Horace J. Gordon is now a convicted murderer.

Horace Gordon (COURTESY OF SOUTHSIDE REGIONAL JAIL)

Gordon, 38, of Trenton, got convicted on all counts Thursday for shooting and killing 29-year-old Harvey Sharp in June 2015.

“The evidence was really clear in this case,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Devenny told The Trentonian after the verdict came down. “We’ll be recommending life in prison. That’s the least I can do, having the victim’s mother there. No mother should have to bury their child. Having her hear, ‘Guilty,’ that made it all worth it to me.”

Gordon claimed self-defense in the slaying, but a jury unanimously found him guilty of first-degree purposeful murder. 

“It was not a reaction or mistake,” Devenny said of Gordon’s conduct. “He meant to kill the victim, and that’s exactly what he did.”

The murder occurred on the first block of Cummings Avenue on June 24, 2015. Gordon killed Sharp and then fled from New Jersey to southern Virginia, where he was later apprehended by a U.S. Marshals regional fugitive task force.

Harvey Sharp

The shooting happened on Sharp’s birthday, and sources say it was the result of a “petty argument.”

In addition to being convicted of murder, the jury also found Gordon guilty of second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes and guilty of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. The jury reached its verdict Thursday afternoon on Day 2 of deliberations, with the victim’s family present to hear the outcome.

The convicted murderer is scheduled to be sentenced 2 p.m. May 25 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier. Gordon could receive 30 years to life imprisonment, which state law defines as 75 years of incarceration.

A co-defendant charged with murdering 19-year-old Lance Beckett has confessed to aggravated assault in a deal that recommends he serve three years behind bars.

Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with third-degree aggravated assault, effectively bringing final resolution to the homicide case.

Omar Kennedy (Mugshots.com)

The person most responsible for Beckett’s violent death is convicted murderer Mada Eoff, 18, who was found guilty Jan. 25 in a trial by jury.

Beckett got shot and killed during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. and finding his dead body lying in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue in the capital city. 

Another co-defendant in the case, 19-year-old Quashawn Emanuel, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter and testified against Eoff at trial. He said Eoff is the triggerman who shot and killed Beckett in cold blood.

Quashawn Emanuel

Because Emanuel cooperated, the state will dismiss his weapons offenses and ask a judge to sentence him to eight years of incarceration under the No Early Release Act for reckless manslaughter. Emanuel did not pull the trigger but played a role in luring Beckett to the scene to get murdered.

Surveillance footage in the area shows Beckett and three other individuals interacting with one another minutes before the grisly murder, according to Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward. Prosecutors said the three culprits were co-defendants Eoff, Emanuel and Kennedy, all of whom have been indicted on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the homicide.

Count one in the indictment charged all three defendants with purposeful murder; count two charged the defendants with unlawful possession of a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry; and count three charged the defendants with possession of a handgun with the purpose to use it unlawfully against the victim.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

A jury found Eoff guilty of murdering Beckett but acquitted him on the weapons offenses. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but the hearing got postponed because his defense attorney Jessica Lyons needed to submit more procedural paperwork. A new sentencing date has not been rescheduled at this time, but Eoff is still looking at 30 years to life imprisonment when all is said and done.

Emanuel is scheduled to be sentenced 9 a.m. April 20 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw, and Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced 9 a.m. April 27 before Warshaw.

Because Kennedy pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss his indictment and will recommend he get sentenced to three years of state imprisonment for his role in the September 2016 murder. Judges usually sentence defendants according to the terms of a plea deal.

Police arrested Eoff and Emanuel several days after Beckett got murdered and arrested Kennedy three weeks later. All three will likely be awarded with significant jail credit at sentencing, which means Kennedy could potentially serve a very short stint in state prison if Warshaw honors the plea agreement.

The man who shot and killed 24-year-old Jahmir Hall had his 10-year prison sentence recently reduced thanks to a lenient judiciary.

Curtis J. Grier, 31, of Trenton, has been resentenced to seven years of incarceration for the 2014 slaying. He previously pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter, admitting he fatally gunned Hall down about 12:30 a.m. April 19, 2014, in the streets of Trenton.

Curtis Grier

“Mr. Grier took it upon himself to arrange a reckoning,” Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw said Nov. 10, 2016, when he sentenced the self-confessed killer to 10 years of state imprisonment. Months later, however, Warshaw reconsidered his judgment of conviction after the Appellate Division intervened.

Grier, who has already served more than one year at South Woods State Prison, received delayed leniency last month when Warshaw revisited the case on Appellate Division orders. Warshaw found Grier to be less dangerous at the Feb. 22 resentencing hearing.

Whenever a Superior Court judge sentences a defendant, the court always considers whether aggravating factors support a harsher punishment or whether mitigating factors support a more lenient punishment. Warshaw originally said the aggravating factors against Grier outweighed the mitigating factors and used that rationale when handing down the initial 10-year prison sentence.

But after the Appellate Division remanded the case back to Warshaw for resentencing, the Superior Court judge easily found the aggravating factors, including risk of Grier committing another offense, to be “in balance” with the mitigating factors, which included the undisputed fact that Grier had no history of prior delinquency or criminal activity before the commission of the April 2014 homicide.

Warshaw resentenced Grier to seven years of state incarceration pursuant to the No Early Release Act requiring him to serve 85 percent of the maximum term before being paroled. Grier will then be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release. Grier received four days of jail credit and 469 days of prior service credit, which means he has less than five years to go before release.

While the resentencing gave Grier a reduced prison sentence, it also imposed on him a greater monetary punishment. Grier at resentencing got hammered with a $5,000 assessment payable to the New Jersey Victims of Crime Compensation Office. The original sentencing called for him to pay about $200 in fees and penalties, according to court records.

“To be fair and in the interests of justice,” Warshaw wrote in his resentencing judgment of conviction, “the Court will impose the recommended sentence in accordance with the plea agreement.”

Case background

Police arrested Grier not long after he shot and killed Jahmir Hall, who police found lying partially underneath a pickup truck in the 800 block of Quinton Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Hall was later pronounced dead at Saint Francis Medical Center.

Jahmir Hall

Days after being charged with murder and weapons offenses, Grier posted his $300,000 full bond or cash bail on April 24, 2014, buying his way out of jail, court records show. He pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter on June 23, 2016, but remained free on bail until he got shipped off to state prison following his original November 2016 sentencing.

A grand jury originally indicted both Grier and a co-defendant, Daniel McCargo, 31, of Trenton, on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the slaying of Hall.

Grier confessed to the killing while McCargo pleaded guilty to certain persons not to have a weapon due to a prior offense. McCargo had four prior upper court convictions for drug distribution and weapons offenses and previously served time in state prison for those prior crimes, according to his rap sheet.

Daniel McCargo

Grier and McCargo both got arrested on April 19, 2014, in the wake of the homicide. Grier at his initial sentencing hearing said he had argued with Hall and then shot Hall in self-defense after Hall pulled out a weapon. Grier said he took Hall’s weapon and handed it over to McCargo, who admitted to possessing the handgun as a convicted felon.

Warshaw sentenced McCargo on Sept. 16, 2016, imposing seven years of state imprisonment with a five-year minimum term of parole ineligibility and dismissing the other counts in the indictment. McCargo received 881 days of jail credit, for he sat at the Mercer County Correction Center on $300,000 cash bail from April 21, 2014, till Sept. 22, 2016, when he was transferred to state prison, records show.

Grier was represented by private defense attorney Robin Lord, while McCargo was represented by public defender Malaeika Montgomery. Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher handled both cases on behalf of the state.

Case closed.

Isiah Greene

The gunman who shot and killed Quaadir “Ace” Gurley at the Donnelly Homes housing complex in North Trenton five years ago has finally received punishment for his violent crimes.

Isiah Greene, 24, of Trenton, got sentenced earlier this month to six years of state incarceration for reckless manslaughter and unlawful possession of a handgun and has been ordered to pay $555 in fees and penalties.

Greene confessed earlier this year to killing Gurley, a 24-year-old father of six who suffered numerous gunshot wounds during the early morning hours of July 21, 2013. 

Police solved the case back when they arrested Greene on murder charges Nov. 18, 2013, but Greene dragged his homicide case out in hopes of winning acquittal. His case went to trial three times. His first two trials ended in hung juries on Oct. 16, 2015, and Jan. 31, 2017, and his third trial ended Feb. 15 in a partial verdict, prompting Greene to resolve his outstanding legal troubles with a negotiated plea agreement on Feb. 27.

Greene has been awarded 1,739 days of jail credit that effectively reduces his prison sentence to a slap on the wrist. Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi on May 11 sentenced Greene to six years of state incarceration pursuant to the No Early Release Act requiring he serve 85 percent of the maximum term before being paroled.

With jail credit factored in, Greene only has to serve a few more months behind bars before being eligible for parole. He will be subjected to three years of parole supervision upon release, according to Massi’s judgment of conviction.

A grand jury originally indicted Greene on first-degree purposeful murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. He was convicted Feb. 15 of unlawful possession of a handgun in his third murder trial, but the jury deadlocked on the other charges. Greene ultimately pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to an amended count of second-degree reckless manslaughter in a deal that fully resolved the homicide case.

Greene has three upper court convictions on his record. Massi sentenced him to six years of incarceration for the reckless manslaughter conviction to be served concurrent to a six-year prison sentence for the unlawful possession of a handgun conviction to be served concurrent to a six-year prison sentence for a second-degree aggravated assault conviction in an unrelated attempted murder case.

Quaadir Gurley (center) with two of his six children. (Contributed Photo)

Five months before gunning down Gurley, Greene got arrested Feb. 24, 2013, in connection with a violent crime that occurred in Trenton on that same date. He posted $100,000 full bond or cash bail in that case on June 4, 2013, and killed Gurley seven weeks later on July 21, 2013. Court records show Greene also spent time in the Mercer County Correction Center from July 29, 2013, through Aug. 1, 2013, after getting charged with several drug distribution offenses on allegations he dealt narcotics in the streets of Trenton on July 26, 2013, five days after slaying Gurley.

Members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrested Greene on Nov. 18, 2013, charging him with murder and weapons offenses and jailing him on $500,000 cash bail.

Greene, being represented by defense attorney Mark Fury, reached a deal with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office to plead guilty to reckless manslaughter and aggravated assault in exchange for six years of incarceration and dismissal of the drug charges.

Judge Massi on May 11 dismissed Greene’s four-count indictment in the drug distribution case and imposed the recommended sentence in the homicide and aggravated assault cases in accordance with the negotiated plea agreement, because Massi found six years of concurrent incarceration and $555 in total fees to be “fair and in the interests of justice,” according to his judgments of conviction.

As a convicted felon, Greene has been ordered to provide a sample of his DNA and ordered to pay the costs for testing of the sample provided.

A partially decomposed body was found in an area behind this home on Taylor Street.

A 19-year-old male is in “extremely critical condition” after being shot in the head early Wednesday morning outside a residential area of the city’s North Ward.

“Brains were leaking out,” two sources said about the ghastly scene.

The shooting happened across the street from Greg Grant Park on the 900 block of East State Street just after midnight. Cops responded when ShotSpotter detected gunfire from someone spraying up an Audi. The teen was sitting inside the vehicle, which contained more then 20 bullet holes when cops arrived on scene.

Two others were in the area at the time of the shooting, including a 16-year-old boy who was apparently struck by gunfire and driven to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where police responded after learning he was there for treatment. Another 19-year-old man escaped the shooting unscathed, cops said.

Cops didn’t have suspect information to release, as detectives continue to dig into the circumstances behind the carnage. But police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity believe the victim shot in the head was not the intended target of the shooting. Sources believe the actual owner of the Audi was the intended target. As of press time, the teen remains in critical condition, clinging to life.

The shooting marked the latest spate of violence.

Authorities confirmed Tuesday morning after getting back the preliminary results of an autopsy that a man found dead Monday on the first block of Taylor Street had been stabbed to death.

The 56-year-old man was found in a garbage-filled stretch behind an abandoned row home nearest 24 Taylor Street.

A neighbor cutting grass discovered the man’s decomposing body on a grassy trail paralleling Taylor Street around 2:30 p.m. on Memorial Day. The stench overpowered the neighborhood as people gathered outside to barbecue.

The man was found with a large tree trunk covering his head, according to photos provided to this newspaper. He was laying on his side shirtless with his face covered by the log.

No one has been arrested in connection with either of these cases. Anyone with information that may help police solve the crimes is asked to call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406.

Staff writers Penny Ray and L.A. Parker contributed to this report.

Horace Gordon (COURTESY OF SOUTHSIDE REGIONAL JAIL)

Convicted murderer Horace J. Gordon has been sentenced to 45 years of state incarceration for slaying an innocent man in cold blood.

Gordon, 38, of Trenton, was found guilty earlier this year of shooting and killing 29-year-old Harvey Sharp in June 2015.

Gordon claimed self-defense in the slaying, but a jury of his peers unanimously convicted him March 22 on all three counts in the indictment comprising first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit and second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes. 

The murder occurred in Trenton on the first block of Cummings Avenue on June 24, 2015. Gordon killed Sharp and then fled from New Jersey to southern Virginia, where he was later apprehended by a U.S. Marshals regional fugitive task force.

Harvey Sharp

The shooting happened on Sharp’s birthday, and sources say it was the result of a “petty argument.”

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier sentenced Gordon last Friday to 45 years of state incarceration pursuant to the No Early Release Act requiring he serve 85 percent of the maximum term before he becomes eligible for parole. He was awarded 1,058 days of jail credit in the murder case and ordered to provide a sample of his DNA, court records show.

Billmeier also sentenced Gordon to four years of state incarceration for violating the terms of his probation in a 2013 Trenton drug case.

Judge Timothy Lydon previously sentenced Gordon to three years of probation on Oct. 28, 2014, in the drug case. Gordon violated the terms of that sentence by murdering Harvey Sharp, so Billmeier revoked Gordon’s probation last Friday and ordered him to be sent to prison for four years with 1,089 days of jail credit in the drug case.

Gordon originally resolved the 2013 drug case with a guilty plea that called for his distribution charges to be dismissed in exchange for a conviction on third-degree cocaine possession and a non-custodial punishment of probation, according to court records.

Records also show that Gordon has been jailed at the Mercer County Correction Center since July 11, 2015. Gordon remained detained at the county jail as of Wednesday, according to court records, but he is expected to be formally discharged and transferred to a state prison within the next week or so.

Pool attorney Michael R. Rosas represented Gordon in the murder case, which was prosecuted by Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Devenny.

Gordon could have received 30 years to life imprisonment for the murder conviction. State law defines life imprisonment as 75 years of incarceration, which is the punishment that Devenny wanted to see imposed, but the judge ultimately hammered Gordon down the middle with 45 years in the slammer.

Trenton artist Derrick Coleman created this banner which will be used as a makeshift memorial for Kuyler Fowler. (Isaac Avilucea - Trentonian)

MORRISVILLE >> They come to him when their friends die, crossing the "Trenton Makes" bridge to enlist him to create memorial T-shirts and banners that appear at makeshift vigils on too many Trenton blocks.

“Sad to say, I’ve done a lot of people’s shirts since I’ve been here,” said 41-year-old Derrick Coleman, a Trenton artist and activist better known as DC the Voice. “A lot of times what I try to do with the youth, when I get an opportunity to speak to them, I tell them that life is not promised. We have to take life seriously and appreciate everything. A lot of kids out here dying for the wrong reasons.”

Former Nottingham High School basketball player Kuyler Fowler, 19, of Hamilton,  became the capital city's most recent murder victim after he was shot in the head early Wednesday morning in a residential area near Greg Grant Park, in the city's East Ward by the North Ward border.

Kuyler Fowler, 19, of Hamilton, died after being shot in the head on East State Street.

Cops found a gruesome scene when they arrived after midnight as community activists like Coleman and Darren "Freedom" Green were left trying to reconcile the senseless violence.

Fowler was sitting inside his friend, 19-year-old Treyvion Laws' Audi on the 900 block of East State Street when someone lit up the car, riddling it with more than 20 bullets. Another 16-year-old was shot, cops said, but Laws escaped unscathed.

“What we really need is you to come in office and help these youth see a better way and the community will flourish and grow,” said Coleman, who voted for the fourth-place finisher Green in the mayoral election.

Coleman doesn't believe the next elected mayor, either 2014 runner-up Paul Perez or Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, is Trenton’s messiah.

“The only people that can bring about the change is the people of Trenton. I'm not going to put all my hopes and trusts in some man in a suit behind a desk," he said. “Make whoever got that suit on go handle that business. We putting too much power in this one individual’s hand. No one individual can do anything. It’s like Obama said, it's gotta start from the grassroots.”

Laws went Thursday afternoon to the Sip-N-Spin laundromat to pay and pick up the life-sized memorial banner from Coleman after he enlisted the artist, who has been drawing since he was six years old and attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia, to honor his fallen friend.

“That was my boy since the sandbox,” Laws told The Trentonian about Fowler.

The two went to Woodrow Wilson Elementary School together in Trenton and spent nearly every waking moment with each, playing basketball and video games, cracking jokes and going to LA Fitness.

“I know for a fact when I wake up in the morning; I got to call him ’cause I got a missed call from him ’cause he callin’ me in the morning, trying to get me up every day,” Laws said.

No arrests or charges have been made in the Fowler's murder as detectives from the Mercer County Homicide Task Force continued to investigate what motivated the shooting.

Stung by the loss of his best friend — Fowler called him his "brudda — Laws, who goes by Trey Twizz on Facebook, took to social media in a series of posts remembering his friend, lamenting that he allowed Fowler into his car that day and alluding to possible payback.

But in an interview with The Trentonian, Laws distanced himself from the alleged threats, saying he wasn't planning to retaliate. Any posts he made insinuating violence were rap lyrics, he said.

Trey Twizz suggested payback over Fowler's death.

“That’s a song,” Laws, an aspiring rapper, said about the threats, adding that he plans to record a song honoring Fowler.

“His death just gonna inspire me to go harder with this music. I ain’t with all that other shit. The whole team behind. We push music. We gonna get up out of here with it.”

The two went shopping in the hours before Fowler was gunned, Laws said, offering little insight into why his friend was killed, though  police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity believe Fowler was not the intended target of the shooting.

Sources believe the Laws was the intended target, though Laws said he was puzzled as to why anybody would target him.

Fowler shared on Facebook this photo of his "brudda" Trey Twizz standing next to the same Audi that was shot up in Trenton.

“Wrong time, wrong place,” Laws said, claiming he wasn’t around when the shooting happened. “He just wanted to sit down and charge his phone inside the car.”

Fowler actually shared a Facebook post of Laws standing next to the Audi before his death.

Laws, who also knew the 16-year-old, couldn’t provide helpful information to detectives who interviewed him.

He didn't reveal to The Trentonian where he was when the shooting happened other than to say, "I was chillin’. It’s personal, but I was chillin’.”

Asked if he was afraid someone may be gunning for him, he said he was “all right, I’m good. I don’t have nothin’ goin’ on with nobody. I don’t know what’s goin’ on with that, bruh, to be honest.”

A man going by "Trey Trizz" on Facebook posted this on Facebook.

Fowler, who went by the nickname KSwerve and Chef, attended Nottingham High School where he studied physics, according to his Facebook. He also played basketball for the school most recently in 2017, according to an online roster.

Nottingham boys basketball coach Chris Raba, who didn't respond to requests for comment, tweeted about Fowler's death.

Nottingham Basketball Family’s heart is broken. RIP Kuyler. You will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/jy9d3GpYj7

— Chris Raba (@coach_raba) May 30, 2018

Friends and family took to social media to urge people not to count Fowler out after he was taken to the hospital in "extremely critical condition."

His cousin, Meesha Robinson, posted on Facebook that she  remembered changing Fowler's diapers feeding him as a baby.

"He had so much curly hair yo and used to be crawling fast asf backwards," she wrote. "We said he was moonwalking."

Fowler proudly repped the East Side of Trenton and hinted at his hardscrabble life. He grew up at his grandmother’s house on Hart Avenue, which he tattooed on his arm to remind him of his roots,  after he lost his father at a young age, Laws said.

“From the struggle so that’s who I do it for: 22 Hart Av,” Fowler wrote in Feb. 12 post with a picture of his tatted-up arm. “The harder the struggle the greater the triumph. #EastSide #RipL #RipCag #RipFats #RipLance #RipMeer #RipDad.”

Laws said, “His love for her is unconditional. That’s all he talked about.”

Fowler posted pictures of himself smiling with large stacks of cash.

Laws suggested in a Facebook post he tried to steer Fowler to stay on the straight and narrow.

Screengrab of Fowler's likeness shared by Trey Twizz.

Stemming the violence on the streets of Trenton has been hot-topic discussed by the mayoral candidates.

With Green out of the race, Coleman is skeptical.

"You see some of the candidates come around," he said. "These candidates only come around in the community when they want to get elected. And that’s fraud. That’s phony. We don’t even know you. ... If you don’t give the youth options, what do you expect. I’m definitely tired of seeing my young black brothers and sisters falling victim to a street life that’s designed to destroy them. These kids didn’t ask to be in this world. They was born into this world and then left.”

Green, who got behind Perez after he was eliminated from contention, said he'll be in the 2014 runner-up's ear if he's elected.

Deterring violence starts by offering the youth “safe havens and safe spaces," said Green, who  grew up with Trenton's since-abandoned weed and seed program.

Some candidates have kicked around the idea of beefing up Trenton’s rank-and-file which hovers under 300 for an 8-square-mile city whose force was devastated by layoffs.

“We don’t need more police. Police just agitate the situation,” he said.

Coleman pointed to Trenton’s stunted social life as a factor contributing to the violence among youth.

Ignoring the problem perpetuates it, Green said, adding that re-educating residents about how they view cops and encouraging them to cooperate to help solve crimes  is critical, the longtime community activist said.

"If a 19-year-old can get his brain blown out and a mayor and the city council don’t say a word, that kinda means his life didn’t have value," Green said. "Silence is the greatest form of betrayal.”

Another post on Trey Twizz's Facebook page.

Coleman believes “music and art are the language of the spirit" that can rehabilitate Trenton. He's just tired of the lip service from leaders.

“You gotta be the vision so they could see the vision,” he said. “We the industry. Together we stand. Divided we fall. That’s the secret. They divide us all.  Talk is cheap. [The youth] been hearing talk all their life. Walk with them. Do you love them enough like that to walk with them?”

Inside the laundromat, harsh reality sank in as Laws and Coleman held up Fowler's banner, marking the streets latest casualty.

“A lot man,” Laws said, unable to arrive at a number of friends he's lost. “Same ones he’s lost.”

Anthony Anderson

A city man found stabbed to death Monday underneath a large tree trunk had a sordid past.

Anthony C. Anderson, 56, of the 600 block of North Clinton Avenue, was convicted in 2011 of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance under 13 years old, according to the state’s Megan’s Law Registry. He was sentenced to six years in jail, court records show.

Prosecutors confirmed Thursday the date of birth of the deceased victim and the sex offender matched.

Anderson, who also went by the aliases Tony Anderson and Anthony Jay, was listed as a “Tier 2 - Moderate Risk” offender in the database. He was released from state prison in May 2014, New Jersey Department of Corrections records outline.

The 2011 case was not the first time Anderson was convicted of molesting a child.

In 1989, Anderson pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child under 13 years old for sexual abuse, court records indicate. Under a plea bargain, a sexual assault of a minor charge was dropped in the case and Anderson was sentenced to three years of probation, records show.

A decade later, Anderson was wrapped up in another criminal case. He was charged with carjacking and multiple drug charges, according to court documents.

Under a plea agreement, Anderson confessed in 2000 to a distribution of cocaine charge, records show. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Authorities confirmed Wednesday after getting back the preliminary results of an autopsy that Anderson had been stabbed to death. He was dumped on the first block of Taylor Street and was found in a garbage-filled stretch behind an abandoned row home.

A neighbor cutting grass discovered the man’s decomposing body on a grassy trail paralleling Taylor Street around 2:30 p.m. on Memorial Day. The stench overpowered the neighborhood as people gathered outside to barbecue.

Anderson, who was born in Illinois, was found with a large tree trunk covering his head, according to photos provided to this newspaper. He was laying on his back, with his bloated, bare chest exposed and his lifeless fingers by his side near some concrete blocks.

Prosecutors did not immediately reveal how many times Anderson, who was listed as 5’7” and weighs 175 pounds, was stabbed and where.

No one has been arrested in connection with the murder. Anyone with information that may help police solve the crimes is asked to call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406.

Staff reporters Isaac Avilucea and Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman contributed to this report.

A partially decomposed body was found in an area behind this home on Taylor Street.

Gregory Wright Jr.

A city man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of 27-year-old Gregory Wright Jr.

Eric Prescott, 30, is accused of leaving Wright helpless and unresponsive in his car following an altercation on November 28.

According to prosecutors in the case, Wright and Prescott were arguing in the area of Spring Street and Kafer Alley when Prescott pushed Wright, causing him to fall onto the ground and hit his head on the pavement.

Prescott then placed Wright in the driver's seat of his Lexus and left him in a physically helpless state. Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity say Prescott even sat in Wright’s Lexus for a short period of time, hoping he would regain consciousness, but then fled when he didn’t revive.

Prosecutors say the investigation revealed that Prescott knew Wright was helpless when he placed him in the car but didn't seek emergency assistance.

Police found Wright in his Lexus around 10:30 p.m. that Tuesday.

Wright — who attended Mercer County Community College for performing arts and was also known as “Lil’ Greg” — ultimately died as a result of injuries suffered during the altercation. A medical examiner ruled Wright’s manner of death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

The motive surrounding the altercation was not disclosed by prosecutors, but police sources with intimate knowledge of the investigation believe the argument revolved around the fact that Wright dressed as a woman.

Prosecutors did not file a motion to detain Prescott until trial and he has been released from custody while the case plays out in court.

Leroy Tutt

Leroy Tutt’s murder trial ended this week without resolution.

A hung jury could not decide whether Tutt was guilty or not guilty of shooting and killing 19-year-old Nabate Kalil Washington, also known as Nebate Anderson, in a broad daylight shooting last summer.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier on Wednesday declared a mistrial due to the jury’s inability to reach a unanimous verdict in the case.

The state intends to retry the case, according to a Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman. 

Tutt, 31, of Trenton, is accused of murdering Washington in retaliation for a previous incident. Washington shot Tutt in the butt on April 26, 2017, prompting Tutt to take revenge several weeks later, authorities alleged.

Nabate Washington

Washington suffered fatal gunshot wounds about 1:50 p.m. June 30, 2017, on the first block of Sanford Street near his home in Trenton’s North Ward, where police found him lying on the ground between two vehicles. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tutt got arrested Aug. 5, 2017, and was eventually indicted on one count of first-degree purposeful murder, one count of second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit and one count of second-degree certain persons not to have a weapon due to a prior conviction involving violent crime or drug distribution. Tutt previously served time in state prison for convictions involving heroin distribution, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes, according to court records.

Tutt remains jailed without bail on pretrial detention. It could take several months before a murder retrial is held.

To win a conviction, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Tutt knowingly possessed a handgun and purposely used it to murder Washington. Tutt is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Public defender Laura Yaede, Tutt’s defense attorney, questioned Trenton Police Detective Luis Vega Jr. in trial cross-examination that may have introduced reasonable doubt into the mind of at least one jury member.

Vega, a member of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, did not interview certain potential witnesses in the case prior to Tutt’s arrest but did question Deshawn Sherman, who said he was “concerned” he might be charged in connection with Washington’s death, because word on the street suggested that Sherman supplied Tutt with the gun that was used in the murder.

Authorities never charged Sherman in connection with the homicide, and Vega said he had no reason to believe Sherman was involved in the murder plot.

The convicted sex offender who stabbed and killed 26-year-old Trenton man Courtney Levine in 2012 has been resentenced to lesser prison time.

David Noncent (New Jersey Department of Corrections Photo)

David Noncent of Ewing was originally hit with 13 years of state incarceration in March 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, but Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw on May 7 reduced the punishment to 10 years behind bars.

Prosecutors long ago offered Noncent a plea deal calling for a 10-year prison sentence for manslaughter, but Warshaw last year suggested it was fair and in the interests of justice to imprison him for 13 years. 

Noncent was originally charged with murder and weapons offenses but pleaded guilty Dec. 6, 2016, to an amended single count of first-degree aggravated manslaughter. He admits he killed Levine in the first block of Chapel Street on Dec. 4, 2012.

The homicide victim was the brother of Noncent’s ex-girlfriend. Noncent and Levine were arguing over alleged domestic violence issues between Noncent and his ex-girlfriend when the registered sex offender pierced a knife into the victim’s lung, causing him to bleed to death internally, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Noncent surrendered to police the following day.

On March 23, 2017, Warshaw sentenced Noncent to 13 years of state incarceration pursuant to the No Early Release Act requiring he serve 85 percent of the term behind bars before being paroled. Noncent filed an appeal on May 31, 2017, apparently viewing the sentence as too harsh.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Paravecchia ultimately filed a motion on April 25 requesting a modified sentence. Warshaw on May 7 granted the motion and resentenced Noncent to 10 years of state imprisonment subject to the No Early Release Act, according to court records.

Noncent was awarded 1,569 days of jail credit and 411 days of prison service credit in the Trenton homicide case. He is scheduled to be released from East Jersey State Prison on June 5, 2021, and will thereafter be subjected to five years of parole supervision, records show.

Warshaw also ordered Noncent to provide a DNA sample and ordered him to pay the costs for testing of the sample provided. Public defender Stephen E. Kirsch represented Noncent at the May 7 resentencing hearing.

With Noncent being resentenced to lesser prison time, the state Judiciary dismissed his appeal on May 9. Noncent’s 10-year prison sentence is being served concurrent to the five-year prison sentences he received for violating probation in cases where he previously got convicted of theft and terroristic threats.

More than a self-confessed killer, Noncent had a criminal career that spanned two decades in both Burlington and Mercer counties. He was convicted of criminal sexual contact against two juvenile females in 1995 after pleading guilty on two counts, according to court records.

The New Jersey Department of Corrections lists Noncent’s date of birth as Jan. 28, 1961, which would make him 57. The state’s sex offender registry, however, says Noncent’s date of birth is Jan. 28, 1972, which would make him 46. Noncent has numerous aliases such as Howard Barnes and David Putty, which could perhaps explain why authorities have two different dates of birth for the same man as confirmed by fingerprints.

All of Noncent’s criminal case files in New Jersey identify him by the same unique State Bureau of Identification or SBI number.

Judge Warshaw has a history of reducing the severity of his prison sentences. In 2016 he sentenced self-confessed killer Curtis J. Grier to 10 years of state incarceration for slaying 24-year-old Jahmir Hall and resentenced Grier earlier this year to seven years of state incarceration pursuant to the No Early Release Act requiring him to serve 85 percent of the maximum term before being paroled.

Guilty!

That’s the verdict Peter Charles Jr. heard 16 times Thursday afternoon when a jury convicted him on all counts in his murder trial.

Charles, 19, of Trenton, shot and killed 16-year-old Ciony Kirkman in a brazen April 2016 shooting in the city’s South Ward.

Peter Charles Jr. (left) has been convicted of murdering 16-year-old Ciony Kirkman (right) in a brazen April 2016 Trenton shooting. (SUBMITTED PHOTOS)

With prosecutors presenting an ironclad case, all 12 jurors were firmly convinced that Charles shot at the minivan that Ciony and six other juveniles were occupying on that fateful evening in the area of Jersey Street and Home Avenue. 

“The evidence supported the conviction,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said Friday in an interview with The Trentonian. “It is a very tragic situation, and we hope there is some peace for Ciony’s family and for the surviving teenagers as well. They were also victims in this case and suffered a tremendous trauma not only being shot at multiple times, but also losing their friend Ciony. Some of them have been friends with Ciony since second grade.”

Charles, then 17, armed himself with a handgun and fired numerous shots at the Ford Windstar about 6:25 p.m. April 24, 2016. One of those shots struck Ciony in the head. She died two days later from her injuries.

Detective Patrick Holt, a Ewing cop assigned to the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, arrested Charles on April 29, 2016. Charles was eventually waived up to adult court and indicted on 16 counts, including one count of first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree attempted murder, seven counts of fourth-degree aggravated assault with a firearm, one count of second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit.

While Scott and fellow Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Brett Berman tried the case, the prosecution gives major credit to Detective Holt for solving the case and bringing Charles to justice.

“He did just an unbelievable job in the investigation,” Scott said of Holt. “He put together a really great case, and it was his work that really made a huge difference in this case.”

The convicted murderer Charles could be sentenced to 224 years of state incarceration for being found guilty of murdering Ciony and attempting to murder the six other occupants riding inside the minivan. That is the maximum exposure Charles faces for his crimes, according to Scott.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta is scheduled to sentence Charles on July 20, although that hearing could be postponed due to the complexities surrounding the case.

“New Jersey law provides that when you have multiple victims, particularly in a situation like this, the judge is well within her discretion to run it consecutively,” Scott said of Charles’ 16 convictions.

The prosecutor does not know what Pereksta will do but suggested he wants to see a fair punishment imposed against Charles for all his heinous crimes.

“I would like a sentence that’s justified and that’s likely to be upheld,” Scott said Friday when asked what punishment the state will recommend in this case, adding he wants to meet with Ciony’s grieving family members to help him decide what the recommended sentence should be.

“At this point we have to review everything in the case, and we will make a sentencing recommendation before sentencing,” Scott said. “Ciony was loved very much by her family and by her friends, and it was a big loss to all of them. She was a beautiful girl, and for this to happen to her is awful.”

More than 100 people march through Trenton visiting places where homicide victims have been slain in the third annual Unity Walk on Sunday, May 1, 2016. (Penny Ray — The Trentonian)

Ciony Kirkman was a student enrolled in Trenton’s Daylight Twilight alternative high school and was active in dance and cheerleading. She was an unintended target in an ongoing feud between warring factions from the city’s Wilbur section and Jersey Street, prosecutors previously said.

Pool attorney Bruce L. Throckmorton represented Charles in the five-week-long murder trial. He could not be reached for comment at his law offices on Friday.

Charles was being held on $750,000 cash bail at the Mercer County Correction Center. He has a violent juvenile history and was previously being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center prior to being waived up to adult court.

Court records show Charles got charged in March with third-degree cocaine possession for being in alleged possession of the illicit substance at the county jail last June.

But the drug case is the least of his worries now that Charles is looking at decades upon decades of prison time for shooting up a minivan that had seven occupants, killing one of them.

“These were teenagers,” Scott said of the victims. “These were young kids that were shot at, and none of them are gangbangers. They’re just kids. Something over some stupid neighborhood thing turned into an absolute tragedy.”

Multiple people were shot at the annual Art All Night celebration in Trenton (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

A 24-hour celebration that showcases local artists became the Wild West early Sunday morning amidst a fight inside a warehouse.

One person was killed and numerous others were injured in a shootout that happened at the Art All Night (AAN) celebration in the Roebling Market section of the city. Officials say approximately 1,000 people were at the event, with a large number of them hanging outside the warehouse.

“When we got here around 2:30, it didn’t look like we were coming to Art All Night,” city resident Franco Roberts said. “It looked like we were outside of a Philadelphia club after the bar closes and people who don’t want to leave are standing around their cars smoking and drinking.”

Roberts and his girlfriend had a feeling something bad was going to happen because there were “more people outside than in the warehouse” and no music was playing inside, he said.

“There's usually a lot of noise and a lot of music but there was none of that,” Roberts, who has attended AAN for the past four years, said. “Someone told us they were shutting down the whole building. Then we turned around and saw people squaring up to fight.”

And that’s when gunshots rang out.

“I saw two punches and then heard several gunshots,” Roberts said.

Roberts said chaos ensued as people fled from the building. He and other witnesses did not know exactly how many people fired shots, but they say it sounded as if there was more than one gunman.

"Everybody ran toward the door,” he said. “And the people fighting got mixed with the crowd that was running and they went out the door shooting.”

Officials say prior to the shooting there were numerous physical altercations that took place both inside and outside the warehouse, prompting police to shut down the event.

"There was a report that the mood inside the venue had been changing," Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said at a press conference Sunday. "Those individuals, however, continued to loiter and additional fights broke out. Then the shooting occurred."

Authorities say off- and on-duty police in the area fired their service weapons as the suspects fled the building while shooting at each other.

"The impetus for police returning fire were the individuals shooting at each other," Onofri said. "Many of the event organizers have been praising the Trenton Police Department, and frankly if it wasn't for their quick and decisive response, I think we'd be talking about more victims."

Tahaij Wells (left) and Amir Armstrong

Tahaij Wells, 32, died at the hospital after suffering gunshot wounds during the melee. Officials say he was one of the suspects exchanging gunfire with others inside the warehouse before running outside. Though ballistics tests have not been completed, investigators believe he was shot by a cop after police saw him engaged in the shootout.

Wells was recently released from prison and had been on parole since February on homicide-related charges, Onofri said.

At least 17 people were struck by gunfire, including a 13-year-old boy who was initially hospitalized in extremely critical condition. At an evening press conference officials said the teen's condition had been upgraded to stable. A total of 22 people were taken to the hospital to treat injuries sustained during the incident.

Besides Wells, two of those victims are suspected gunmen. Amir Armstrong, 23, was listed in stable condition as of press time, and another suspect whose name was not released remained in critical condition Sunday night. Armstrong has been charged with a weapons offense in connection with the shootout, according to prosecutors.

Authorities say other suspects remain on the run.

Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity say more than 70 shell casings were found at the scene following the shooting, and that multiple weapons were recovered, including one equipped with a high-capacity magazine.

This was posted to Facebook 15 hours before a shootout at Art All Night in Trenton.

Law enforcement sources believe the fight and subsequent shooting was the result of ongoing beef between rival street crews. Social media posts suggests there was chatter about the shooting more than 15 hours before it actually happened. Danielle Grady posted a Facebook status update around 11:25 a.m. Saturday that said:

"Please please DO NOT GO TO ART ALL NIGHT! THEY WILL BE SHOOTING IT UP!"

"In Trenton, most of our conflicts are a result of neighborhood feuding," Police Director Earnest Parrey Jr. told reporters, adding that most of the guns used in capital city violence are trafficked into Trenton from other municipalities.

A victim who suffered abrasions while being trampled by stampeding witnesses said he wasn't surprised that something violent happened after seeing the crowd of people partying in the parking lot as opposed to viewing art and enjoying music inside the warehouse.

"When I first got here I said to myself, 'This is not an art crowd,'" the victim said as he pointed to empty bottles of Remy Martin and blunt wrappers littering the ground. "This was the type of crowd you normally see at the Getty Gas station late at night: you know, younger guys trying to peacock. Some of them took pictures of the art as if it was more of a joke. They were not appreciators of art. We have to raise these kids better. People wonder why stuff like this happens and it's because the kids aren't raised the right way."

The Roebling Market parking lot was covered in trash, broken glass and liquor bottles Sunday as police processed the scene for evidence. Regular patrons of AAN say the event is usually cleaner than what was seen in the aftermath of the shooting.

Now in its 12th year, Art All Night is a 24-hour art and entertainment event that's held annually on the third weekend in June. In past years, tens of thousands of people attended the event, which showcases work from local artists. The celebration was scheduled to continue into Sunday afternoon, but it was shut down due to the violence.

Officials say no metal detectors were used to check people for weapons before entering the historic Roebling Wire Works factory building where most of the art is showcased during the event.

Mayor Eric Jackson, who has less than two weeks left in office, said he met with event organizers months in advance and discussed security. Jackson said all parties decided to have additional police officers on scene in addition to security provided by AAN personnel. He said they decided to increase the police presence at the event this year because the "crowd grows every year," but said he had no knowledge of a specific threat prior to the shooting.

Irving Higginbotham, who is related to West Ward councilwoman-elect Robin Vaughn, suffered four gunshot wounds to the leg. Vaughn said current city officials failed to protect the residents of Trenton.

"As leaders of the city, we should leverage some of the recommendations (regarding safety in public spaces) that come from other law enforcement agencies," Vaughn said via phone.

Jackson said his administration has been working to stem violent crime.

"This is truly a tragedy for Trenton," Jackson said at a press conference Sunday morning after the incident. "All shootings, whether large or small, are a crisis. It's a fact that our cities, as well as our suburbs, throughout America are experiencing an increase in public shootings and public unrest. This isn't some random act of violence; this is a public health issue. We are working cooperatively and collaboratively with parents and law enforcement to end this violence in the city of Trenton."

Ernie Rivas, who owns a store located in Roebling Market, said the shooting ruined Father's Day. He said he was at a beach house with family when he received a call about the incident, and that he rushed into Trenton as soon as he could.

"This is affecting my business very much," Rivas said as he pointed to trash covering the parking lot. "You can see a difference from last year. This is out of control filthy. I found bottles of wine and beer all over the ground in front of my store."

Mayor-elect Reed Gusciora said public safety is at the top of his priority list when he is sworn into office next month.

"We must do all we can to make our neighborhoods and streets safe for Trenton residents and our visitors," Gusciora said in a written statement. "I hope that Art All Night does continue but we are going to have to reevaluate security measures in the future. It will be a top priority of my administration to make Trenton a safer city."

Joe Kuzemka, the director of Art All Night, declined to comment by phone and referred media inquiries to a statement released on the event's Facebook page.

"It’s with great regret that we announce that the remainder of Art All Night has been cancelled due to a tragic incident that occurred overnight," the statement said. "We’re still processing much of this and we don’t have many answers at this time but please know that our staff, our volunteers, our artists and musicians all seem to be healthy and accounted for. Our sincere, heartfelt sympathies are with those who were injured...We’re very shocked. We’re deeply saddened. Our hearts ache and our eyes are blurry but our dedication and resolve to building a better Trenton through community, creativity and inspiration will never fade. Not tonight. Not ever."

Detectives are also investigating an attempted carjacking that happened in the aftermath of the shooting in an alley near Dye Street. Officials say three people were in a car when a male approached the vehicle and "may or may not have" pointed a gun at the occupants before fleeing on foot.

The shooting is being investigated by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 609-989-6406.

Police investigate a fatal shooting that injured 20 people at the Art All Night celebration in Trenton. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

Tahaij Wells

Tahaij Wells, the gunman killed in a shootout at an arts festival early Sunday morning, spent most of his life in solitary confinement as authorities claimed they kept him there to prevent his own gang from killing him in prison after they put out a “hit” on him for the “unauthorized” execution of a fellow gangster.

The slay apparently didn’t go over well with top dawgs of the Bloods street gang and they ordered a “terminate on sight” for Wells, according to a Department of Corrections investigator who testified in court proceedings related to Wells’ federal court push to get out of solitary confinement.

The cops got to Wells before the gang did.

Wells, who had a rap sheet that included manslaughter and racketeering convictions, was shot and killed by police early Sunday morning following a shootout with rivals inside a warehouse at the Roebling Market, where thousands gathered for the Art All Night festival, an annual event in Trenton that has attracted artists from all over.

Wells had just been released from prison after serving a 18-year bid in Trenton state prison for aggravated manslaughter, most of that time in solitary confinement, which one expert testified exacerbated his mental health issues and caused him to be “emotionally stunted.”

Trenton is still reeling from the sensational mass shooting that plunged the eight-quare-mile city into the national headlines. Residents fretted about more bad publicity for a city that has seen enough, as news vans camped out in the parking lot of the market Monday, leaving one-by-one as interest in the neighborhood fued waned following a rash of coverage on mass shootings across the nation.

Police still tightly guarded the sprawling crime scene, roped off by yellow tape, and an officer shooed away one man as he tried to duck under the crime tape. Trenton Police set up a command center on South Clinton Avenue as investigators combed through the evidence.

While authorities revealed little else about what sparked the violent mass shooting, a review of hundreds of pages of court transcripts obtained by The Trentonian provided a peek into the behind-bars life of Wells, a bleak existence that perhaps foreshadowed the inglorious kamikaze manner in which he left this life: gun-blazing with an illegal extended clip, mercilessly firing upon rivals during a shootout, before being gunned down by cops.

Wells sadly summed up his life when he testified as part of a federal push he made to get out of solitary confinement, unable to fathom how he’d support himself once he was free.

“I’ve accomplished nothing,” he said, according to the transcript. “The most job training I had was sweeping the floor.”

Darren “Freedom” Green, a community activist who remembered coming across teenage Wells when he was shift commander at the now-shuttered Mercer County Youth Detention Center, said the gunman “wasn’t evil. He never had a chance.”

“There’s a Tahaij Wells in every community,” Green explained, saying he wasn’t justifying the shooting only explaining what factors may have caused Wells to step over the edge. “If we’re not reaching them, we set ourselves up for failure. He was gonna explode somewhere.”

It happened to be as the arts festival was being shut down.

Several fights had been brewing just before the gunfire erupted, injuring a double-digit number of people, including a teenager. The melee happened days after Gov. Phil Murphy signed six gun control bills into law.

Speaking at the Galilee Baptist Church — the site of another gang-related shootout that happened during a funeral in 2014 — Murphy called the shooting “another reminder of the senseless gun violence.”

Amir Armstrong

Police have two other shooting suspects in custody: Amir Armstrong, 23, and another individual they haven’t identified. Investigators are searching for others who may have been involved. Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity say more than 70 shell casings were found at the scene along with multiple weapons.

Armstrong, who remains hospitalized in stable condition, has only been hit with a weapons charge though heavier charges may be coming.

Court records show Armstrong had a resisting charge downgraded to municipal court in 2017. And a drug distribution charge he faced the year before was dismissed after he completed pretrial intervention, according to court records.

Wells’ History

Prior to becoming one of the infamous art festival gunmen, Wells spent years fighting his placement in “involuntary protective custody” at Trenton state prison where he served out most of his aggravated manslaughter conviction for killing Robert McNair after the two had beefed “over something stupid like a car.”

Authorities portrayed the killing as a gangland slay, according to court documents, but Wells disputed his victim was even a gang member.

Wells, an admitted Bloods gangster, was born to an absent father and a drug-addicted mother who had her throat slashed in a grisly murder that happened in July 1996, when Wells was in grade school, court records show.

“I never heard him talk about his parents,” Green said.

Wells struggled in classes, trying to keep up as he bounced from school to school, unable to stay out of trouble, the records show.

Wells attended Monument school before getting shipped to an alternative school — Archway in Atco — where he was bussed to school early every morning, starting in fifth grade.

“I was just acting out and not paying attention, and that was around the time my mother got killed,” Wells, who grew up with his grandmother on Passaic Street, testified at a hearing, according to the transcript. “I was getting in trouble, going to the youth house all the time.”

Wells, 17 years old at the time of McNair’s killing, was tried as an adult. He reached a pact with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter in exchange for an 18-year bid, more than 15 years which were mandatory.

While doing time for McNair’s slaying, Wells got wrapped up as the prison yard “middle man” in a racketeering case aimed at a set of the Bloods. His sister, Ebony Meyers, who died in 2013, went down in the mess, too, hit with a 10-year sentence for her role, according to news reports.

Wells got a concurrent six year bid for admitting his culpability in the racketeering case. He had just been released from prison a few months before the art festival shootout.

Wells landed up in protective custody for about 13 years, based upon intel from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and jail internal affairs officials, who claimed they were trying to protect him behind bars after his death warrant had been signed by the Bloods.

For years, Wells pushed to get out of solitary confinement, but his fight, first with him acting as his own attorney, went nowhere.

A dropout with little more than a ninth-grade education, much of that time spent in special education classes, Wells couldn’t figure out how to navigate the court system. He struggled to gain ay traction, and his case was dismissed a month after being filed. The case was later reinstated, and a law firm eventually took up Wells’ cause in agreeing to represent him pro bono.

With help from the lawyers, Wells successfully convinced a judge to allow him back into the prison’s general population ahead of his February release date.

While in protective custody, Wells and his lawyers contended his life was hell. He was on 22-hour lockdown and had limited interactions with other inmates or access to re-entry programming that would have helped pave the way for his reintegration into society. He ate and showered in his cell and was only allowed out for 90 minutes, three times a week for recreation time.

During rec time, he was placed in a so-called “dog cage.”

Wells was constantly subjected to strip searches and other invasive tactics. The isolation Wells experienced in solitary confinement was harmful, his attorneys said and a clinical psychologist testified, according to court records.

Bouncing Around

Wells was housed at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility for some time. The DOC’s Special Investigations Division had Wells taken out of general population after allegedly learning he was a marked man.

Throughout his prison stay, Wells either didn’t receive annual reviews of his IPC placement or his placement was reaffirmed following hearings that were “hollow formalities,” as authorities contended the threat was still active, court records show.

Wells felt “perfectly safe” and wanted to go to general population, and his attorneys contested the threat existed or had been exaggerated. Wells testified about the conditions he experienced in solitary confinement at Garden State.

“Disgusting,” he said, according to the transcript. “The room was like super dirty, feces ring around the toilet like they, uh — somebody missed the toilet when he was urinating, so it was pee around toilet and stuff.

Conditions weren’t much better in Trenton as he bounced around prisons across the state.

“The COs have to open all the doors with a key, and the rooms is like not even bigger than a closet,” Wells said. “If you turn over in your bed, your face is literally in the toilet.”

Wells claimed he tried to leave the gang life, graduating from a denouncement program in 2006, while he was at Northern State Prison. From there, he asked to be placed at East Jersey State Prison because he “always heard that they out all day, they got good jobs, and stuff like that, so that’s where I wanted to go.”

Once he arrived, he was in general population for two days before being put back into solitary, according to the court records.

“I went to the big yard, walked around with the mess...They told me to go to the clothing shop, I went and got my clothes. And the next day, like ten officers came in my cell, told me to turn around, back out, put my hands behind my back. I didn’t know — I thought that I did something wrong. They handcuffed me, took me to lock-up, and told me that I’m going back to Trenton, New Jersey,” he testified. “It was deflating, like watching the balloons while you let all the air out of it...I was about to do my time, I was out, going to the big yard, I could sign up for schools and programs down there, but I never got a chance to.”

Wells tried to maintain hope while he was imprisoned, wishing for a better life despite his hardscrabble upbringing. But he was afraid of how he’d get by on the outside, something he shared with Green, the community activist, a couple weeks before the shootout.

“I spent my whole adult life in a cell, all day with nothing to do,” Wells testified. “You concerned about going back out into the real world...It’s going to be difficult and without really education or any kind of trades or anything like that.”

Green said the shooter was “damaged goods,” in trying to understand what contributed to his blowup.

Wells described himself as socially anxious.

“That probably is the most scariest thing, because I never really been around people a lot, so it’s awkward, conversations is awkward,” he testified, adding he struggled with anger from “being in that cell all day. Your emotion is just up and down. You’re angry, sad, mad. You’re all over the place, because you’re in the cell all day, pacing.”

Dr. Maureen Santina, a clinical psychologist who evaluated Wells, testified he suffered from generalized anxiety disorder and was devastated over his mother’s death. He turned to smoking pot, and things worsened from there.

“It was the only thing that made him feel calmer,” Santina said, according to the transcript. “He had given up on himself and life. He said, ‘I just didn’t care anymore.’”

The psychologist pushed for Wells to be put back into general population where he’d have more healthy interactions and opportunities before his release. The expert sounded prophetic on the stand when detailing the impact of Wells’ depression on his ability to blend into society.

“They don’t become mopey and sad and sit around,” Santina said. “The way that adolescents manifest depression is generally in the form of irritability, anger, defiance at school. And these are often the actual clinical manifestations of serious depression in adolescents...I think they will be exacerbated when he is released into the community, because he will not be prepared to be able to respond in a mature, stable matter. He hasn’t had those opportunities. He’s essentially going to be going out with the coping skills and social maturity of a damaged 17-year-old versus having had the opportunities to learn self-control, self-discipline, to learn how to manage anxiety, to keep his emotions under control.”

Police investigate a fatal shooting that injured 20 people at the Art All Night celebration in Trenton. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

(left to right) Amir Armstrong, Tahaij Wells and Davone White

Authorities brought additional charges against two of the three suspects in a brazen art festival shootout early Sunday morning that injured nearly two dozen people and sent “innocent bystanders” stampeding for cover amid the hail of gunfire inside a warehouse at the Roebling Market.

The charges were announced at a news conference Tuesday called by community leaders and law enforcement officials to give an update on the investigation and push for calm and healing in what Mayor-elect Reed Gusciora described as a “post-Parkland” mass shooting, referring to the devastating school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

Officials discussed details of a foreboding Facebook post made by a Hamilton teacher hours before the shootout, and more details emerged about the suspects involved.

“We will not accept our city being turned upside down,” Pastor John Taylor said at the outset of the presser.

Most of the victims have been treated and released from area hospitals, officials said.
Gusciora told The Trentonian he expects the groundswell of outrage over the shootout to pick up as the city recovers from “the aftershock of this event.”

“We have to get to the bottom of why somebody felt that was OK to turn this into the O.K. Corral,” the longtime 15th district leader said.

Two men, Davone White, 26, and Amir Armstrong, 23, were charged in connection with the Trenton shootout while a third suspect, Tahaij Wells, was killed by police. Wells had been released from prison months before the shootout after serving most of his 15-year bid in solitary confinement at Trenton state prison.

Gusciora said putting someone in solitary confinement for that long creates a “powder keg. It’s an explosion waiting to happen.”

Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri released the name of the third suspect, White, at the morning news conference at Friendship Baptist Church, where faith-based leaders met privately for a short time with stakeholders and law enforcement officials.

Authorities believe White has ties to gangs or street crews, which Onofri said have replaced more traditional street gangs in recent years.

“We’re not really experiencing Bloods and the Crips anymore,” Onofri said. “It is neighborhood by neighborhood gang affiliation.”

Investigators believe an ongoing dispute between neighborhood factions that were at the festival preceded the shooting, but the prosecutor stopped short of calling it a “turf war.”

“A lot of the shootings we’re seeing are retaliation for previous shootings,” Onofri said.

Each of the shootout suspects face gun charges from the firefight that happened around 2:45 a.m. as the Art All Night festival was shut down after fistfights started breaking out. Others may face charges. White was hit with a certain persons charge, meaning he has a prior felony conviction.

Armstrong was hit with being in possession of a stolen gun reported missing in 2014. He mostly skated in his past brushes with the law, with some charges downgraded to municipal court. He was also allowed into a pretrial intervention on drug charges.

Both suspects are still hospitalized. Armstrong is in critical condition while White is stable, Onofri said.

Onofri said investigators are still piecing together the volley of bullets and downloaded all possible surveillance that may have captured the gun battle.

Event organizers hired only four overtime Trenton cops as security for an event that has attracted tens of thousands of people over the years, the prosecutor said. About 40 cops responded to the shooting. There were no metal detectors at the event.

“There will be a stronger presence at these events,” Onofri promised, crediting police for quickly responding and mitigating the carnage. “We are never going to arrest or prosecute or incarcerate our way out of gun violence. It has to start in the community.”

White, who allegedly had an illegal high-capacity magazine that held up to 30 bullets, has a notorious background that includes convictions for aggravated assault and drugs, according to court records. He was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault and robbery following an incident on May 4, 2016. He served only a day in jail after appearing to post bail, court records show.

White pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, admitting to a single count of third-degree aggravated assault, and walked away with two years of probation when he was sentenced in March.

White picked up a charge of having a prohibited weapon and devices for having hollow-point bullets in March. The case was dismissed by prosecutors May 2, according to court records. Another drug possession charge from June 2017 was downgraded and resolved in municipal court.

The Facebook post made by Danielle Grady dominated the presser as Onofri revealed the woman behind the post is a Hamilton teacher.

Grady is listed on a roster at Wilson Elementary in the township. Onofri couldn’t say when police became aware of the post.

The Trentonian previously reported the post was made around 11:25 a.m. Saturday: “Please please DO NOT GO TO ART ALL NIGHT! THEY WILL BE SHOOTING IT UP!”

Grady was in North Carolina on vacation at the time she made the post, Onofri said. Investigators Skyped with her after the shooting and planned to formally interview her Tuesday about what she knew but she lawyered up, Onofri said. He laid into her for not contacting police.

“If you see something, if you hear something, say something,” the county’s top prosecutor said. “Why a person would post on Facebook if they were this concerned about violence breaking out at this event, there were only three numbers they needed to remember, and that’s 911.”

Grady was employed by the Hamilton Township School District in September 2013 as a health and physical education teacher at Steinert and Hamilton West high schools. She was also assistant coach of the track and winter track teams at Hamilton West during the 2013-14 schoolyear, according to school board records.

Grady started teaching at Wilson Elementary in September 2016 after getting transferred from Hamilton West, records show.

Her current annual salary is $49,596, and she also collected a $7,350 stipend for being the Hamilton West boys track head coach and $5,528 for being a Hamilton West winter track assistant coach in the 2017-18 schoolyear, according to school board documents.

The district didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment on her employment status.

The post circulated around as Gusciora said he received a Snapchat message of the post the morning after the shooting from a Trenton teacher.

“You have to remember that teachers are at the front lines and kids are smart,” the mayor-elect said. “I’m sure there were discussions among peers that often are reported to their teacher. The next responsible thing is for the teachers then to notify law enforcement. A lot of prevention is from peer-to-peer contact and then they notify an adult.”

Police director Ernest Parrey Jr. was “not aware” of any calls to police forewarning of potential violence.

Onofri also revealed that as many as seven others went to St. Francis hospital suffering from “scrapes and bruises” and other injuries sustained when people ran and trampled others in trying to escape the deadly chaos. The number of shooting victims remained unchanged, he said.

Onofri acknowledged after the presser heavier charges could be filed against the two shootout suspects as the investigation progresses.

He wouldn’t say how many police officers fired shots during the melee or whether they have been placed on standard paid administrative lead as the prosecutor’s office probes the use of force. That investigation will be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office once its complete.

Mayor Eric Jackson, AG Gurbir Grewal and State Police Col. Patrick Callahan also attended the presser and gave remarks.

West Ward Councilwoman-elect Robin Vaughn wrote a letter to the AG calling for a thorough investigation of the shootout.

Jackson stressed the all-night art event is important to the capital city, bringing in 25,000 people ever year.

“We will make this event bigger, brighter, safer and better,” he said.

Gusciora said the city must take steps to mend the wound, starting by making public safety the main priority and beefing up the city’s recreational budget to give youth a healthy outlet to channel pent-up rage rather than resorting to violence.

“We have to have those Parkland-type discussions,” Gusciora said, “where students are encouraged to vent out their frustrations or what they hear. A successful city can’t have this disconnect between the community and the police.”

Trentonian staff writer Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman contributed to this report.

This makeshift memorial in honor of Tahaij Wells was displayed at the corner of Calhoun and Passaic streets. (Penny Ray - Trentonian)

Officers in at least two police departments knew about a township teacher’s Facebook post warning people not to attend Trenton’s Art All Night festival because “they will be shooting it up” within roughly an hour of it being shared online.

Startling new details emerged Wednesday afternoon forcing officials to acknowledge cops from Hamilton and Trenton police departments had learned about Wilson Elementary teacher Danielle Grady’s widely circulated Facebook post as early as Saturday afternoon, about 14 hours before a firefight broke out around 2:45 a.m. Sunday at the arts festival inside a warehouse of the Roebling Market.

Investigators wanted to know whether Grady had advance warning of the mass shooting that injured at least 22 people, including a teenager. Most of the victims have been treated and released from the hospital.

Hundreds of people saw and commented on the post, but city police director Ernest Parrey Jr. said at a news conference Tuesday at the Friendship Baptist Church he was “not aware” of any calls to police forewarning of potential violence.

Danielle Grady

Mercer County prosecutor Angelo Onofri admonished the township teacher at the same presser for not alerting police.

Hamilton school officials Wednesday morning said Grady had been sidelined from teaching for the rest of the year after officials criticized her for not alerting police to the potential threat.

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Onofri acknowledged his office has since learned a retired Hamilton cop forwarded the teacher’s post to the school resource officer at Hamilton High School West Saturday afternoon.

David Barlow is the school resource officer for Hamilton High School West.

Grady’s attorney pounced on officials in an exclusive interview with The Trentonian for allegedly scapegoating Grady.

In addition to the intelligence the retired Hamilton cop passed along, The Trentonian learned Trenton Police officer Jamar Booker told his supervisor, Peter Weremijenko, about the threat around 8 p.m. Saturday night after seeing Grady’s Facebook post online, attorney Robin Lord said.

Crediting Booker for “doing his duty” by reporting the post to superiors, Lord proceeded to accuse officials of deceiving the public over what they knew and when about Grady’s ominous message warning people “they will be shooting it up” hours before the art festival firefight.

“They did nothing. They did absolutely nothing. They had notice in advance there was going to be a shooting, and they didn’t do a godd--n thing,” Lord said. “They had some nerve using her as a scapegoat.”

Onofri faulted Grady for posting the warning on social media but not alerting cops to the potential threat.

“If you see something, if you hear something, say something,” he said at the presser. “Why a person would post on Facebook if they were this concerned about violence breaking out at this event, there were only three numbers they needed to remember, and that’s 911.”

Onofri said the township teacher was on vacation in North Carolina when she made the post Saturday around 11:25 a.m.

Prosecutors Skyped with Grady following the shooting and planned to formally interview her Tuesday. But she stopped talking to them and lawyered up.

Grady, who has not been charged with a crime, didn’t respond to a message. Her lawyer, however, went to bat on her behalf.

Lord said the teacher cancelled an appointment with prosecutors to give a statement because, “They were treating her like a criminal.”

This was posted to Facebook 15 hours before a shootout at Art All Night in Trenton.

The Trentonian was the first news outlet to publish the teacher’s foreboding Facebook post that said: “Please please DO NOT GO TO ART ALL NIGHT! THEY WILL BE SHOOTING IT UP!”

Grady’s words turned prophetic when feuding factions opened fire Sunday morning. Lord insisted her client didn’t have firsthand knowledge ahead of the shootout and only heard rumors floating on Facebook.

“She was posting based upon information she read,” Lord said. “It was something she had read and passed it on.”

Asked why the teacher didn’t contact the cops, Lord said Grady “assumed law enforcement knew because it was sent to law enforcement” by Booker.

The art festival shooting sent shockwaves through the community as leaders called for calm and healing.

Two men have been charged in connection with the melee that led to the death of one of the gunmen. Amir Armstrong, 23, and Davone White, 26, have been charged with weapons offenses while the third suspect, Tahaij Wells, was killed by police during the gun battle that sent a large crowd stampeding for safety. Armstrong and White, who both have had prior brushes with the law, remain hospitalized. Armstrong is in critical condition while White has been stabilized, officials said.

Wells was a reputed Bloods gangster known on the streets as N.O.R.E. in honor of Queens-based rapper Noreaga. Wells had denounced the gang while in prison serving time for aggravated manslaughter, most of it spent in solitary confinement.

The Bloods allegedly put a prison “hit” out on Wells for carrying out an “unauthorized” execution of fellow Bloods gangster Robert McNair.

Wells and his attorneys disputed it was a gangland slay in successfully pushing for him to get out of solitary confinement months ahead of his February release date.

Onofri said his office was contacted through its website Wednesday around 2 p.m. by the retired Hamilton cop. The prosecutor wouldn’t name the cop but relayed how the cop had alerted the Hamilton West police resource officer of Grady’s post at 12:28 p.m. Saturday, or about 63 minutes after Grady posted it online.

The prosecutor acknowledged some information “may have been forwarded to Trenton” but insisted he wasn’t aware of that when he spoke during Tuesday’s presser.

Lord didn’t see it that way.

“I think that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office should get their facts straight before they start throwing stones in the direction of civilians who are just trying to make a living,” a fuming Lord said.

The consequences of officials’ finger-wagging have been stiff for Grady. Hamilton superintendent Scott Rocco said via email Wednesday morning the “employee in question will not be in her teaching assignment for the rest of the school year.”

Friday is the last day of classes, but teachers are appointed to work from Sept. 1 through June 30, meaning Grady is getting sidelined for the final 10 days of her contracted work schedule.

Rocco didn’t say in the email whether Grady would be paid for the remainder of the school year or whether the school will take disciplinary action against her. But Lord confirmed she was suspended with pay.

Onofri said at the presser he didn’t know whether police knew about the post prior to the shooting, though many people had apparently heard of or read the post. Even Mayor-elect Reed Gusciora said he received a Snapchat message of it from a Trenton teacher the morning after the firefight.

The prosecutor’s characterizations apparently miffed one rank-and-file cop who refused to stay silent. Lord claimed Booker was “mortified” over officials’ statements and contacted Trenton Police internal affairs to tell them what he knew. “He’s not going to let it go down like this,” Lord said.

Neither Booker nor a Trenton Police spokesman could be reached for comment.

Earlier in the day, Gusciora told The Trentonian it was important for investigators to determine whether Grady knew something more than what she shared on Facebook.

“All eyes are on her,” he said. “I’d be a little concerned about coming back to work. I’m sure she’s going to have a guilt trip for the rest of her life. I would hold off judgement until I find out more information. But if she had specific knowledge, it would be like me posting something like that.”

Gusciora had been at the event Saturday for about an hour starting around 7:30 p.m. He noticed a heavier police presence of about a dozen cops which was different from previous years.

Other questions still linger about whether more could have been done to prevent the shootout.
Event organizers hired only four overtime police officers as security for an event that has attracted tens of thousands of people over the years, officials said. Organizers haven’t returned phone calls requesting comment about why more cops weren’t hired to staff the event.

Gusciora felt nothing could have prevented the shootout.

“No,” he said. “That’s something that, if an idiot is determined to shoot up a club, a school or an art festival, they have no conscience or respect for any kind of authority.”

Onofri credited the 40 cops, some of whom have been placed on paid administrative leave, for rapidly responding to the shooting and for preventing more carnage.

Grady began employment with the Hamilton Township School District in September 2013 as a health and physical education teacher at Steinert and Hamilton West high schools. She was also assistant coach of the track and winter track teams at Hamilton West during the 2013-14 schoolyear, according to school board records.

She started teaching at Wilson Elementary in September 2016 after getting transferred from Hamilton West, records show.

Her current annual salary is $49,596, and she also collected a $7,350 stipend for being the Hamilton West boys track head coach and $5,528 for being a Hamilton West winter track assistant coach in the 2017-18 schoolyear, according to school board documents.

Trentonian staff writer Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman contributed to this report.

Screengrab from a witness’s video of the chaos that erupted when shots were fired at Art All Night in Trenton.

TRENTON >> Videos obtained by The Trentonian show a police presence of at least six officers, one with a canine, trying to disperse a rowdy crowd about 90 minutes before at least three suspects engaged in a wild firefight at the Art All Night festival.

More footage reviewed by the newspaper provides the first glimpse into the gruesome scene that unfolded inside the warehouse when gunfire erupted around 2:45 Sunday morning, injuring at least 22 people, including a 13-year-old.

The shocking videos, provided by a man who was there with his wife, captured the “chaos” leading up to the shooting and the carnage inside the building moments after the shootout.

The man agreed to be interviewed on the condition he was identified only by his street name, “Pito.”

Pito also allowed The Trentonian to watch three clips he filmed on the condition it would not publish them out of respect for the alleged gunmen’s families.

Pito, who knew the alleged shooters, identified one of the men bleeding on the ground next to a pool of blood inside the warehouse as Amir Armstrong, one of the suspected gunmen.

Armstrong is seen bleeding from the side of his head after suffering an apparent head shot, information that was corroborated by multiple sources.

Others lay shot on the floor of the warehouse as people rushed over to help.

The videos also captured some of the brewing beefs that broke out prior to the shooting.

Around 1 a.m., the video showed cops rushing over to intervene when people squared up outside of the warehouse raising their hands like they were about to fight.

At least six Trenton Police officers and a police dog swept through the crowd, telling people to leave or head inside the Roebling Wire Works building, according to the video.

People threw up apparent Blood gang signs and shouted at the camera. Another man raised a trigger finger, pretending to shoot at the camera, a haunting image of what was to come.

Lauren Otis, the executive director of Artworks — the nonprofit that produced the event — told people walking into the building the festival was being shut down.

“Anyone who’s coming in now, we’re closing down,” he said, according to the video.

People ignored him and continued to pour into the warehouse, the video shows.

Pito asked the executive director why the festival was being shut down.

“It’s chaos,” Otis responded.

Event organizers have faced questions about their decision to hire only four overtime Trenton cops to staff an event that has attracted tens of thousands of people over the years. About 1,000 people were still at the festival when the gunfire erupted,

Otis released a statement in response to Trentonian inquiries saying the overtime cops were part of a heavier police presence that followed after cops learned from Hamilton teacher Danielle Grady’s Facebook post Saturday morning there may be a shootout.

Otis said officers from other departments and a 14-member security detail were at the event as part of a “comprehensive” security plan approved by city officials.

The police presence included a total of eight officers from Trenton Police and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, along with the security detail. It was unclear if members of the security detail were armed.

The security presence still wasn’t enough, as officers struggled to get the rowdy crowd under control nearly two hours before the shootout. 

A second clip obtained by The Trentonian captured the moment when a rapid succession of gunshots ripped through the building, sending people darting for the doors.

Pito continued filming as he ran through the warehouse searching for his wife.

He came upon a crowd gathered around Armstrong, who was wearing a blue jacket, white T-shirt, dark jeans and red sneakers with a red hat next to body.

As people tried to render aid, Pito shouted at Armstrong, “Stay with us, bro.”

At some point, Armstrong flopped on his side.

Armstrong remains hospitalized in critical condition, and authorities haven’t provided an update on his status.

He and another man, Davone White, have been charged with weapons offenses in connection with the shootout, while a third suspect, Tahaij Wells, was shot and killed by the cops.

Pito said he saw Wells and Armstrong standing with two men he didn’t recognize inside the building minutes before the shootout.

Everything seemed fine, and no one was beefing, Pito said. He recalled Wells had a big smile on his face as they shook hands and talked before he walked off.

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Pito said. “I’m flipping my lid. How the f--k did [this happen]?”

Pito said he knew Wells, who went by N.O.R.E on the streets, for about 15 years before Sunday’s fatal firefight.

They met in the joint around 2003. Wells was in on the alleged gangland slay of Robert McNair, a fellow Bloods gangster.

Wells was 17 at the time he was arrested and spent more than 15 years incarcerated, most of that time in solitary confinement at Trenton state prison, after he admitted to killing McNair.

The men were housed in A-Pod of the Mercer County jail when they met, while Pito said he was locked up on a cocaine charge.

“He was one of the funniest guys you ever met,” Pito said. “You wanted him around you.”

Pito, who said he has done more than 12 years of hard time, called Wells “little Pachanga” because he resembled a character from the crime movie “Carlito’s Way.”

Wells was released from prison in February. And Pito said he saw his former jail mate on the outside about three weeks ago, outside a Trenton barber shop. They hugged and talked.

They saw each other again shortly before the shootout, Pito said.

Everything seemed normal, Pito said, then came the gunshots.

He teared up re-watching the bloody clips inside Trentonian headquarters.

Pito tried sending Wells a Facebook message hours after the shootout but didn’t hear back. A friend later told him Wells had been killed by the police during the melee.

“N---as losin’ they lives over nothing, bro,” Pito said. “He wasn’t a bad kid. He never experienced life. When you incarcerate the mind, you’re always going to be stuck. It’s not fun. Coming home, you ain’t got sh-t. Nobody tries to help you. I don’t judge him for what he had done in his past. He had a good heart. He did one big justice for me. I will always love the kid for that.”

It's definitely summer in the capital city.

To cap off a deadly, solemn week, another person was killed Friday night in what appears to be a drive-by shootout.

Officials say a male was shot and killed in the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 9:15 p.m.

Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity believe the victim in the shooting actually returned fire and was later rushed to the hospital where medical staff pronounced him dead shortly after arrival.

It's unclear whether the gunman in the car was struck by retaliatory gunfire. No other injuries were reported.

The deceased victim's age is not known at this time.

The capital city was thrust into national headlines to start the week when a shootout erupted inside a warehouse at the Art All Night celebration in the Roebling Market section of the city.

Authorities say it's too early to know whether Friday's murder is related to Sunday's melee, which resulted in police killing 32-year-old Tahaij Wells as he and other gunmen exchanged fire with a crowd of people running for their lives around them.

"This investigation is just beginning," Lt. Stephen Varn said late Friday.

The Mercer County Homicide Task Force is investigating the murder. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 609-989-6406.

It’s definitely summer in the capital city as Trenton mourns the death of yet another teenage murder victim.

Tashaughn Robinson, 17, was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds to his body about 9:20 p.m. Friday on the 600 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, getting gunned down just a short walk away from his Bond Street residence.

Trenton camp counselor Tashaughn Robinson (left) was shot and killed Friday, June 22, 2018. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

“He was a good kid,” a city man said Saturday afternoon of Robinson.

Down the street, a nearby makeshift memorial paid respects to the city’s latest homicide victim. The white cloth tied around a MLK Boulevard fence expressed “Rest in Peace” messages in Robinson’s memory as candles burned on the sidewalk.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” reads one of the messages on the memorial cloth. “You mentored my son. I’ll forever have a special place in my heart for you.”

Robinson’s death capped off a deadly, solemn week that began with a mass shooting at the Art All Night festival.

This makeshift memorial in honor of Tashaughn Robinson was displayed on the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Bond Street in Trenton on Saturday, June 23, 2018. (SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN - The Trentonian)

Trenton Police responded about 9:20 p.m. Friday to the scene upon getting a report of shots fired and quickly discovered Robinson’s unresponsive body. The teen victim was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he was ultimately pronounced dead about 9:35 p.m. or 15 minutes after the gun violence erupted, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

The teenager appears to have been killed in a drive-by shootout. Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity believe the victim in the shooting actually returned fire. It was unclear whether the victim in the car was struck by retaliatory gunfire, and no other injuries were reported in the incident.

On Saturday afternoon, Robinson’s family and friends gathered on Bond Street to mourn his death in addition to residents grieving along MLK Boulevard where the shooting occurred.

Robinson was described as a “good kid” and “hard worker,” with residents saying he served as a local youth mentor and camp counselor.

One woman remembered him for his sense of humor and said Robinson was trying to better himself.

“He was like another son to me,” she said of Robinson. “He was a sweetheart. He was a comedian slash role model. He was a good person. Anybody who knows him knew he was special.”

Robinson recently got his driver’s license and was enjoying his new privileges on the road days before the fatal shooting, according to neighborhood residents who said they heard the Friday night gunshots.

Homicide detectives about 1:45 p.m. Saturday were canvassing MLK Boulevard hoping to get access to any potential surveillance footage of the murder.

Despite the street being named after the great civil rights icon who had advocated nonviolent resistance to injustice, MLK Boulevard stretches across a particularly depressed part of the North Ward that is known for shootings and criminal mayhem. That is the environment in which Robinson lived and where he died, the victim of hard circumstances in this era of escalating gun violence.

“Senseless,” one man said Saturday of the shooting that killed Robinson, whom he described as a “good kid.”

“It’s important that this summer not be a summer of escalating violence but of one of transformation and hope for the city,” Trenton Mayor-elect Reed Gusciora said Saturday in an interview with The Trentonian. “I’ve said it before, but public safety has to be Job One and unless parents know that even the pools are safe, I doubt they’ll send their kids to the pools, so we have to make sure that every neighborhood in this city is safe and secure, and I’ll be working with police to try to make that happen.”

Gusciora gets sworn into office July 1 and will have his work cut out for him.

The capital city was thrust into national headlines to start the week when a shootout erupted inside a warehouse at the Art All Night celebration in the Roebling Market section of the city.

Authorities said it was too early to know whether Friday’s murder is related to last Sunday’s melee, which resulted in police killing 32-year-old Tahaij Wells as he and other gunmen exchanged fire with a crowd of people running for their lives around them.

A 13-year-old boy was initially hospitalized in extremely critical condition in the Art All Night shooting, which also wounded alleged gunmen Amir Armstrong, 23, and Davone White, 26, who have both been charged with weapons offenses in the incident.

Several Trenton teenagers have gotten shot and killed in recent years, bringing continued shock and outrage to the 7.5-square-mile capital city. Convicted murderer Peter Charles Jr., 19, got convicted earlier this month for slaying 16-year-old Ciony Kirkman in a brazen April 2016 shooting in the city’s South Ward.

“It’s sad that this generation feels that they can resolve their conflicts with guns and violence,” Gusciora said Saturday. “We have to transform the dialogue in the city, and I will be working from Day One, but public safety is going to be a priority.”

In terms of the Friday night shooting that killed Robinson, the Mercer County Homicide Task Force is investigating his violent death. No arrests have been reported in the case as of Saturday afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (609) 989-6406.

Trentonian staff writer Penny Ray contributed to this report.

(left to right) Amir Armstrong, Tahaij Wells and Davone White

Authorities brought additional charges against two of the three suspects in a brazen art festival shootout early Sunday morning that injured nearly two dozen people and sent “innocent bystanders” stampeding for cover amid the hail of gunfire inside a warehouse at the Roebling Market.

The charges were announced at a news conference Tuesday called by community leaders and law enforcement officials to give an update on the investigation and push for calm and healing in what Mayor-elect Reed Gusciora described as a “post-Parkland” mass shooting, referring to the devastating school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

Officials discussed details of a foreboding Facebook post made by a Hamilton teacher hours before the shootout, and more details emerged about the suspects involved.

“We will not accept our city being turned upside down,” Pastor John Taylor said at the outset of the presser.

Most of the victims have been treated and released from area hospitals, officials said.
Gusciora told The Trentonian he expects the groundswell of outrage over the shootout to pick up as the city recovers from “the aftershock of this event.”

“We have to get to the bottom of why somebody felt that was OK to turn this into the O.K. Corral,” the longtime 15th district leader said.

Two men, Davone White, 26, and Amir Armstrong, 23, were charged in connection with the Trenton shootout while a third suspect, Tahaij Wells, was killed by police. Wells had been released from prison months before the shootout after serving most of his 15-year bid in solitary confinement at Trenton state prison.

Gusciora said putting someone in solitary confinement for that long creates a “powder keg. It’s an explosion waiting to happen.”

Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri released the name of the third suspect, White, at the morning news conference at Friendship Baptist Church, where faith-based leaders met privately for a short time with stakeholders and law enforcement officials.

Authorities believe White has ties to gangs or street crews, which Onofri said have replaced more traditional street gangs in recent years.

“We’re not really experiencing Bloods and the Crips anymore,” Onofri said. “It is neighborhood by neighborhood gang affiliation.”

Investigators believe an ongoing dispute between neighborhood factions that were at the festival preceded the shooting, but the prosecutor stopped short of calling it a “turf war.”

“A lot of the shootings we’re seeing are retaliation for previous shootings,” Onofri said.

Each of the shootout suspects face gun charges from the firefight that happened around 2:45 a.m. as the Art All Night festival was shut down after fistfights started breaking out. Others may face charges. White was hit with a certain persons charge, meaning he has a prior felony conviction.

Armstrong was hit with being in possession of a stolen gun reported missing in 2014. He mostly skated in his past brushes with the law, with some charges downgraded to municipal court. He was also allowed into a pretrial intervention on drug charges.

Both suspects are still hospitalized. Armstrong is in critical condition while White is stable, Onofri said.

Onofri said investigators are still piecing together the volley of bullets and downloaded all possible surveillance that may have captured the gun battle.

Event organizers hired only four overtime Trenton cops as security for an event that has attracted tens of thousands of people over the years, the prosecutor said. About 40 cops responded to the shooting. There were no metal detectors at the event.

“There will be a stronger presence at these events,” Onofri promised, crediting police for quickly responding and mitigating the carnage. “We are never going to arrest or prosecute or incarcerate our way out of gun violence. It has to start in the community.”

White, who allegedly had an illegal high-capacity magazine that held up to 30 bullets, has a notorious background that includes convictions for aggravated assault and drugs, according to court records. He was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault and robbery following an incident on May 4, 2016. He served only a day in jail after appearing to post bail, court records show.

White pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, admitting to a single count of third-degree aggravated assault, and walked away with two years of probation when he was sentenced in March.

White picked up a charge of having a prohibited weapon and devices for having hollow-point bullets in March. The case was dismissed by prosecutors May 2, according to court records. Another drug possession charge from June 2017 was downgraded and resolved in municipal court.

The Facebook post made by Danielle Grady dominated the presser as Onofri revealed the woman behind the post is a Hamilton teacher.

Grady is listed on a roster at Wilson Elementary in the township. Onofri couldn’t say when police became aware of the post.

The Trentonian previously reported the post was made around 11:25 a.m. Saturday: “Please please DO NOT GO TO ART ALL NIGHT! THEY WILL BE SHOOTING IT UP!”

Grady was in North Carolina on vacation at the time she made the post, Onofri said. Investigators Skyped with her after the shooting and planned to formally interview her Tuesday about what she knew but she lawyered up, Onofri said. He laid into her for not contacting police.

“If you see something, if you hear something, say something,” the county’s top prosecutor said. “Why a person would post on Facebook if they were this concerned about violence breaking out at this event, there were only three numbers they needed to remember, and that’s 911.”

Grady was employed by the Hamilton Township School District in September 2013 as a health and physical education teacher at Steinert and Hamilton West high schools. She was also assistant coach of the track and winter track teams at Hamilton West during the 2013-14 schoolyear, according to school board records.

Grady started teaching at Wilson Elementary in September 2016 after getting transferred from Hamilton West, records show.

Her current annual salary is $49,596, and she also collected a $7,350 stipend for being the Hamilton West boys track head coach and $5,528 for being a Hamilton West winter track assistant coach in the 2017-18 schoolyear, according to school board documents.

The district didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment on her employment status.

The post circulated around as Gusciora said he received a Snapchat message of the post the morning after the shooting from a Trenton teacher.

“You have to remember that teachers are at the front lines and kids are smart,” the mayor-elect said. “I’m sure there were discussions among peers that often are reported to their teacher. The next responsible thing is for the teachers then to notify law enforcement. A lot of prevention is from peer-to-peer contact and then they notify an adult.”

Police director Ernest Parrey Jr. was “not aware” of any calls to police forewarning of potential violence.

Onofri also revealed that as many as seven others went to St. Francis hospital suffering from “scrapes and bruises” and other injuries sustained when people ran and trampled others in trying to escape the deadly chaos. The number of shooting victims remained unchanged, he said.

Onofri acknowledged after the presser heavier charges could be filed against the two shootout suspects as the investigation progresses.

He wouldn’t say how many police officers fired shots during the melee or whether they have been placed on standard paid administrative lead as the prosecutor’s office probes the use of force. That investigation will be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office once its complete.

Mayor Eric Jackson, AG Gurbir Grewal and State Police Col. Patrick Callahan also attended the presser and gave remarks.

West Ward Councilwoman-elect Robin Vaughn wrote a letter to the AG calling for a thorough investigation of the shootout.

Jackson stressed the all-night art event is important to the capital city, bringing in 25,000 people ever year.

“We will make this event bigger, brighter, safer and better,” he said.

Gusciora said the city must take steps to mend the wound, starting by making public safety the main priority and beefing up the city’s recreational budget to give youth a healthy outlet to channel pent-up rage rather than resorting to violence.

“We have to have those Parkland-type discussions,” Gusciora said, “where students are encouraged to vent out their frustrations or what they hear. A successful city can’t have this disconnect between the community and the police.”

Trentonian staff writer Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman contributed to this report.