Homicide Watch Trenton

By PAUL MICKLE
pmickle@trentonian.com
TRENTON — Ivelis Turell, on trial for allegedly shooting her boyfriend to death, doesn’t want her kids to see her picture in the newspapers.

She would not cooperate Thursday morning even after a judge gave The Trentonian permission to get photos of her in the courtroom while the jury was not present.

Her lawyer, Steve Slaven, said during a sidebar with the newspaper, judge and prosecutors that his client would have to consent before the paper could start snapping — though New Jersey Supreme Court rules say the judge and lawyers, not the suspect, must set the boundaries.
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By PAUL MICKLE
pmickle@trentonian.com
TRENTON — A lawyer Wednesday said his client — the second suspect in the Veterans Day shooting death of a Mercer County prison officer — was at the scene, but had nothing to do with the fatal 22-shot barrage at a Chambersburg landmark.

Attorney Jeff Broderick, public defender for Hykeem Tucker, made the defense after it came out that the suspect has been transferred to the Hudson County jail to keep him away from colleagues of the murder victim — Corrections Officer Carl Batie — at the Mercer jail.

A video bail hearing between the Mercer jail and the courtroom of Mercer Superior Court Judge Gerald Counsel had been slated for Wednesday morning, but technical difficulties at the jail in Hudson prevented it from happening.
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Jamel Robinson keeps a close eye on the makeshift memorial for Marcus Hunter on the corner of Passaic and Calhoun Streets. A white sheet that reads “SPG RIP MARK 1” has been tied to a chain linked fence at the intersection, with a marker left by the sidewalk for people passing by to write messages. It’s actually the second memorial erected in his honor, the first one had caught on fire.

“The wind blew the candles into the sheet and set it on fire,” Robinson said.
Hunter, who lived on Spring Street, died on Monday from a gunshot wound to the head near the intersection of New Willow and Beakes Street, near Martin Luther King avenue.
He was 16 years old.
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TRENTON — Jury selection starts Wednesday in the case of the woman who already has convinced one judge it was self-defense when she fatally shot her boyfriend and took a bullet to the shoulder in a struggle with him in 2007.
Ivelis Turell, of the 200 block of Ferry Street, has been indicted twice on homicide and weapons charges for the shooting death of Michael Whitaker, 35, on May 2 of that year.
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TRENTON - A 16-year-old boy was shot in the head on New Willow and Beakes Streets Monday afternoon.

Around 2:30 p.m., residents in the area of the Donnelly Homes reported hearing four to six shots near the intersection.
Marcus Hunter, of Trenton, was shot by a gate to a paved lot, according to police.

Police had his body covered with a sheet and set up black temporary barriers to obscure it from view as they combed the scene for evidence.

A few of Hunter’s family members, including a woman identified as his mother, were present at the scene, but they declined comment.

One distraught woman could be heard wailing from within the Donnelly Homes’ grounds.
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Today’s comment of the day come from our Facebook page, where a passionate discussion developed over the case of Andre Corbett’s killing, including comments from supporters of both the victim and the accused.
In that thread, Trenton community activist Darren “Freedom” Green stepped in to leave a thoughtful response.

“Our health begins in our HOMES-restoring order, pride, love, and discipline in OUR BABIES,” Green wrote. “If everyone simply does that, we get better overnight through application. Second we have to make EDUCATION our number one focus, Our Babies kill and die in the streets for many reasons-EDUCATION is one of them. EDUCATED people don’t say dumb things like STOP SNITCHING when people are murdered. We have to restore INTEGRITY in our community, reporting wrong, standing up for each other, and working with police to remove CRIMINALS. We should be tired of hanging sheets, tired of lighting dam candles, tired of pouring out liquor-it’s time to clean up block by block. Our now and future DEPENDS on US-we can shine and grow, or keep dying and staying “low”. Peace!”

TRENTON – Ivelis Turell, whose trial for allegedly killing her boyfriend in 2007 finally started Monday, has won another legal delay, this time so an appeals court can decide if she can change her mind again about her lawyer.

With jury selection underway, the suspect asked Mercer County Superior Court Judge Pedro Jiminez if she could go back to her original lawyer, Timothy Smith, who dropped her case eight months ago.

Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Skylar Weissman opposed the move, as did the judge, who ruled against her. That prompted her current lawyers to file a motion with the appeals court to permit the return of the former lawyer.

Turell, 34, of the 200 block of Ferry Street and free on $250,000 bail, has been indicted twice on homicide and weapons charges for the May 2, 2007, shooting death of Michael Whitaker, 35.
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TRENTON — A second man connected to the homicide of a Mercer County Corrections officer has been made.

According to reports, Hykeem Tucker, 26, was arrested in connection with the Nov. 11 shooting death of Carl Batie.

Tucker was arrested in the morning of Jan. 24 by U.S. Marshals. It is unclear what role Tucker played in the slaying.

Batie was a bystander on the balcony at Baldassari Regency on Morris Avenue in the city’s Chambersburg section when he was struck in the head by a bullet and killed.
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A Trenton man pleaded guilty on Thursday to aggravated manslaughter charges, for the killing of another city man in 2008.
Jamal Brandon Darby, 24, appeared in front of Judge Robert Billmeier to accept the last minute plea bargain agreement.

Jamal Brandon Darby

TRENTON – A jury has found Tormu Prall guilty of all the charges stemming from the arson murder of his brother, John Prall, and the near killing of Kim Meadows in September of 2007.

Tormu Prall