Marquis Skillman
Two Trenton men charged in separate murder cases will serve hard time behind bars.
Marquis Skillman, 30, received an 11-year prison sentence last week for his role in the 2013 shooting death of Rayshawn Ransom while Tomarkus Whitfield, 39, received a sentence of 19 years and six months in the slammer for killing Pinkey Priester in 2014.
Under Skillman’s plea deal, he admitted guilt to robbery and a weapons offense in exchange for prosecutors dismissing murder charges against him. Skillman was one of the three men charged in connection with the slaying of Ransom, 19, on June 12, 2013, in the city of Trenton.
The other defendants in the case were Alton Jones, 25, who pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, and Dyquise Leonard, also 25, who has pleaded guilty to attempted murder. Prosecutors say Jones is the defendant who fired the shot that killed Ransom.
Skillman, who was represented by private attorney Michael Kuhns, must serve nine years and four months in state prison before he is eligible for parole.
Tomarkus Whitfield
Whitfield pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, extreme indifference to human life, in exchange for prosecutors dismissing his murder charges and weapons offenses. He shot and killed 33-year-old Priester in Trenton on June 16, 2014. The self-confessed killer was represented by pool attorney Ronald Garzio in the criminal proceedings that ended with Whitfield receiving nearly 20 years of imprisonment.