Joshua Moore | 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.

Cops: Trenton teen was chased before getting shot

Brian Dzenis — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:01:14 -0500

Trenton police are saying 17-year-old Joshua Moore was being chased before he was gunned down on Reservoir Street and Pennington Avenue Monday night.

Around 8:00 p.m. Moore was driving in a red van on Reservoir and Frazier Streets when the suspect or suspects in an unknown vehicle fired on the van.

Moore tried to elude his pursuers until he ran a stop sign and crashed into a passing motorist in a Silver Sedan.

After the crash, the suspect exited his or her vehicle and shot Moore several times. He was declared dead at the scene. Lt. Steven Varn said the other survivors in the crash sustained minor injuries, but declined to release their identities or which vehicle they were riding in.

Following the shooting, the body remained inside the vehicle during the initial stages of the investigation.
"The body remained inside the vehicle until forensics could process the scene," Varn said.

This made for a testy scene as residents confronted police as to why the body had not been moved. Police moved residents toward Pennington Avenue and Calhoun Street. There was also a group of people at Capital Health Regional Medical Center who were upset about the shooting. Varn said no arrests or citations were made in either setting.

Sources have told the Trentonian that Moore, Trenton's 23rd homicide of 2012, is a former student of the defunct Emily Fisher Charter School. This would make Moore the second former Fisher student to be murdered. Daquan Dowling was shot and killed on Route 29 on Jan. 30 of this year.

Det. Brian Egan of the TPD and Robert McNally of the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office are investigating.
Anyone having information regarding the shooting 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 shooting can send a message labelled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.

Trenton man dies after shooting, car crash

Brian Dzenis — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:44:28 -0500

A city man has become Trenton’s 23rd homicide victim of 2012 after he was shot and then involved in a car accident near the Union Baptist Church.

The shooting happened in the area of Route 31 and Reservoir Street around 8:00 p.m.

A silver car had noticeable damage to its front end and a red car was on a front lawn in the northeast corner of the intersection.

The body remained in the car for a period of time before being removed by the Trenton fire department. It is unknown which vehicle the victim was in.

A woman was in the vehicle with the victim and was taken to Trenton police headquarters for questioning. She did not sustain any injuries.

The exact circumstances of the shooting and the accident have not been released by police.