Homicide Watch Trenton

Police have identified the victim of last Wednesday’s fatal shooting after a week of investigation.

Benito Escalante, 26, was shot in the head inside a home on the 1000 block of South Clinton Avenue. Escalante has no known address in the United States, but is known to be from Guatemala.

The 1000 block of South Clinton Avenue had previously been hit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July as part of series of raids in the city, resulting in four arrests at that particular block. Escalante was not one of the arrestees in the raid.

Anyone with information on the homicide can call the confidential tipline at (609) 989-3663 or Trenton Crime Stoppers at (609)278- 8477.

Alternatively tipsters who prefer to text-a-tip can text information about the shooting to TCSTIPS to 274637.

TRENTON- A county judge maintained a $1 million bail for two city men who allegedly worked together to kill another man on January 23.
Keith Wells-Holmes and Zihqwan Clemens appeared in front of Judge Pedro Jimenez for a bail hearing early Thursday morning.

The men are charged with the murder of Andre Corbett, Trenton’s second homicide of the new year.
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Today’s Comment of the Day comes by way of our Facebook page, where visitor Neema Hopkins-Nock asked about a case from nearly five years ago involving her niece Qua’Daishia Hopkins, who was just 10 years old when she was killed in an arson fire in Trenton.

“Hi I just wanted to know because my family never heard anything else about my neice Qua’daishia’s murder r yall still investigating her case or was she just forgottin….” — Neema Hopkins-Nock.

We’re including our response here as an explanation for her and to anyone who may be wondering whether their loved one will be featured on this site. As you’ll see in the response below, we encourage anyone affected by a homicide in Trenton to reach out to us to keep the dialogue going on current investigations and cases, as well as those in the past.
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TRENTON — Tormu Prall’s lawyer said he might take the stand in his own defense against charges he burned his sleeping brother to death in their Wayne Avenue home in 2007.
But if he does, the judge warned, the jury will hear that he admitted to a city detective he was inside the house when the place went up in flames the morning of Sept. 25, immolating John Prall and badly burning the brother’s girlfriend.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Andrew Smithson outlined the risks after defense lawyer Michael Dawson told Assistant Mercer Prosecutor Renee Robeson during a recess.

“My advice is to testify,” Dawson said. “It’s the only way he can win.”

Dawson said it without the jury present.
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Today’s Comment of the Day comes from a reader with the screen name Vjdjlucy2, who added more praise to the Trenton Police Department for their quick arrest in the killing of Andre Corbett, along with more words of comfort to the victim’s family.

“I also like to thank from the bottom of my heart the TPD you guys did a great job!” the reader wrote. “I’m going to miss Andre, the first kid me and my brothers played with when we came to live with his grandmother n grandfather (our uncle)..I remember going to church on Sundays, n his grandma picking up my little brother to stay over for the weekend so Andre would have a playmate. I’m going to miss Andre although I hardly saw him, I knew he was around, now I have to live with the fact that I can’t see him ever again and reminiscing our old days. RIP my little cousin, my brothers and I will forever miss you.”

TRENTON — A city man is being held on $1 million dollar bail, accused of killing another man roughly an hour into the New Year.

DeSean Clark appeared in Mercer County Criminal Court early Friday morning, accused of shooting James Threadgill to death outside Passion’s nightclub on East State and Chambers streets in Trenton.
According to police, a scuffle between the two men began outside the city nightclub during the pre-dawn hours of January 1. The argument turned deadly when the 32-year-old suspect allegedly jumped ahead in line to enter the club.

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Today’s Comment of the Day comes from someone saying they are the grandparents of homicide victim Andre Corbett, who used their comment to thank the detectives who made a quick arrest in the case.

“We the grandparent of Andre Corbett want to thank front the bottom of our heart detective Rios and detective Cottrel for the job well done and God Bless the TPD . , from Florida Thank you Thank you Thank you,”read the comment left by someone with the screen name anasco4868.

Police are trying to identify the man who was killed Wednesday night on the 1000 block of South Clinton Avenue, according to officials from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

Around 8:30 p.m. a Hispanic man was shot in the head inside inside a home that has previously been a target by authorities. The man was found dead and alone at the scene, Lt. Stephen Varn said. On July 6, 2012, federal and local authorities raided the house among others in an operation to break up prostitution and illegal alcohol sales.

At that particular home, two New York women and two city men were arrested on prostitution related charges. According to residents near the home, the house has continued to be a nuisance in the community. Residents describe seeing men enter the home from the front and go drink and engage in prostitution with women kept in the rear of the home while a male lookout watches the streets from the third floor window.

“This place caused a lot of trouble,” one resident said. “Men would go there during the day and night.”

In September of last year, Neemias Reyes Gonzales was gunned down in a home on the 800 block of South Clinton Avenue, the another site in the July raids. Gonzales was arrested during the raids and was charged with promoting prostitution. No arrests have been made in that case.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call police at (609) 989-4170 or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

A detective said Tormu Prall’s hands were clearly scarred by burns when he was arrested after 13 months on the run from charges he torched the family home on Wayne Avenue, killing his brother.
Lt. Edgar Rios, the detective, said he ordered pictures taken of Prall hands as soon as he saw them on Oct. 21, 2008, more than a year after the fugitive’s alleged arson-murder on Sept. 25, 2007. Jurors were shown the pictures Thursday.

By the time of his arrest under a false name in Connecticut, which led to his return to Trenton, investigators had put out a wanted poster on Prall and, as Rios testified, had heard from four witnesses who linked the suspect to the fiery murder of his brother, John Prall, and serious burning of his bedmate Kim Meadows.
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Slain John Prall’s longtime lover broke into tears Wednesday as she testified about seeing his Wayne Avenue house in flames less than 24 hours after the victim’s brother allegedly threatened to kill him and her.

Jeneya Richardson, 40, who had three children with the victim, said the blaze occurred soon after she and the kids visited the home until late the night of Jan. 24, 2007. At daybreak the next morning, friend Paul Bethea called and told her the house on Wayne was aflame.
Richardson also testified that, like Bethea on the stand on Tuesday, she heard suspect Tormu Prall make threats on the life of his brother, with whom he had been arguing over household expenses and getting kicked out of the place.
For more trial coverage, see the full story at Trentonian.com.