Benjamin DaVila Jr. | Homicide Watch Trenton

Shooting victim pays respects to homicide victim

Brian Dzenis — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:06:18 -0500

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.

"He didn't have the chance to live his life," Robinson said.
Robinson, 35, is a shooting victim himself. A few years ago, Robinson had inherited a building in Philadelphia from a family member and a dispute between him and a tenant turned ugly and resulted in Robinson getting shot six times.
Hunter's sheet is not the only signs of untimely death on the intersection. "RIP Ben" is spray painted into the sidewalk in reference to Benjamin DaVila Jr., who died in front of his grandparents after getting shot in a drive-by shooting in October of last year.
Hunter is city's fourth homicide victim and 26th overall shooting victim of 2013. He is also the second juvenile to fall to gun violence within the past three months. Joshua Moore, 17, was shot several times on Pennington and Reservoir Streets in December while fleeing in a van from an unknown assailant. His death was part of a spike in shootings that saw six people being wounded in two separate shootings on the 200 block of Spring Street. At the time, police sources had told the Trentonian that the shootings were part of an on-going gang battle between Spring Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, with one them being considered retaliation for Moore's death.
It's unclear if Hunter's death was also a result of gang hostility, given the previous bad blood between the two areas. City police have not released a motive or information about suspects in his death. Robinson declined to speculate on the motive.
"I don't know, I'm 35 years old, I have kids and I'm not apart of this gang business," he said. "It's just sad how we're losing all these young guys."
Anyone with information regarding the homicide is asked to call the Trenton Police confidential tipline at (609) 989-3663 or the Crimestoppers tipline at (609) 278-8477.
Those wishing to text a tip regarding the shootings can send a message labelled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

Update: Benjamin DaVila killed in drive-by that sprayed block with bullets

Brian Dzenis — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:43:45 -0400

TRENTON — Gloria Gonzales was inside her home on the 100 block of Passiac Street when she heard the shots ring out Wednesday night. She knew her grandson was sitting on her porch smoking a cigarette and called for him to come back inside.

Benjamin "Big Ben" DaVila

Benjamin DaVila Jr., 23, answered the call and went back inside the house. DaVila Jr.’s grandfather, Luis Gonzales, called 911 after seeing that his grandson had been shot in the torso.
Luis Gonzales held his grandson’s hand until paramedics arrived, Gloria Gonzalez said. The man who went by “Big Ben” was declared the city’s 17th homicide of 2012 at 8:47 p.m. at the Capital Health Regional Medical Center.

Police were patrolling near Calhoun and Spring Streets when they heard numerous shots ring out from Passiac Street. According to police, a passenger in an unknown vehicle fired numerous shots as the vehicle drove down the street. Police are investigating who the target was of the shooting.
From 117 to 170 of Passiac Street, it looked as though the block was sprayed with bullets. Two boarded-up homes had several bullet holes in them and two vehicles had bullet holes as well.
According to DaVila Jr.’s aunt, Carmen Gonzalez, DaVila Jr. grew up on the block and lived with his grandparents while working in a warehouse and studying graphic design at Mercer County Community College. He hoped to become a video game designer. He helped take care of his 73-year-old grandfather.
“He was working and going to school, he wasn’t in a gang or involved with drugs,” Carmen Gonzalez said. “He tried to keep his head above all of this.”
“He was 23 years old, sitting on a porch smoking a cigarette,” she added. “You can’t even sit on the porch anymore.”

Trenton Police investigating city's 17th homicide

Brian Dzenis — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:00:50 -0400

A city man was killed in a drive-by shooting last night, becoming Trenton’s 17^th homicide victim of 2012.

Police said they were patrolling near Calhoun and Spring Streets at about 8:21 p.m. when they heard numerous shots fired coming from Passaic Street. On the 100 block of Passiac, officers found Benjamin DaVila Jr., 23, of Trenton, with a gunshot wound to the torso. The victim was believed to be walking down the street when the passenger of an unknown vehicle opened fire, police said.

DaVila was taken to the Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:47 p.m.

Police are investigating to determine if DaVila was the target of the shooting.