 

A sense of despair eased over him as he contemplated that there would be no “Justice for James,” his son who was shot to death when a “silly, silly” dispute over car windshields turned violent in Trenton in February 2013.

“I thought everything was over,” the retired Trenton sergeant said. “It was confusing.”

It was actually just beginning – another chapter in a tragic three-year odyssey that tore up city residents who befriended the well-known cop as well as the Trenton Police department that felt it lost “one of our own.”

Inside a tense Mercer County courtroom filled with spectators and sheriff officers, a jury went on to deliver guilty verdicts against Raheem Currie, of Trenton, on three charges related to the death of a 18-year-old James Austin, a father of twin daughters and Luddie’s son.

James Austin with his twin daughters

While simultaneously being acquitted of murder and a weapons offense, Currie was convicted of a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter, conspiracy to commit unlawful possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon.

He was also found not guilty of murder – which carried a potential life term – conspiracy to possess a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of weapon for an unlawful purpose, following roughly 15 hours of jury deliberations over three days.

Luddie Austin and his family members, initially aghast and then overjoyed by the jury’s decision, tried to keep their emotions bottled up after Judge Pedro Jimenez warned spectators any outbursts could result in them being held in contempt of court.

But the split verdicts were a byproduct of the case, an emotional one, that amounted to a tight trapeze walk for lawyers and the judge because of some of the nuanced legal issues.

Currie’s attorney, Jack Furlong, surmised the inconsistent verdicts meant the jury was at a loss about how to reconcile the heart-tugging case.

“I can’t blame the jury because if they were confused, they’d have to get in line,” he said.

After the initial scorn and confusion dissipated, Austin’s mother, Yvonne Maxwell, kissed her Bible and pictures of her slain son.

Luddie Austin shook hands and hugged relatives outside the courtroom.

Luddie Austin on A&E's "Manhunter: Fugitive Task Force"

“It’s hard,” he said afterward. “It’s surreal. We waited three years for the man to be put in handcuffs. We’re still hurting. It’s went from down to up with the verdicts.  … I don’t wish hate on nobody. [Currie’s] parents just lost a child, too, but they lost him in a different way.”

Currie was inconsolable as his attorney patted him on the back following the devastating news.

Dressed in a black suit, he was led away from the courtroom in handcuffs after Jimenez revoked the $75,000 bail and scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8.

Currie, who is faced with up to 40 years in prison, became the second Trenton man held responsible for Austin’s death.

Cousin Robert Bartley, who got a 25-year deal to testify against Currie at trial, already admitted to shooting James Austin after he intervened when Currie and Austin busted out each other’s car windows earlier in the day.

“It’s just a tragic loss,” said James Scott, the assistant prosecutor who took over the case from retired prosecutor Lewis Korngut. “James was just starting his life to be killed so tragically over such a silly, silly situation.”

The case, not only tragic, was also complex.

To some degree, Jimenez was “flying blind,” Furlong said, because of a state Supreme Court decision in another case, State v. Bridges, that effectively moved the goalposts for whether someone is responsible for murder when an agreement is not reached between co-conspirators about committing the murder.

In Currie’s case, the judge dismissed a conspiracy to commit murder charge against Currie during the trial after prosecutors agreed there was not enough evidence to sustain the count.

Robert Bartley

That was based on testimony from Currie’s cousin, Robert Bartley, who said he did not intend to kill James Austin when he went over to his home Feb. 26, 2013. But he went to the home armed after his cousin asked him if he had his gun.

Bartley contended that he kept the gun in his pocket while he confronted Austin about a broken windshield to try to get him to pay for it.

Currie and two others got into a car and drove to pick up Bartley.

On the way over, Currie used his girlfriend’s cell phone to call Bartley. Witnesses provided contradicting testimony about what was said on the call.

Bartley claimed Currie asked him if he had his gun.

Endia Kaver, Currie’s girlfriend, did not hear her boyfriend say anything about a gun.

After they arrived back at the home, Bartley went up to the door. He and Austin exchanged words. Bartley pulled out his .32-caliber gun and shot Austin once in the chest, in front of Austin’s girlfriend who was clutching their infant daughter.

The judge ruled the jury could decide whether Currie was guilty of murder as an accomplice, as well as remaining conspiracy and weapons charges.

“Why else bring a gun to a fist fight?” Jimenez surmised.

Family members have worn memorial buttons like these throughout the murder conspiracy trial of Raheem Currie

Furlong vowed to appeal the conviction. He said he would “bet the house” that it will get overturned.

“The practical outcome of this verdict is Raheem Currie will spend three years in prison waiting for the appellate court to say, ‘Nope, you got it wrong,’” Furlong said. “I don’t mean this as a pejorative term but I think Jimenez was flying blind, which is what a trial judge has to do when the Supreme Court changes the law on you.”

Luddie Austin and Yvonne Maxwell, James Austin’s parents, had just absorbed the outcome to start worrying about a possible appeal.

“It’s just one step at a time,” Luddie said, tears forming in his eyes. “We always wanted Justice for James. We wanted justice in the eyes of the law. We never asked for any special treatment. On Aug. 3, justice was served.  I can see [James] smiling now. He would just be so happy.”

Jonathan Jimenez was shot and killed on Cummings Avenue Friday night. (Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman - Trentonian)

A 32-year-old Hispanic man was shot and killed late Friday in the Chambersburg neighborhood, police said.

Trenton resident Jonathan Jimenez of the 200 block of Hamilton Avenue was found lying in the street unconscious and unresponsive about 11 p.m. after suffering a gunshot wound through the chest, authorities said.

The victim was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, becoming the city’s 13th homicide victim of 2016, police said.

The shooting occurred in front of 35 Cummings Ave. about a half block away from Whittaker Avenue, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

Johnathan Jimenez

The gunman shot Jimenez and then hopped inside a vehicle. The shooter — described only as a Hispanic male — fled the scene in the vehicle, which was occupied by another Hispanic male suspect, police said.

The suspects drove the vehicle a few blocks away, parked it on Elmer Street and fled the area on foot, according to Trenton Police Capt. Donald Fillinger, citing witness observations.

Police located the vehicle and have processed it for fingerprints, DNA and anything else of evidential value, Fillinger said Saturday afternoon.

With Jimenez being fatally gunned down Friday night, “We will be praying for that family,” said the Rev. Lukata Mjumbe, a member of the United Mercer Interfaith Organization that prays at the scenes of Trenton homicide locations within 24 hours of a slaying.

Mjumbe on Saturday said victims of violent crimes in New Jersey and their family members are eligible to receive thousands of dollars in mental health counseling, funeral allowances and other monetary benefits courtesy of the state’s Victims of Crime Compensation Office.

“A city like Trenton that suffers so much in shootings and murders disproportionately to our numbers, you really have to take advantage of those programs,” Mjumbe said.

More mayhem

Trenton Police earlier on Friday arrested a 16-year-old boy on attempted murder charges in connection with a shooting unrelated to the homicide of Jimenez.

The suspect, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, allegedly shot a vehicle multiple times about 11 a.m. Friday in an attempt to kill the 46-year-old Ocean County man who was driving the vehicle, police said.

The victim had driven into the capital city from Whiting to collect paperwork from Catholic Charities. The victim then drove over to East Hanover Street seeking to collect an $80 debt from a drug dealer associate, according to police, who said the associate was the 16-year-old suspect.

The Ocean County man located the boy and informed the juvenile that he needed the money owed to him. The teenager said he would get the money but came back to the area with a handgun and fired multiple shots, striking the victim’s vehicle at least four times, police said.

None of the gunshots struck the Ocean County man. He immediately fled the area in his vehicle and drove to Trenton Police headquarters to report the incident, police said.

Police processed the victim’s vehicle for criminal evidence and took a statement from the victim, who provided police with the identity of the suspected shooter. Officers later found the suspect and charged him with criminal attempt homicide and numerous other charges, according to Capt. Fillinger. Although the victim admitted he was seeking to collect a drug payment, Fillinger said police are not charging the victim with anything.

In another violent crime, Trenton Police on Saturday were investigating a strong arm robbery that occurred about 1 p.m. on the 400 block of Southard Street near Brunswick Avenue.

A 58-year-old Trenton man was riding on his bicycle when a suspect forced the victim off the bike and punched the victim in his head, police said. The impact of the punch knocked the victim to the ground, causing the victim to suffer contusions to his forehead.

The suspect, described as a 5-foot-6 black male of thin build in his 20s, robbed the victim of his iPhone and fled down the side of Southard Street toward the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail. The suspect was further described as having short black hair and was wearing a green T-shirt and black jeans, police said.

The bicyclist was taken to the hospital for treatment, according to Fillinger.

Anyone with information on the strong-arm robbery can contact the Trenton Police Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663. Anyone with information on Jimenez’s slaying is urged to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406.

This makeshift memorial honoring Jonathan Jimenez is located in the 500 block of Emory Avenue. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

A woman who was walking across Emory Avenue Sunday afternoon noticed a makeshift memorial in honor of Jonathan Jimenez and made the sign of the cross on her body. The woman doesn’t know Jimenez, nor any of his family, but it was a gesture of understanding and faith that justice will prevail.

Jimenez, 32, was shot and killed in the Chambersburg section of the city outside of his Cummings Avenue home Friday night. His relatives say he moved into the property three days prior to his death.

Jimenez left behind three children: a 10-year-old son and two daughters, ages 15 and 11. He also has two brothers living in Trenton, one of whom is his twin.

Jonathan Jimenez (submitted photo)

“It hurts for me and the kids to look at his twin brother,” Jonathan’s estranged wife Andrea Vargas said as tears streamed down her face. “Now when I look at him, I don’t see Anthony anymore. I see my children’s father.”

Make no mistake about it, the shock of Jonathan’s death reverberated throughout Trenton’s Latin-American community. There are two makeshift memorials in his honor: one on Cummings Avenue where the shooting happened, and one in the 500 block of Emory Avenue. All day Sunday, his friends and relatives visited both memorials to show their respect. People close to Jonathan also held small gatherings in other locations throughout Trenton. They described him as a “happy-ass dude” who “always had a smile on his face.”

His relatives say Jonathan most recently worked for a car dealership, where he cleaned and detailed cars, which was one of his favorite pastimes. He often found landscaping work as well, and he used to be employed as a security guard at Ilusiones Bar and Restaurant on Roebling Avenue.

His family says Jonathan moved from Puerto Rico to the United States more than a decade ago to pursue “a better life.” His older brother Humberto, whom has lived here for 22 years, described Puerto Rico as a violent place where men are often shot simply for looking at another man’s girlfriend. Humberto said the U.S. was a better fit for Jonathan because he was outgoing and friendly to everyone. He never expected his brother to be gunned down in cold blood, Humberto said.

“In Puerto Rico, people want to fight for everything; they’re so jealous,” Humberto said. “But Jonathan would start a conversation with anyone and introduce himself. He was a really funny guy. When they called and told me my brother was shot, I thought it may have been his twin. I couldn't believe it was Jonathan. I held the phone in shock.”

It’s no secret that the Chambersburg section of Trenton has become a hotbed of crime in recent years. Last week, officials told The Trentonian that police are creating a plan to address crime throughout the neighborhood.

A report on Trenton’s neighborhoods published last year by New Jersey Community Capital and the Center for Community Progress ranks Chambersburg as one of the most violent areas in the capital city, with crime increasing at levels greater than the citywide trend. The report also notes that Chambersburg is experiencing a “significant erosion of homeownership,” and that the level of investor purchases in that section of the city is a “significant concern.”

Jonathan's brother Humberto Jimenez stands next to a makeshift memorial in the first block of Cummings Avenue (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

Gloria Ruiz, who’s the godmother of Jonathan’s oldest daughter, said residents of Chambersburg no longer look out for one another, which is most likely attributed to the lack of homeownership throughout the community.

“The people who have lived here for a long time try and stick together, but there’s a lot of people moving in and out and they’re not attentive to their neighbors,” Ruiz, who has lived in Chambersburg for about 10 years, said. “The neighborhood is changing and everyone seems so separated. It was much more peaceful when we first moved here and there were a lot less shootings. We need more security patrolling the area, and we need neighbors to come together and stop worrying about the petty things in life.”

As of press time Sunday, police have not disclosed a motive for the killing, nor have they charged anyone in connection with Jonathan’s death. But witnesses of the shooting reported seeing two Hispanic males flee the crime scene in a vehicle that was later found a few blocks away. Police say the vehicle has been processed for fingerprints, DNA and anything else of evidentiary value.

Jonathan’s family plans to send his body back to Puerto Rico to be laid to rest on a plot of land where other family members are buried, Humberto said. As friends visited the two memorials honoring Jonathan’s life Sunday, the family tried their best to honor wishes he expressed to them years ago.

“He said that when he dies he wants everyone to have a good time and celebrate his life and death in a positive way,” Vargas said while trying to force a smile. “He doesn’t want people complaining or crying. He wants us to play music and have drinks in his name, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

So far this year, 13 people have been murdered in the capital city. Anyone with information about Jimenez’s death is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406. Or call the Trenton Police confidential tip line at 609-989-3663. Individuals may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at 609-278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

Alberto Perez

A city man accused of killing his close friend may have pulled the trigger over an $80 drug debt.

Alberto A. Perez, 37, is charged with murder and related weapons offenses for allegedly killing Jonathan Jimenez, who was gunned down last Friday.

Jonathan's relatives say he and Perez were close friends, and that they may have argued over an $80 debt.

Police sources told The Trentonian the argument regarded a drug debt.

"They were close enough that they would eat from the same plate," Jonathan’s estranged wife Andrea Vargas said, adding that she doesn't understand why someone would kill their own friend. "They were definitely friends. He attended a baby shower with Jonathan."

Officials say Perez was arrested in connection with unrelated outstanding warrants this past weekend. Prosecutor's charged him with murder Tuesday afternoon.

Jimenez, who is originally from Puerto Rico but has lived in Trenton for more than a decade, was gunned down in the first block of Cummings Avenue around 10:30 p.m. August 5. His family says he had moved into a home on that block three days prior to his death. When police arrived at the scene, they found Jimenez lying in the street suffering from a gunshot wound through his chest. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Witnesses reported seeing two Hispanic males flee the crime scene in a vehicle that was later found a few blocks away. Officials would not confirm whether the second suspect has been identified. But a spokesperson with the prosecutor's office said the investigation remains ongoing.

Jimenez — who most recently worked for a car dealership, but often found landscaping work as well, and used to be employed as a security guard at Ilusiones Bar and Restaurant — left behind three children: a 10-year-old son and two daughters, ages 15 and 11. He also has two brothers living in Trenton, one of whom is his twin.

His family originally planned to send Jonathan's body back to Puerto Rico to be laid to rest on a plot of land where other relatives are buried. But they have now decided to bury him in Trenton so his children can regularly visit his grave.

Jonathan Jimenez

"Some of his family is in Puerto Rico, but his life was over here," Gloria Ruiz, who’s the godmother of Jonathan’s oldest daughter, said. "If they bury him in Puerto Rico, the kids won't be able to visit him. They want to visit his grave at least five minutes every day."

The death of a father would be traumatic for any young child, but Jonathan's death compounds his kids' grief because they were friends with 16-year-old Ciony Kirkman, who died earlier this year after being shot in the head while in a stolen minivan on Jersey Street.

"The kids are not doing too good," Ruiz said. "They're taking it day-by-day."

The family plans to host a fundraiser to help pay for Jonathan's funeral expenses Friday in Columbus Park from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Friends and family paid their respects at two makeshift memorials in Chambersburg on the Sunday after Jonathan Jimenez's death. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

A city man who may have shot another man to death over a drug debt denies being involved in his friend’s death.

But Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward said at a bail hearing Monday morning that at least one witness identified 37-year-old Alberto Perez, who has been charged with murder and weapons offenses, as the man behind the fatal Aug. 5 shooting of Jonathan Jimenez.

Alberto Perez

Jimenez was shot in the chest and found in the street on the first block of Cummings Avenue.

A judge maintained Perez’s bail at $750,000 after hearing from prosecutors, who said a witness told police that after the shooting, Perez fled in a Honda Civic that was later located a few blocks away from the slaying.

Perez lived a short distance away from the murder, on Anderson Street.

Witnesses told police another Hispanic man was in the car but it is unclear at this point whether authorities are seeking a second suspect in connection with the fatal shooting.

Prosecutors shed little light on the circumstances of the shooting at the bail hearing and did not address a possible motive for the killing.

Police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that Jimenez was killed over an $80 drug debt.

Jimenez’s widow, Andrea Vargas, told The Trentonian that Perez was friends with her husband and attended family functions in the past.

“They were close enough that they would eat from the same plate,” she said. “They were definitely friends. He attended a baby shower with Jonathan.”

When Perez spoke to police after he was arrested, he denied having anything to do with Jimenez’s murder. He acknowledged being in the area, Ward said.

Jason Charles Matey, Perez’s attorney, said his client maintains his innocence and his office will vigorously contest the charges.

Jonathan Jimenez

Perez and Jimenez are both from Puerto Rico but have lived in Trenton for more than a decade.

Jimenez’s family said he moved into a home on Cummings Avenue three days before he was gunned down.

Perez has lived in New Jersey for at least 16 years, Matey said.

Perez has prior convictions for burglary and violated probation in the past but does not appear to have any documented history of violence.

Jimenez left behind a 10-year-old son and two daughters, ages 15 and 11. He also has two brothers living in Trenton, one of whom is his twin.

Stephen Merrill

The man who was brutally beaten while walking home earlier this month has died in the hospital. He was very active in Trenton's arts and music community, and his death has saddened all who knew him.

"He was the kind of guy who makes the city of Trenton special," TC Nelson, owner of Trenton Social, told The Trentonian after hearing the news Thursday. "He was supportive of everything and everyone who was trying to do something positive in the city."

Stephen Merrill, 60, was brutally beaten around 3 a.m. August 2 in the 900 block of Lamberton Street. He suffered a brain bleed, a collapsed lung, facial fractures, a broken arm and broken ribs. Merrill died in the hospital Wednesday after being taken off of life support. An autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of his death is scheduled for Friday.

Jonathan Weathers, 25, was arrested last week and charged with attempted murder and robbery in connection with the beating. His charges will likely be upgraded to murder.

"Stephen was well-known and well-liked by everyone who hangs out at Trenton Social," Nelson said. "He was a really nice guy and everyone's upset about the incident. They're left with a big question mark: How does this happen to such a nice guy? It seems like it was just a random act of violence, and it makes no sense."

At Weathers’ bail hearing Wednesday, prosecutors said his girlfriend provided an eyewitness account detailing how he beat Merrill within inches of his life, then stole his wallet, cash, a Samsung phone and a Fitbit watch. Prosecutors say the woman’s statement is corroborated, in part, by surveillance video.

Prosecutors say Weathers was driving his girlfriend’s Nissan Maxima on South Broad Street when he saw Merrill walking alone. Weathers asked his girlfriend what she “thought about him,” prosecutors say, and she told Weathers not to rob him.

Jonathan Weathers

Weathers then got mad at his girlfriend, cursed at her, and drove the car to a side street, where he parked and jumped out of the vehicle. Prosecutors say he told the woman to switch to the driver’s seat while he approached the victim.

The woman told police she saw Weathers hit Merrill, and that they both fell onto the sidewalk, out of view. Weathers then stole Merrill’s property, ran back to the car and told his girlfriend to drive.

Merrill was left unconscious on the ground to die, officials say, but the man’s neighbors found him and called police.

"This is terrible," city artist and Executive Director of Artworks Lauren Otis said via text message Thursday morning after hearing Merrill died.

"Stephen was an active member of the Trenton Photo Club," Chris Marinari said. "He was a great guy. Trenton needs more people like him that are enthusiastic about the future of the city and how we can make it better. But because of some random, senseless act, we now have one less. It's a very sad day."

Nelson said Merrill was at Trenton Social on the evening before the brutal beating, but left the bar sometime before midnight.

"I remember seeing him at my place the night before, but the incident happened much later," Nelson said. "We were cooperative with the police investigation and tried to help them piece together the timeline. But Stephen wasn't here until closing time. I saw him here around 10 or 11 p.m. I don't know where he went after that."

According to prosecutors, at some point during the escape after the beating, Weathers switched seats with his girlfriend and drove to a gas station, where he used Merrill’s credit card to purchase cigarettes and gas.

Later, Weathers unsuccessfully tried to burn Merrill’s wallet, and then stashed the victim’s cellphone in the bushes outside of his girlfriend’s home, according to prosecutors.

Weathers eventually disposed of the cellphone by throwing it out of a car window, and he tossed Merrill’s wallet into the sewer, prosecutors said.

Detective Sgt. Anthony Manzo of the Violent Crimes Unit later watched surveillance footage from the night of the beating and recognized Weathers as the suspect. Manzo knew Weathers from previous encounters in the city. Weathers was arrested Aug. 10, after police saw him driving the Nissan Maxima, which was captured in the surveillance video.

When police stopped the vehicle, they arrested Weathers in connection with active local warrants. Further investigation developed enough probable cause to charge Weathers in connection with the robbery.

Weathers has been arrested four times for various offenses ranging from aggravated assault to drug distribution. He has three felony convictions and has served prison time — most recently in 2013, prosecutors said.

When he attacked Merrill, prosecutors say, Weathers was out on bail after pleading guilty to a domestic violence charge involving his girlfriend — the same woman who gave police a statement about the robbery. Weathers was not supposed to be with the woman at the time of the crime because she had a restraining order against him, prosecutors said.

In the domestic violence case, Weathers was accused of punching and slapping the woman, and then stealing her cellphone. He was charged with robbery and burglary, but under terms of a plea deal he admitted only to the latter. He was expected to receive a sentence that would have kept him out of jail, but now faces the possibility of life in prison if he is convicted on murder charges.

Weathers’ attorney said he did not intend to kill Merrill.

Nelson said Merrill has grown kids who live outside of the city, but often visited Trenton Social with their father. Nelson described Merrill as an avid photographer who loved children and the outdoors.

"He was big into photography and took some great pictures of my son," Nelson said. "He loved kids, and he was always riding his bike or kayaking on the river. He was supportive of everything that was going on in the city music-wise and art-wise. He was involved and he was plugged in."

Weathers is being held in the county jail. His bail was set at $500,000 for the robbery and attempted murder charges, which will likely be upgraded.

— Trentonian staff writer Isaac Avilucea contributed to this report.

Former Mercer County corrections officer Carl Batie had a “heart as big as this world” and the swagger of a GQ model, his colleagues and family members said.

Elaine Batie, Carl’s mother, daubed her eyes while remembering the moment her second-oldest son was placed into her arms on March 3, 1985. She smiled so much her “cheeks began to hurt.”

Maurice Skillman

That smile disappeared Nov 11, 2012, when Batie was shot in the head while celebrating the re-election of President Barack Obama with his brother, Karshawn, at a Trenton banquet hall.

“That smile I had on my face for 27 years became a frown,” Elaine Batie said. “Every day I think he’s coming home through the front door from a long day at work.”

Before a packed courtroom Friday in Mercer County criminal court, a judge handed life sentences to two city men for their roles in taking Batie’s life.

Maurice Skillman, 30, and Hykeem Tucker, 29, who were convicted following a second trial in June, were set to prison for 75 years for the murder of Batie.

They received consecutive 18-month terms for nearly striking a bouncer who was perched on a wood stoop monitoring the crowd at the Baldassari Regency banquet hall in the early-morning hours, when Skillman opened fire 22 times with a semi-automatic handgun.

Tucker’s sentence was harsher than the 55 years Assistant Prosecutor James Scott asked for, saying he felt that even though he was an accomplice Tucker was less responsible because didn’t pull the trigger.

Judge Andrew Smithson said, in handing down the life terms, he felt prosecutors would have asked for the death penalty if it hadn’t been abolished in 2007.

“These are the cases that try judges’ souls,” he said.

The judge said Skillman had a “terrorist” mentality when he fired at the crowd 22 times and called his decision “an incredibly cowardly act of violence.”

“The only way you can deter him is by keeping him away from people,” Smithson said. “The miracle here was that no one else was hit.”

Turning to Tucker, the judge said the men were “two peas in a pod.”

Carl Batie

They planned the shooting together, hid a Tec-9 gun in the area and lurked in the shadows until they saw an opportunity around 1:15 a.m. as people were getting ready to leave the packed establishment.

Tucker acted as a lookout while Skillman opened fired – all of it captured on grainy surveillance tapes that were the foundation of prosecutors’ case.

Skillman maintained his innocence and will appeal his conviction. He said he prays for Batie’s family and sends his condolences. He apologized for “everything” they have been through.

Tucker, who didn’t speak, claimed in a pre-sentencing report that he was on Percocet and Xanax at the time of the shooting.

Skillman turned to the back of the family and told family members he loved them as he was led from the court.

Tucker’s attorney, Christopher Campbell, asked the judge for a 30-year sentence and expressed shock at the outcome.

“It was surprising, particularly when the state appeared to be not seeking an equivalent sentence,” he said. “I think the decision was more of a legal decision that both were charged with the same crime and the jury found them guilty of the same thing.”

A jury deliberated roughly 40 minutes at the retrial before convicting the men without asking any questions or reviewing the tapes a second time.

Jurors in the first trial were unable to determine whether it was Skillman and Tucker on the tapes and came back deadlocked.

For the judge, the tapes were definitive and were the only reason prosecutors convicted the men.

“[Tucker] was with him right down the line,” Smithson said. “That video will stay with me forever.”

Hykeem Tucker

Mercer County corrections officer Chanique Veal, who started at the same time as Batie in 2007, told the judge there were “no winners” in the case. She hoped the spirit of Batie, a magnanimous man who loved to dress up and bred dogs in his spare time, ”continues to shine.”

She said Batie’s mother was his “superhero” and praised her for her strength and resilience for enduring two trials.

Elaine Batie said her son’s death forced her into early retirement. She recalled the moments he has missed and lamented he doesn’t get to see his newborn nephew.

“I know this pain with last for life,” Elaine Batie said.

She hopes one day she can forgive Skillman and Tucker.

“Justice was done,” she said outside the courtroom. “And I pray for the city of Trenton.”

Jonathan Weathers

Charges filed against a Trenton man accused of brutally beating a well-respected member of the capital city’s arts and music community have been upgraded to murder.

Jonathan Weathers, 25, has been charged with murder and felony murder in connection with the death of 60-year-old Stephen Merrill.

Weathers has been in jail ever since his August 10 arrest for allegedly beating Merrill on Lamberton Street the week prior.

Weathers’ girlfriend told police he was driving her car around 3 a.m. on Aug. 2 when the pair saw Merrill walking alone. Weathers asked his girlfriend what she “thought about him,” prosecutors say, and she told Weathers not to rob him.

Weathers then parked the car on a side street and told his girlfriend to switch to the driver’s seat while he approached Merrill.

Prosecutors say Weathers attacked Merrill and stole his wallet, cash, a Samsung phone and a Fitbit watch. Weathers later drove to a gas station, where he used Merrill’s credit card to purchase cigarettes and gas, according to prosecutors.

Stephen Merrill

Merrill suffered a brain bleed, a collapsed lung, facial fractures, a broken arm and broken ribs. His neighbors found him unconscious on the ground and called police.

Police used surveillance video to identify Weathers as the person who robbed Merrill, and Weathers’ girlfriend provided an eyewitness account to law enforcement.

Merrill died in the hospital 15 days after the brutal attack, after being taken off of life support.

“[Stephen] was the kind of guy who makes the city of Trenton special,” TC Nelson, owner of Trenton Social, previously told The Trentonian. “He was supportive of everything and everyone who was trying to do something positive in the city.”

Merrill's friends say he was a regular volunteer at Art All Night, as well as an active member of the Trenton Photo Club.

Weathers’ bail for the murder charges was set at $1,000,000.

A man was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer here in the 500 block of Roosevelt Street.

A city man was shot and killed Saturday night after he allegedly tried to wrestle a handgun away from an off-duty police officer.

The incident happened around 9:50 p.m. Saturday in the 500 block of Roosevelt Street where the off-duty officer was attending a post-funeral gathering.

Officials say 30-year-old Constantine Toe and his brother Alfred Toe, 34, attended the funeral and gathering as well.

Prosecutors say Constantine was shot in the hand while trying to disarm Alfred during an altercation involving several men at the gathering, which prompted intervention from the officer.

After hearing the gunshot, prosecutors say, an armed off-duty Trenton Police officer drew his weapon, ordered Constantine onto the ground and confiscated the handgun he took from his brother.

The officer was holding both handguns, prosecutors say, when Alfred tried to grab one of the weapons from him.

During the struggle, Alfred was shot once in the chest, according to prosecutors in the case. He later died at the hospital.

Prosecutors did not disclose the name of the officer involved in the shooting. But several sources confirmed that Officer Sheehan Miles was the person who was struggling with Alfred when the gun fired. Sources say Miles was with a female companion, whom also attended the funeral and gathering, and that he was “very close-by” when he heard the shot that injured Constantine.

Miles has been on the force for more than 13 years and earns a yearly salary of $91,871, according to public records. He suffered injuries to his arm and hand earlier this year while breaking up a street fight on North Broad Street.

Dating back to 2013, there has been at least one police-involved shooting in the capital city each year.

In May 2013, 38-year-old Gerald Murphy was shot and killed by police during a 37-hour standoff in a Grand Street home after he killed his girlfriend, her 13-year-old son, and held the woman’s three other children hostage at gunpoint.

Then, in August 2013, Eric McNeil, 23, was justifiably shot and killed by police after he ambushed two detectives as they were escorting a domestic violence victim back to her Hobart Avenue home.

In November 2014, 31-year-old Darnell Stafford was shot and killed by cops after he fired gunshots through the windshield of their police cruiser on Wilson Street.

And last year, police shot 23-year-old Jeremiah Sanchez in the neck and arm after he allegedly hit an officer with his car while fleeing from the first block of Chestnut Avenue. Sanchez survived the shooting.

The Trentonian will include Toe's death in its yearly homicide count, and will differentiate between homicides and murders in its end of year review. But TPD and state police do not include justifiable police killings in yearly homicide statistics. This year’s homicide toll is now 15.

Police investigate a homicide in an alley off the 500 block of Roosevelt Street Friday night.
(John Berry — The Trentonian)

Police are investigating an apparent homicide in the 500 block of Roosevelt Street Friday night that left one man dead.

First Assistant Prosecutor Doris Galuchie told The Trentonian that 20-year-old Jamal Laramore was shot to death in the 500 block of Roosevelt Street. Galuchie said that police received the call around 6:59 p.m.

The incident happened directly across the street from last weekend's fatal struggle between an off duty officer and another man where the off-duty officer, as well as Alfred Toe, was attending a post-funeral gathering.

In that incident prosecutors said Constantine Toe, Alfred's brother was shot in the hand while trying to disarm Alfred during an altercation involving several men at the gathering, which prompted intervention from the officer.

After hearing the gunshot, prosecutors said, an armed off-duty Trenton Police officer drew his weapon, ordered Constantine onto the ground and confiscated the handgun he took from his brother.

While the officer was holding both handguns Alfred tried to grab one of the weapons from the officer, prosecutors said.

However, during the struggle Alfred was shot once in the chest, according to prosecutors in the case. He later died at the hospital.

Galuchie told The Trentonian that the killing was not related to last weekend's homicide in the same neighborhood.

The incident remains under investigation by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force.

Police investigate a homicide in the 200 block of Spring Street on Friday Sept. 9, 2016. (David Foster - The Trentonian)

A 20-year-old woman was shot to death inside her city apartment Friday morning on the 200 block of Spring Street.

Officers responded to the house at 11:13 a.m. for a report of a shooting in progress,
Lt. Stephen Varn said. When police arrived, they found the victim in the second floor bedroom suffering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder area, authorities said.

Trenton homicide victim Jordan Siaz. (Facebook Photo)

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that the woman, identified as Keyauna Hughey, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Oh my God,” one neighbor said after learning the woman was murdered. “Oh stop playing.”

Multiple sources identified the victim as Jordan Camilia Siaz. She went by that name on social media and to people who knew her.

Neighbors described the woman as tall and skinny with dreads. No one at the scene said they heard gunshots.

According to neighbors, a woman living in the house was pregnant.

Authorities did not confirm if it was Hughey.

In August, Siaz posted a picture on Facebook of herself and a male — possibly her boyfriend — holding guns. Siaz has her tongue sticking out in the picture.

“They think we sweet,” she wrote. “I told em let’s play. I love daddy cuz he kno IMA ride so he gonna ride back.”

According to her Facebook page, Siaz studied at Mercer County Community College and went to Trenton Central High School West Campus.

The homicide task force is investigating the murder. It’s unknown if any suspects are in custody.

The killing is the city’s 17th homicide this year. If in fact the woman was pregnant, it can possibly count as two murders.

Anyone with information is asked to call task force Detective Jason Snyder or Sgt. Brian Egan at 609-989-6406. Individuals may also call the Trenton police confidential tip line at 609-989-3663 or the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at 609-278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.