Prosecutors will try a city teen accused of fatally shooting 16-year-old Ciony Kirkman as an adult, officials confirmed.
Ciony Kirkman (contributed photo)
The 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder, six counts of aggravated assault and weapons offenses. His name and photo have not been released because of his age.
Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, said prosecutors will ask a judge to allow them to try the teen as an adult. Prosecutors have 30 days to ask for the waiver to adult court, she said.
“The office will be seeking to waive him to adult court,” DeBlasio said. “He would not have a bail hearing unless or until the waiver is granted by the judge and adult criminal complaints are filed.”
The teen was arrested at a relative’s house by U.S. Marshals late last month. He is being held at the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.
Kirkman, a student at Daylight/Twilight High School, was the city’s fifth murder victim of the year. She was shot in the head while she and six other juveniles were inside a Ford Windstar that was reported stolen.
The stolen minivan was ambushed by gunfire on Jersey Street around6:30 p.m. April 24, police said.
Several sources told The Trentonian residents of Jersey Street were warned the street was “going to be lit up like a firecracker” prior to the shooting.
Minutes after the warning, sources say, they heard at least a dozen gunshots in rapid succession.
Kirkman died two days later. Her funeral service over the weekend was interrupted by an unfounded report of gunfire, police said.