Donte Jones

Self-confessed killer Donte Jones is serving a state prison sentence for slaying 36-year-old Levonza Thompson in cold blood.

A Superior Court judge sentenced Jones to 10 years of incarceration on April 12 for the first-degree aggravated manslaughter. Then Jones must serve five additional years of incarceration for being in unlawful possession of a handgun in another case unrelated to the homicide, records show.

Jones, 28, of Trenton, admits he shot and killed Thompson on Oct. 31, 2014. The Halloween homicide occurred in Trenton’s West Ward. 

Police found Thompson lying on the ground in the 200 block of Coolidge Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police recovered 10 shell casings and a live round from the crime scene, and Thompson later died at the hospital, authorities said.

Jones was out on bail on weapons offenses at the time of the shooting, records show. He posted 10 percent of $50,000 cash bail on April 25, 2014, and then killed Thompson several months later.

Originally charged with murder and weapons offenses, Jones pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to aggravated manslaughter. He received 1,617 days of jail credit for being in custody from Nov. 7, 2014, to April 11, 2019.

Jones is currently incarcerated at South Woods State Prison and is scheduled to be released in 2023, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Superior Court Judge Robert Bingham II sentenced Jones April 12 for his crimes in the homicide and unrelated weapons possession cases. In addition to confessing to manslaughter, he pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun in the other case, admitting he unlawfully packed heat in Trenton on April 18, 2014.

The homicide victim Thompson was the uncle of 23-year-old Naquan Ellis who was shot and killed in June 2014 at the North 25 Housing complex off of Calhoun Street.

The convicted murderer who shot and killed 16-year-old Ciony Kirkman in a wild April 2016 gunplay incident has finally been punished for his deadly crimes.

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

Peter Charles Jr., 20, of Trenton, received a 55-year prison sentence Friday as Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta hammered him for having no remorse.

“There has not been any sincere remorse,” she told the defendant from the bench. “You are sorry for yourself and maybe your family. That is not true remorse.”

Pereksta cited Charles’s prior history of violence as a juvenile, his prior history of unchecked drug use and his lack of employment history as aggravating factors. “There were offenses of violence in your past,” she said. “You’ll evolve. I don’t know if you’ll mature.” 

A trial jury convicted Charles on each charge 12 months ago, finding him guilty of murder, weapons offenses, six counts of attempted murder and seven counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.

The incident occurred April 24, 2016, when Charles was 17 years old. He armed himself with a handgun and fired numerous shots at a minivan that Ciony and six other juveniles were occupying in the area of Jersey Street and Home Avenue in Trenton’s South Ward. One of those shots struck Ciony in the head; she died two days later from her injuries.

Police arrested Charles on April 29, 2016. He 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 to carry.

After the jury convicted Charles on June 8, 2018, he blamed his defense attorney Bruce L. Throckmorton for the outcome.

“You have to take responsibility for your own action for your own case,” Pereksta told Charles. “I do not take any pleasure in days like this.”

A first-degree murder conviction carries 30 years to life in prison in New Jersey’s criminal justice system, but a judge must exercise restraint when sentencing a juvenile waived up to adult court. Charles was a 17-year-old juvenile when he shot and killed the teenage victim.

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.

Ciony’s family wanted Charles to get life in prison. Throckmorton wanted his client to get sentenced to the least punitive punishment allowable under state law. Pereksta ultimately sentenced the convicted murderer to 55 years of incarceration subject to the No Early Release Act, which means the defendant must serve at least 85 percent of the term behind bars before he may become eligible for parole.

Charles has also been sentenced to 16-year concurrent prison terms for his attempted murder convictions. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office was not seeking consecutive sentences in this case.

Charles has been awarded 1,148 days of jail credit for being in custody for more than three years since his arrest. He appeared in court Friday in an orange Mercer County Correction Center jumpsuit and said he understood the terms of his hefty prison sentence. He has the right to appeal his convictions and sentences within 45 days.

The triggerman who shot and killed Emilio Lopez during a 2012 robbery in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood has been sentenced to 16 years of incarceration.

Emmanuel Cruz

Emmanuel Cruz, 32, of Hamilton, is currently booked at the Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Ewing Township and must serve 85 percent of the sentence behind bars before being eligible for parole, records show.

Cruz pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter last month, admitting he fatally shot the 34-year-old victim near the intersection of Kent and Division streets on Nov. 16, 2012.

Cruz was the fourth and final defendant arrested in the case. He took responsibility for the homicide, while the original three co-defendants pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery. 

Kenneth C. Rivera, 26, of Trenton; Jose Rivera, 26, of Trenton; and Roberto Cruz, 38, of Trenton, are scheduled to be sentenced next month for their roles in the violent crime against Lopez. The self-confessed robbers are cousins, and all of them identified Emmanuel Cruz as the triggerman.

(From left) Kenneth Rivera, Jose Rivera and Roberto Cruz

Surveillance video of the slaying showed Lopez walking down the street and getting shot while four robbers surrounded him, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Lopez was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he ultimately died from his fatal wounds.

Within 48 hours of the slaying, police arrested Kenneth Rivera, Jose Rivera and Roberto Cruz, charging the trio with murder. Authorities four years later arrested Emmanuel Cruz on murder charges after the three original co-defendants became state cooperating witnesses.

One of the robbers, Roberto Cruz, is Emmanuel Cruz’s brother.

An indictment handed up in April 2017 charged Emmanuel Cruz with first-degree murder, first-degree murder during the commission of a crime, first-degree armed robbery, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit to carry, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and second-degree certain persons not to have a weapon due to a prior conviction.

Emmanuel Cruz pleaded guilty to an amended count of aggravated manslaughter Nov. 4, and Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta sentenced him to 16 years of state incarceration on Dec. 13. He will be subjected to five years of parole supervision upon release, according to the judgment of conviction.

In accordance with the negotiated plea agreement, Pereksta dismissed the remaining counts in the indictment against Emmanuel Cruz. She further ordered him to pay more than $5,000 in restitution to the Victims of Crime Compensation Office and gave him 30 days to file a motion of opposition if he objects to the amount imposed.

Emmanuel Cruz received 1,089 days of jail credit for being in custody from Dec. 19, 2016, to Dec. 12, 2019, on $1 million cash bail, records show.

Emmanuel Cruz ( New Jersey Department of Corrections Photo)

Cruz previously pleaded guilty in 2012 to fourth-degree aggravated assault with a firearm and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. He also has one prior municipal court conviction and one outstanding bench warrant in Trenton, according to public records.

Defense attorney David P. Schroth represented Emmanuel Cruz at the Dec. 13 sentencing hearing. Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo handled the case.

Emmanuel Cruz is scheduled to be released from state prison on July 25, 2030, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.