A year after Ira Charles’ death, family still mourns

Penny Ray — Sat, 03 May 2014 16:59:58 -0400

: Ira Charles sitting on his BMW

: Ira Charles and his sister Janeira

: Ira Charles dressed to impress

According to family members, 24-year-old Ira Charles Jr. drove to a friend’s house to retrieve a memory card for his camera, and then they both walked to a corner gas station on the morning that Charles was shot and killed.

“Ira must have been thinking that it was going to be a fast trip to get the memory card and come back because he didn’t tell anyone,” his sister Janeira Charles said in a recent conversation.

On the afternoon of May 3, 2013, about 12 hours before Charles was gunned down, he asked his sister if she had an extra memory card that he could borrow. Janeira Charles was getting dressed at the time, and she was in a hurry to pick up items for a baby shower. So, she told him, “No.”

“I kinda blame myself now because I didn’t stop and take the time to look for the extra memory card,” Janeira Charles said.

Charles attended the baby shower with his sister that evening. And around 1:30 a.m. the next morning, Charles used his mother’s cell phone to make a call from their East Trenton home. Charles then placed the phone on a television night stand and left the house; his mother never spoke with him again.

Ira Charles Jr. was shot in the 200 block of Randall Avenue around 2 a.m. on May 4. Police say his death was the result of a robbery gone awry. Two men wearing masks approached Charles and another victim and told them to “run their pockets,” according to police. A suspect then shot Charles once in the abdomen. And Charles later died at Capital Health Regional Medical Center.

“The most valuable thing they stole that night was Ira,” his uncle Selvin Hicks said.

According to family members, Charles was a hard worker and an entrepreneur. He worked a full-time job at Pitt-Ohio trucking company, a part-time job at Macy’s department store, and he started his own videography, photography and graphic design business called Wave Chaserz.

“He wasn’t a thug; he had ambitions,” his cousin Wendy Godbolt said. “He didn’t hang out in the streets.”

As a child, though, Charles wanted to be a veterinarian, family members say. He loved all types of animals including turtles, lizards and other reptiles. And his role model was The Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.

“Ira wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Janeira Charles said. “And when Steve Irwin died, my brother cried. He loved that guy.”

According to Janeira, after Steve Irwin died, she noticed that her brother lost interest in wanting to be a veterinarian. And from that day forward, she said, her brother became more interested in technology.

“And he hated guns and violence,” his mother Carol McGee said. “He would never even think of carrying a gun; that was not him at all.”

Ira Charles Jr. was a unique individual, family members say. He was a leader, not a follower. And he liked to try new things and travel. Charles even taught himself to speak Japanese so that he could one day live or work in Japan, according to family members.

“Ira wasn’t afraid of his talents, and he wasn’t afraid of having a vision,” Hicks said. “He could speak clearly about where he was trying to go in life.”

In the year since Charles’ death, his family has emotionally struggled. There’s a void at family gatherings, they say, and his sister Janeira was trouble visiting his gravesite.

“I can’t take the pain of seeing my brother six feet under,” Janeira Charles said. “I’d rather talk to him while looking at a picture on my phone. But I go to the grave in support of my mom.”

Charles’ mother, though, is struggling the most. She no longer attends the dance classes that she loved so much. And she’s afraid to step outside after dark. She once contemplated selling her Trenton home to possibly move back to Hamilton where her son was born and raised.

“I started living in fear,” McGee said. “I break down crying at work almost every day. And sometimes I find myself going back and forth about wanting to live. I don’t want to live without my son. I took a chance living in Trenton and sometimes I feel like I lost my baby because I moved to Trenton.”

To date, no arrests have been made in connection with Charles’ death, and prosecutors say there have been no new developments in the case.

Anyone with information about Charles’ murder is asked to call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406, or use the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663.

Trenton Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Call them at (609) 278-TIPS (8477), or text information and keyword TCSTIPS to 274637. Text STOP to 274637 to cancel. Text HELP to 274637 for help. All tipsters are treated as anonymous.

One dead in robbery shooting

Brian Dzenis — Sat, 04 May 2013 13:17:56 -0400

A city man died after getting shot in the chest early Saturday morning, according to police.

The victim, which through various social media outlets, is Ira "ZeiRai" Charles, was walking with another man on Randall Avenue around 2:00 a.m. when two men in masks approached them. One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and told the victims to “run their pockets,” according to police.

One of the victims complied and gave up an unknown amount of money and other proceeds, while Charles allegedly hesitated when confronted with the robbers’ demands. The suspects then shot Charles once in the chest before fleeing the scene on foot. The victim was rushed to the Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he died hours later, making him the city’s ninth homicide victim on the year.

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

Those wishing to text a tip regarding the homicide can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

Ira T. Charles | Homicide Watch Trenton

A year after Ira Charles’ death, family still mourns

One dead in robbery shooting