A murder victim lies in the street on Sanford St in Trenton Friday as police process the scene.
John Berry - The Trentonian
TRENTON >> With the start of the summer, city kids were riding their bikes and hanging out of front porches to kick off the Fourth of July weekend.
But on the first block of Sanford Street on Friday afternoon, a man lay dead in the street after being gunned down.
Police sources say the victim is 19-year-old city resident Nebate Anderson.
Employees at a car business at the end of the street said they were in the garage when the shooting occurred so they didn’t see anything. But the workers said they heard at least five shots.
“Thank God the kids weren’t playing on their bikes,” one woman said who had been living on the street the past 16 years. “They don’t care about daytime, the children, nothing.”
The shooting occurred just before 3 p.m.
When cops arrived on the scene, Anderson was found laying on the ground between a car and a minivan, police sources said. Anderson lived across the street from where he was shot, the sources told The Trentonian.
The sources who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution said Anderson had a warrant for his arrest for a prior shooting. Police sources said Anderson “always had a gun on him” and was a “known shooter.”
Half of Sanford Street is lined with vacant, boarded-up houses that are used as memorials for people who have been killed with “RIP” inscriptions written with spray paint.
Some young children were sitting on porches with their parents at the border of the crime-scene tape.
“Damn, summertime,” one man said. “Oh man, that s**t is crazy, crazy in the hood.”
Anderson was arrested by Trenton police on May 2 because he matched the description of a suspected gunman in connection with two shootings.
Anderson allegedly reached for his waistband when he saw the cops.
Detectives grabbed Anderson’s hand, which was on the gun, and disarmed him as they tackled him onto the ground.
Police say the semi-automatic weapon was fully loaded and equipped with a high-capacity magazine. Detectives also found Anderson in possession of marijuana.
Anderson was charged with drug and weapons offenses for the incident.
Friday’s murder was the second homicide in the past three days.
On Wednesday night, Daren Joseph, 29, of Lauderhill, Fla., was found lying in the street next to a dark-colored Acura on the 100 block of Miller Street, a section of the city that doesn’t experience much violence, located directly across the street from Capital Health Regional Medical Center.
So far this year, the city has experienced 11 homicides, which includes the hit-and-run death of Lea Pringle.
Eight people have died by gunfire this year, two people were stabbed to death, and the one vehicle death.
Anyone with information about Wednesday’s killing is urged to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406 or the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at (609) 278-8477.
Trentonian staff writer Penny Ray contributed to this report
Police and County Homicide detectives on the scene of a murder on Sanford St. in Trenton.
John Berry - The Trentonian