A 17-year-old Lawrence Township juvenile has been charged with murder, carjacking and other offenses in connection with a carjacking incident that occurred in Trenton on July 12, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Trenton Police Department.
The Lawrence Township youth, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, was also charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and weapons offenses, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The teenager allegedly attempted to steal a Dodge Durango SUV and shot the 27-year-old victim as he tried to stop the theft, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The victim was standing at the open back of the SUV when the teenager allegedly hopped into the driver’s seat and tried to drive away, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said. Two young children were strapped into car seats in the SUV.
The victim tried to climb into the rear of the SUV when several gunshots were fired. The SUV crashed into two parked cars and flipped over in the area of Garfield and Farragut avenues, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The victim, who was found inside of the overturned SUV, was pronounced dead at the scene. The children were unharmed.
The suspect fled the scene, but he was apprehended July 29 in Trenton by members of the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the New Jersey State Police.
He is being held in the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Mercer County Homicide Task Force Detective Chris Pullen at (848) 992-6436 or Sgt. William Jett Jr. at (609) 331-5010. Information can be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.
