Anthony Concepcion | Homicide Watch Trenton

Gunman gets 12 years in 2014 Trenton homicide case

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:40:20 -0500

State prisoner Anthony L. Concepcion is serving additional time in the slammer for admitting he killed 39-year-old Patrick Walker in 2014.

Anthony Concepcion

Concepcion, 26, of Trenton, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in October and received a 12-year prison sentence last week. He was already serving a five-year prison sentence at South Woods State Prison for pleading guilty in another case to unlawful possession of a handgun, court records show.

Armed and dangerous, Concepcion was arrested Sept. 30, 2014, for packing heat in the City of Trenton without a permit to carry. He eventually posted $50,000 cash bail on Oct. 22, 2014, buying his way out of jail and using his freedom to slay Walker outside of Trenton’s La Guira Bar on Dec. 13, 2014.

Weeks after the homicide, police re-arrested Concepcion in January 2015 and charged him with murder and weapons offenses on allegations he shot and killed Walker.

Patrick Walker

Concepcion became a New Jersey Department of Corrections inmate in May 2017 after pleading guilty in his initial weapons case. He later pleaded guilty in the homicide case after fighting the charges for years and failing to win an acquittal.

Concepcion’s murder trial ended without resolution in August due to a jury snafu. Members of the jury had conducted deliberations without all jury members being present, a clear violation of the judge’s instructions. The debacle tainted the judicial process and forced a mistrial.

The state was prepared to retry Concepcion on murder charges, but he averted a retrial by pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter, ending his presumption of innocence. Concepcion would have faced 30 years to life in prison if a jury had convicted him of murder.

The indictment originally charged Concepcion with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes, and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. He pleaded guilty Oct. 15 to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and had his weapons offenses dismissed at his sentencing hearing last Friday.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta sentenced Concepcion to 12 years of incarceration. He must serve 85 percent of the sentence behind bars before he may become eligible for parole but has been awarded 1,431 days of jail credit, records show.

The self-confessed killer will be subjected to five years of parole supervision upon release from state prison and has been ordered to pay over $6,000 in restitution.

Jury snafu ends Trenton murder trial without verdict

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:29:20 -0400

Anthony Concepcion

State prisoner Anthony L. Concepcion remains in the custody of New Jersey Department of Corrections after his murder trial ended last week without resolution.

Concepcion, 26, of Trenton, is a self-confessed gunman serving a five-year prison sentence at South Woods State Prison while fighting Mercer County prosecutors in another case accusing him of shooting and killing 39-year-old Patrick Walker in 2014.

Concepcion had his day in court earlier this month, but his legal proceeding ended in a mistrial last Thursday due to a snafu involving the jury’s failure to follow instructions.

“The issue was related to deliberations being conducted by jurors outside of the presence of the entire jury,” Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio said Tuesday in an email explaining why Judge Darlene Pereksta granted the defense’s motion for a mistrial.

In any trial by jury, a judge always gives strict instructions to each juror, including guidance that the jury shall not deliberate until and unless all 12 jury members are present in the jury room. The jury violated that instruction in Concepcion’s murder trial, prompting public defender Jessica Lyons to move for a mistrial with the state consenting to the motion, DeBlasio confirmed.

“The next court date is scheduled for Sept. 17,” DeBlasio said, “and the state is prepared to retry the case. It will be assigned to another assistant prosecutor as Michelle Gasparian is leaving the office for another job opportunity.”

Gasparian, who has served as a distinguished Mercer County prosecutor for the last 20 years, winning a huge murder conviction last year in the 2011 body-in-the-trunk execution case against killer Danuweli Keller, was prosecuting Concepcion with her trademark methodical approach before his trial ended on a technicality last week.

The prosecutor’s office did not elaborate on Gasparian’s future job opportunity, but sources say she will be joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She was previously cross-designated to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and worked with federal prosecutors in the past to win convictions against Bloods street gang members involved in a massive drug ring in Trenton.

Concepcion is accused of shooting and killing Patrick Walker outside of Trenton’s La Guira Bar on Dec. 13, 2014. Police arrested Concepcion Jan. 6, 2015, in connection with the homicide. An indictment eventually charged him with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes, and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.

Patrick Walker

The defendant was known to be armed and dangerous. Concepcion illegally possessed a handgun in Trenton on Sept. 30, 2014, and promptly got arrested for the offense. He posted $50,000 cash bail on Oct. 22, 2014, buying his way out of jail only to get re-arrested several weeks later on murder charges, according to court records.

Concepcion maintains his presumption of innocence in the murder case but admits to being in unlawful possession of a handgun in the September 2014 weapons case. A judge sentenced him to five years of state incarceration last year. He is currently scheduled to be released from DOC custody March 14, 2019, and faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

3 murder trials heating up in Mercer County

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 20:48:12 -0400

Three murder trials are heating up in the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse.

Alberto Lopez, 21, of Trenton, is finally having his day in court after being arrested nearly five years ago and held on $750,000 cash bail on murder charges.

Lopez was 16 when he shot 17-year-old Shamere Melvin in the head during a botched robbery on the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue in Trenton’s North Ward Dec. 18, 2013, prosecutors said. The victim died from his injuries and police arrested Lopez the following day.

Facing prosecution as an adult, Lopez’s murder trial commenced this week before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier.

Public defender Jason C. Matey is representing Lopez, who has been indicted on five criminal charges that include first-degree murder, first-degree murder during the commission of a crime, first-degree armed robbery, second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes, and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo is prosecuting the case on behalf of the state.

Anthony L. Concepcion hopes to get acquitted in his city murder trial, which is getting underway before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta.

Anthony Concepcion

Concepcion, 26, of Trenton, was out on bail on a gun charge when he allegedly shot and killed 39-year-old Patrick Walker outside of La Guira Bar on Dec. 13, 2014. Police arrested Concepcion Jan. 6, 2015, in connection with the homicide. An indictment eventually charged him with first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes, and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.

Public defender Jessica Lyons is representing Concepcion, a convicted felon already serving time in state prison for pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a handgun. He illegally possessed a handgun in Trenton on Sept. 30, 2014, getting promptly arrested for the offense. He posted $50,000 cash bail on Oct. 22, 2014, buying his way out of jail only to get re-arrested several weeks later on murder charges, according to court records.

Concepcion’s bail was set at $750,000 full bond or cash in the homicide case, but he remains in DOC custody as a self-confessed gunman while his murder case revs up. Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Gasparian is prosecuting Concepcion in the murder case. The defendant faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. Concepcion is currently scheduled to be released from South Woods State Prison on March 20, 2019.

Carlos Ortiz, 52, of Ewing, is currently on trial on charges he murdered his girlfriend at their township residence nearly two years ago.

Ortiz got into an argument with 51-year-old Rufina Castro, bludgeoned her with a Corona beer bottle, wrapped a phone cord charger around her neck and strangled her to death inside their township home on the 300 block of Ewingville Road on Aug. 16, 2016, prosecutors alleged. He fled the home in a Ford Explorer after stacking clothes and blankets on top of his deceased girlfriend, prosecutors said.

Castro’s body was discovered one day later, Aug. 17, 2016, after police were called to the residence about 3 a.m. for a welfare check. Officers found her body in the bedroom. Police later that day found Ortiz’s SUV outside of a hotel in Belleville and arrested him, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. He could serve 30 years to life in prison if convicted on the heaviest charges.

A grand jury indicted Ortiz last summer on seven counts, including first-degree purposeful murder, second-degree aggravated assault, two counts of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, two counts of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and third-degree theft by unlawful taking of movable property.

Public defender Amber Forrester is representing Ortiz, who is being prosecuted by Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Sean McMurtry in a trial by jury before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi.

Ortiz, who previously served time in jail and state prison for committing a July 2010 robbery in Bayonne and distributing drugs in Jersey City in July 2009, has been held on $1 million cash bail since his arrest on Aug. 17, 2016.

Suspected killer in Trenton slaying outside of La Guira Bar pleads not guilty

Isaac Avilucea — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 11:38:48 -0400

A city man has pleaded not guilty to killing a 39-year-old Trenton man outside of a crime-ridden bar last year.

Anthony Concepcion

Gang member Anthony L. Concepcion was out on bail on a gun charge when he allegedly fatally shot Patrick Walker outside of La Guira Bar on Dec, 13, 2014, one of two murders at the establishment in a five-month span.

Twenty-year-old Enrico Smalley Jr., of Ewing, was killed outside the same bar in July 2014. Suspected killer Shaheed Brown is on trial in the Smalley slaying.

The murders outside the bar drew the attention of the Alcoholic Beverage Control division of the Attorney General’s Office, which inquired into La Guira Bar’s practices but did not shut the bar down despite concerns from the owner his business would be shuttered.

Concepcion allegedly produced a handgun from his waistband and fired at the ground before pumping several rounds into Walker in a random killing that has puzzled investigators.

There was no indication Concepcion was inside the bar or interacted with Walker before shooting him, and prosecutors said they were unaware of a motive in the murder.

Patrick Walker

Walker was found outside the North Clinton Avenue establishment around 2 a.m., suffering multiple gunshot wounds, and died a short time later.

Concepcion, who was arraigned Thursday before Judge Robert Billmeier, entered not guilty pleas to counts of murder and weapons offenses. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in a Florida hotel where prosecutors say he fled after the murder.

Concepcion’s attorney had said at a bail hearing earlier this year his client was visiting family in the Sunshine State and was unaware police had issued a warrant for his arrest.

Concepcion was previously arrested Sept. 30 on drug and weapons charges after police said they watched him dispose of a marijuana-filled cigarette box. Police found a gun stashed in Concepcion’s groin, which he is challenging on the grounds it was a warrantless search.

Concepcion has a violent streak, serving two state prison sentences for weapons convictions, according to state records. One conviction stemmed from an incident in which Concepcion was accused of shooting at the mother of his child while she held the couple’s baby in her arms in 2010.

He had been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, child endangerment and weapons offenses. A grand jury no billed the charges, indicting him on a single count of aggravated assault, officials have said.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree possession of a weapon and received a five-year sentence in 2011. Held in the Mercer County Correction Center on $750,000 bail, Concepcion’s next court appearance is set for January.

Trenton man indicted in connection with murder of Patrick Walker

Penny Ray — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 12:14:25 -0400

Anthony Concepcion

A city man who allegedly fled to Florida to avoid being arrested for the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Patrick Walker, which occurred outside of La Guira Bar, has been indicted in connection with the killing.

Anthony Concepcion, 23, was indicted Wednesday by a Mercer County grand jury that charged him with murder and related weapons offenses for allegedly killing Walker in December.

Walker was gunned down outside of La Guira Bar near the corner of North Clinton Avenue and Poplar Street around 2 a.m. on Dec. 13, and later died at the hospital.

At a bail hearing earlier this year, prosecutors said witnesses identified Concepcion as the gunman, but authorities are still trying to establish a motive for the murder.

About a month after the killing, Concepcion was found in a hotel in Altamont Springs, Florida, by the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, which was notified of his whereabouts by detectives working the case in Trenton.

Prosecutors believe Concepcion fled to Florida to avoid being arrested in connection with Walker’s death. But Concepcion’s attorney, Sam Goldberg, said his client traveled to the Sunshine State to visit family and was unaware police had issued a warrant for his arrest.

Concepcion served two state prison sentences for weapons convictions, according to state records. One conviction stemmed from a 2010 incident in which Concepcion was accused of shooting at the mother of his child while she held the couple’s baby in her arms.

Concepcion is being held in the Mercer County Correction Center on $750,000 bail.

Bail increased for Anthony Concepcion, charged with murder in Patrick Walker killing

Isaac Avilucea — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 12:43:58 -0500

Anthony L. Concepcion produced a handgun from his waistband, fired at the ground and pumped several rounds into Patrick Walker outside of La Guira Bar in December, authorities said.

Prosecutors are still unsure of the reasons behind the Dec. 13 slaying that took the 39-year-old’s life. Was it drug related? Was it gang related? Did Concepcion, 23, who is charged with murder and weapons offenses, exchange words with Walker before the shooting?

Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Gasparian said authorities have no clear motive and are hoping witnesses who identified Concepcion as the gunman can help them piece it together.

Walker was found outside the North Clinton Avenue establishment around 2 a.m., suffering multiple gunshot wounds, and died a short time later.

Authorities have a patchwork of surveillance footage from the bar and other businesses, Gasparian said. Gasparian said there is no indication Concepcion was ever inside the bar or interacted with Walker before shooting him.

Concepcion, a known gang member with a violent past, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in a Florida hotel last month.

Concepcion’s attorney, Sam Goldberg, said his client traveled to the Sunshine State to visit family and was unaware police had issued a warrant for his arrest.
Concepcion was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail. Superior Court Judge Timothy Lydon increased bail to $750,000.

Concepcion was previously arrested Sept. 30 on drug and weapons charges after police said they watched him dispose of a marijuana-filled cigarette box. During a search, police found a gun stashed in Concepcion’s groin.

Walker was the second person shot outside of La Guira Bar last year, following the July 12 shooting death of Enrico Smalley Jr.

Repeated gun violence outside the bar prompted the Alcoholic Beverage Control division of the Attorney General’s Office to inquire into La Guira Bar’s practices. The owner expressed concern he would be shut down and vowed to enact safety measures to help curtail the violence.

Concepcion served two state prison sentences for weapons convictions, according to state records. One conviction stemmed from an incident in which Concepcion was accused of shooting at the mother of his child while she held the couple’s baby in her arms in 2010.

Concepcion was originally charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, child endangerment and weapons offenses. But a grand jury no billed most of the charges and indicted him on a single count of aggravated assault, said Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

Concepcion pleaded guilty to second-degree possession of a weapon and received a five-year sentence in 2011, DeBlasio said.

Trenton man arrested in Florida in connection with Patrick Walker murder

Penny Ray — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 10:44:03 -0500

A city man wanted for the murder of Patrick Walker was arrested Friday in a hotel in Florida.

Walker, 39, was gunned down outside of La Guira Bar near the corner of North Clinton Avenue and Poplar Street around 2 a.m. on Dec. 13. He later died at the hospital and became the second person to be shot and killed outside the bar last year.

Anthony Concepcion

Anthony Concepcion, 22, was arrested Friday by the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, which was notified of his whereabouts by detectives working the case in Trenton.

Prosecutors say Concepcion was found in a hotel in Altamont Springs, Florida. He is being held at the Seminole County Jail where he awaits extradition to NJ. Concepcion's bail is set at $500,000 cash or bond.