Shamere Melvin | Homicide Watch Trenton

Gunman who murdered Trenton teen Shamere Melvin now expresses remorse, gets 42 years in prison

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 20:41:13 -0500

Convicted murderer Alberto “Choppy” Lopez has finally been punished for his deadly crimes.

Alberto Lopez

A Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced Lopez to 42 years of incarceration for executing 17-year-old Shamere Melvin during a planned robbery in the streets of Trenton.

“He is greatly missed; he was the glue of my family,” the victim’s mother Natasha Melvin said at Friday’s sentencing hearing. “He didn’t deserve the way he was executed.”

Lopez, 21, of Trenton, pointed a handgun at Melvin and fired a single shot into the victim’s forehead about 8:40 p.m. Dec. 18, 2013. The incident occurred on the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue near Trenton Police headquarters back when Lopez was 16.

Speaking to the court under oath, Natasha Melvin said she and her family were “destroyed” by the loss of Shamere Melvin. “He made a lot of people happy,” she said. “He was so kind. To know him is to love him.”

To his credit, Lopez delivered brief comments during Friday’s proceeding. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said in comments directed toward the victim’s family. “I’m not sane. I’m not a sane person.”

One of the most difficult challenges a trial judge can face is sentencing a juvenile who had been convicted of first-degree murder. Lopez was a 16-year-old boy when he brutally shot and killed Melvin at close range over five years ago.

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders,” according to the June 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama. Under federal case law, judges “must have the opportunity to consider mitigating circumstances before imposing the harshest possible penalty for juveniles.”

Because Lopez was a juvenile when he murdered Melvin, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier had to consider special factors before handing down a punishment.

In trying to assess whether Lopez’s deadly crime reflected “unfortunate yet transient immaturity” or whether Lopez was a “rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption,” Billmeier reviewed Lopez’s upbringing to make an informed decision.

Lopez used marijuana on a daily basis since age 11 and lacked maturity and lacked understanding of the risks involved in his robbery-turned-murder, Billmeier found. He also found that Lopez’s mom was addicted to drugs and that Lopez had a “somewhat dysfunctional family.”

“He certainly understood how the system worked,” Billmeier said of Lopez, who had six prior juvenile adjudications for various offenses, including aggravated assault on a law-enforcement officer.

Police arrested Lopez on Dec. 19, 2013, one day after the murder. He sat in the Mercer County Correction Center for years on high monetary bail. While incarcerated, he took anger management courses at the county jail and also completed his high school diploma.

“He is maturing, trying to better himself with his education,” Billmeier said of Lopez. “I think he can be rehabilitated in prison.”

Billmeier sentenced Lopez to 42 years of incarceration subject to the No Early Release Act. That means Lopez must serve 85 percent of the term behind bars — over 35 years in the slammer — before he can become eligible for release on parole. This punishment, while stiff, is not as harsh as what the state had recommended and not as lenient as what the defense had requested.

Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo asked the court to impose 55 years of incarceration subject to the No Early Release Act, while public defender Jason C. Matey asked Billmeier to sentence his client to 30 years under NERA, which would have required Lopez to serve 25.5 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Billmeier met the prosecution and defense halfway by sentencing Lopez to 42 years of state imprisonment. Under state law, the sentencing range for murder is 30 years to life in prison, with “life” being defined as 75 years.

At the sentencing hearing, Lopez’s mother spoke and admitted she had a drug problem while declaring her son was “not a monster.” The defendant’s father Alberto Lopez Sr. also spoke, saying he was a positive role model to his son and expressing his “deep condolences and apologies” to the victim’s family.

Natasha Melvin is still grieving the sudden loss of her slain son but also feels empathy for Lopez’s family. “We all lost,” she said. “There are no winners in this situation.”

A trial jury convicted Lopez on all counts last summer after two eyewitnesses testified against the defendant, identifying him as the gunman who had shot and killed Melvin in cold blood.

Lopez received 1,870 days of jail credit, which effectively reduces his prison sentence by that amount. He will be subjected to five years of parole supervision upon release from the big house.

Trenton murderer Alberto “Choppy” Lopez gets convicted on all counts

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 16:34:31 -0400

Alberto “Choppy” Lopez has been found guilty on all counts in the murder of 17-year-old Shamere Melvin.

A jury on Thursday handed down the sweeping verdict, convicting Lopez of being the armed robber who shot and killed Melvin in the streets of Trenton nearly five years ago.

After years of being prosecuted as an adult, Lopez took his case to trial and lost. A jury of his peers convicted him of first-degree murder, first-degree felony 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. He faces 30 years to life in prison but will likely get sentenced to something on the lower end of the scale due to him committing the murder as a juvenile.

On the day of the murder, Lopez was plotting to rob a drug dealer of marijuana, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo said earlier this week in closing arguments. Lopez ultimately selected Melvin as his victim, isolated him on North Clinton Avenue, pointed a handgun at him and demanded pot before firing a single gunshot into Melvin’s forehead. Then Lopez rummaged through the victim’s pockets for 2 ounces of weed and fled from the scene, Grillo said.

“It is not disputed that the defendant was there for marijuana,” Grillo said. “The only purpose of firing a handgun into someone’s head is to kill him.”

Two eyewitnesses testified in Lopez’s murder trial, both of whom identified Lopez as the gunman who shot and killed Melvin in cold blood. “They were forced to witness a killing,” Grillo said of the witnesses in his closing arguments, “forced to shoulder the weight of securing justice for Shamere Melvin.”

Grillo suggested the eyewitnesses were brave for cooperating with the state in exchange for nothing other than the “satisfaction they told the truth.” He said witnesses oftentimes do not cooperate with police for fear of retaliation.

Lopez’s public defender, Nicole Carlo, argued that her client was “wrongfully accused because there was a rush to judgment, a rush to judgment by police.” The jury unanimously disagreed with her closing arguments.

After the verdict came down, Grillo told The Trentonian he was “thrilled with the jury’s verdict” and “very happy for Shamere’s family. It has been a long, difficult road for them and it feels like they can finally have a chance moving past this a little bit after having to spend five years having to continue coming to court and deal with the possibility there may not be justice for Shamere Melvin.”

But the jury delivered justice on Thursday by convicting Lopez on all counts in a case that did not feature any physical evidence — no murder weapon was recovered, no surveillance video captured the incident and authorities found no DNA or fingerprints linking Lopez to the murder.

The case primarily boiled down to two eyewitnesses who saw Lopez committing the grisly crime.

“It is very satisfying to know the jury is willing to accept the testimony of eyewitnesses even in the absence of forensic and video evidence,” Grillo said Thursday in his interview with The Trentonian. “It is not an exaggeration to say there was no physical evidence at all.”

The cooperating witnesses in this case were not jailbirds. They were not criminals seeking favors or leniency. “They were just straight-up eyewitnesses,” Grillo said Thursday, “who got nothing in exchange for what they did.”

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier will sentence the convicted murderer at a future date tentatively set for October. Lopez, of course, has the right to file an appeal with the New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division.

Public defender attacks eyewitness credibility in Alberto ‘Choppy’ Lopez murder trial

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 15:46:27 -0400

Two eyewitnesses watched as Alberto “Choppy” Lopez murdered 17-year-old Shamere Melvin with a single gunshot to the head, the prosecution alleged Tuesday in closing arguments.

But Nicole Carlo, a defense attorney representing Lopez, said the eyewitnesses are “not credible,” suggesting the witnesses either had “distorted memories” or were intentionally lying under oath to avoid implicating themselves in the December 2013 robbery-turned-homicide.

With the defense and prosecution delivering closing arguments Tuesday, Lopez’s fate rests in the hands of a jury that will decide whether he is guilty or not guilty of murder, robbery and weapons offenses in the drug-related slaying that occurred in Trenton’s North Ward nearly five years ago.

Lopez, 21, of Trenton, is accused of shooting and killing Melvin with a handgun about 8:40 p.m. Dec. 18, 2013. The incident occurred on the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue near Trenton Police headquarters.

“Shamere Melvin deserves justice,” Carlo said, “but not at the expense of a wrongfully accused man.”

Lopez was just “16 years old and living in Trenton” when police arrested him on the most serious of charges one day after the slaying, Carlo added.

On the day of the murder, Lopez was plotting to rob a drug dealer of marijuana, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo said Tuesday. Lopez ultimately selected Melvin as his victim, isolated him on North Clinton Avenue, pointed a handgun at him and demanded pot before firing a single gunshot into Melvin’s forehead. Then Lopez rummaged through the victim’s pockets for 2 ounces of weed and fled from the scene, Grillo alleged.

The Mercer County Criminal Courthouse in Trenton.

“It is not disputed that the defendant was there for marijuana,” Grillo said. “The only purpose of firing a handgun into someone’s head is to kill him.” Then he showed the jurors a photo depicting Melvin’s dead body, gunshot wound and all. The graphic image caused a minor uproar in the courtroom, bringing at least one woman to tears and causing her to exit out into the hallway.

Two eyewitnesses testified in Lopez’s murder trial, both of whom accused Lopez of shooting and killing Melvin in cold blood. “They were forced to witness a killing,” Grillo said, “forced to shoulder the weight of securing justice for Shamere Melvin.”

Carlo, a public defender, bashed the credibility of the witnesses, describing them as young suburbanites with close ties to drug peddlers and suggesting they knew more about the murder than they were willing to admit. She said her client was “wrongfully accused because there was a rush to judgment, a rush to judgment by police.”

Grillo defended the credibility of the eyewitnesses, saying their testimony was corroborated by other evidence in the case, including the fact that the witnesses have personally known Lopez for years and circumstantial evidence in the form of recovered text messages suggesting Lopez had a criminal state of mind on the date of the murder.

In addition to Carlo, public defender Jason C. Matey is also representing Lopez, who has been indicted on five criminal charges that include first-degree murder, first-degree felony 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 Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier on Tuesday afternoon was delivering instructions to the jury, which will be tasked with the duty of rendering a verdict on each of the five counts.

All 12 jurors must be firmly convinced of the defendant’s guilt to convict him.

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.

New attorney subs in for Trenton teen charged with murder

Isaac Avilucea — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 16:24:09 -0500

A Trenton teenager accused of fatally shooting another teen during a botched drug deal has a new attorney.

Alberto Lopez, 18, is now represented by defense attorney Mark Fury. He was being represented by public defender Jason Charles Matey.

Lopez was 16 when he allegedly shot 17-year-old Shamere Melvin in the head during a botched robbery in December 2013 on the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue.

Lopez has been transferred from a juvenile detention center in Burlington County to the Mercer County corrections center and is being held on $750,000 bail.

Lopez has pleaded not guilty and has rejected a 30-year state prison sentence for murder.

Prosecutors said they have phone records and Facebook messages tying Lopez to the murder.

Lopez and his cousin reportedly arranged a drug deal that soured.

Lopez denied meeting with Melvin, prosecutors have said. He later acknowledged being in Trenton but implicated a distant cousin for the murder, prosecutors have said.

His next court appearance is set for March.

Teen charged in 2013 murder, moved to adult jail after turning 18

Isaac Avilucea — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 22:04:47 -0400

A Trenton teenager accused of fatally shooting another teen during a botched drug deal has been ordered transferred to the Mercer County jail after he recently turned 18.

Alberto Lopez was 16 when he allegedly shot 17-year-old Shamere Melvin in the head during a botched robbery in December 2013 on the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue.

Being tried on charges of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, Lopez is being held on $750,000 bail at a juvenile detention center in Burlington.

On Monday, Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier remanded Lopez to the county jail where he will be housed with other adult defendants.

Lopez has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was offered a 30-year state prison sentence if he pleads guilty to murder.

Prosecutors said they have a strong case against him, which includes phone records and Facebook messages that show Lopez and his cousin arranged through a mutual female friend to meet with
Melvin near Clinton Avenue the night of the murder.

Lopez backed out of a drug deal but returned a second time and the parties met in the same spot. The murder happened while Lopez and his cousin walked with Melvin down the street for about a block while the drivers waited in the car.

Lopez was arrested by authorities a few days after the murder near the corner of Walnut and Chestnut avenues.

When authorities questioned Lopez about the murder, he told authorities he never met up with Melvin, prosecutors have said. He later acknowledged being in Trenton but implicated a distant cousin for the murder.

Trenton teen indicted in connection with Shamere Melvin murder

Penny Ray — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:26:06 -0500

A grand jury returned a five-count indictment Wednesday charging a city teen with the murder of Shamere Melvin, who was gunned down in December 2013.

Melvin, 17, was shot and killed in the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2013. When police arrived on-scene, they found him lying on the sidewalk against a chain-link fence suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Melvin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Alberto Lopez, who was 16-years-old at the time, was arrested a few days after the killing and charged with murder and related weapons offenses in connection with Melvin’s death. At a bail hearing last year, prosecutors said Lopez staged a fake drug deal in order to rob Melvin, which resulted in the killing.

Lopez was indicted on charges of murder, felony murder, robbery and related weapons offenses. He remains in jail on $750,000 bail.

Bail held at $750K for 17-year-old accused of killing other teen

Isaac Avilucea — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 11:59:21 -0500

Teenager Alberto Lopez stared at a county prosecutor befuddled by the accusation that he staged a fake drug deal on the night of Dec. 18, 2013 in order to rob another teenager.

Prosecutors said Lopez, who was 16 at the time, ended up shooting 17-year-old Shamere Melvin in the head during the botched robbery shortly after 8:30 p.m. on the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue. Melvin died at the scene. Lopez, 17, is being tried as an adult on charges of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

At times during his Thursday bail hearing, Lopez shook his head while Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Meidt laid out the “strong case” against the defendant, which is buttressed by the defendant’s evolving recollection of what happened the night in question. Lopez has changed his story three times, first telling authorities he never met up with Melvin, prosecutors said. Later he acknoweldged he was in Trenton but implicated a distant cousin he knew only by the nickname “Mooch.”

But Meidt said the state has phone records and Facebook messages that show Lopez and his cousin arranged through a mutual female friend to meet with Melvin around 8:30 p.m. near Clinton Avenue.

According to prosecutors, Melvin was picked up from his house by his girlfriend and a third person. They drove to a spot on Clinton Avenue and met with Lopez and his cousin, who was not identified in court.

Once there, Lopez balked on the drug deal, apparently spooked because there were “too many people” present, Meidt said. The parties got back into their cars and drove away.

Within a few minutes, Melvin received another phone call saying the drug deal was back on, prosecutors said. The parties met near the same spot. This time Lopez and his cousin walked alone with Melvin down the street for about a block while the drivers waited in the car.

When shots rang out, the witnesses drove away, leaving Lopez and his cousin stranded in the area.

Lopez was arrested by authorities a few days later near the corner of Walnut and Chestnut Avenue. His initial bail was set at $750,000 full cash during a juvenile proceeding.

Jenna Casper, Lopez’s attorney, said there was no legal basis for the full cash bail and asked Judge Robert Billmeier to set her client’s bail to $500,000 cash or bond. She said she was at a “disadvantage” to argue for her client since she hadn’t received evidence from discovery because her client hasn’t been indicted on the charges.

She questioned the credibility of witness statements and said anything her client told police could be suppressed following a Miranda hearing since he is a juvenile and entitled to have a parent present during his interrogation.

“We don’t really have a lot of information right now,” Casper said.

Billmeier ordered Lopez’s bail set at $750,000 cash or bond.

Juvenile suspect arrested in connection with Shamere Melvin murder

Penny Ray — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:03:57 -0500

A 16-year-old male was arrested Saturday in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Shamere Melvin.

Around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, police found Melvin lying on the sidewalk in the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head. Melvin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Then, around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, police arrested a 16-year-old Trenton resident and charged him with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with Melvin’s death.

Sources say the juvenile was arrested near the corner of Walnut and Chestnut Avenue by members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force and the state probation division. The suspect has been remanded to the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.

Teenager gunned down on North Clinton Avenue

Penny Ray — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 20:47:57 -0500

A teenager was found Wednesday evening shot and killed on the sidewalk in front of a residence on North Clinton Avenue.

On Thursday morning, police identified the victim as 17-year-old Shamere Melvin of Trenton.

According to police, officers were dispatched around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday to the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue to investigate a “man down.” When they arrived on scene, police found a black male, later identified as Melvin, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head. Melvin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers were still on-scene around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, and Melvin could be seen lying against a fence in front of a residential dwelling. A white sheet covered his body, and a woman who witnesses identified as one of Melvin’s relatives could be heard sobbing from a block away.

Minister Lee Ingram, a trained Trenton Police Chaplain, was on-scene as well. But because Trenton’s Police Chaplain Program has not officially begun, he was not permitted to console the grief-stricken family.

“It’s tiring,” Minister Ingram said in a conversation Thursday. “The emotional state of people in this city is just bad. And it’s tiresome that so many young men are losing their lives and nobody seems to care. I just get tired that the mothers and the families are forgotten after the first seven days.”

Minister Ingram, along with 10 other faith-based leaders, recently completed training in Trenton’s Police Chaplain program, which will aim to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community.

“It’s really an outstanding program, one that I think will be very helpful in the community,” Reverand William Coleman said Thursday. “There’s a void in the relationship between police and the community. And we found that we can serve as a calming presence between the police and the chaos that surrounds violent crime.”

Rev. Coleman, who is the Pastor of Second Baptist Church in Asbury Park, was instrumental in coordinating the Police Chaplain Program in Trenton. And if the program had officially started, a Police Chaplain would have been permitted to console Melvin’s family as they watched officers process the crime scene.

“Sometimes being a Police Chaplain just means standing there and being there,” Rev. Coleman said. “There’s a calming effect that takes place. My hope and prayer is that along with that will come some rationale about who committed the crime.”

Rev. Coleman expects Trenton’s Chaplain Program to officially begin sometime in the next couple months. The 11 clergymen and women are already trained, Coleman said. They now await funding for jackets and identification that signifies them as Police Chaplains. They will then participate in an orientation ceremony before joining local police in nightly ride-alongs.

“It’s a two-way street: I want a relationship with the police, and I want a relationship with the community,” Rev. Coleman said. “And we want to help reduce some of the violence by solving these crimes through love, care and spiritual guidance.”

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

North Clinton Avenue murder victim identified as Shamere Melvin

Penny Ray — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:34:09 -0500

Police have identified the man who was shot and killed Wednesday on North Clinton Avenue.

Around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, police found 17-year-old Trenton resident Shamere Melvin lying on the sidewalk in the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue suffering from a gunshot wound. Melvin was pronounced dead at the scene.

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

Man found shot and killed on sidewalk on North Clinton Avenue

Penny Ray — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 23:15:13 -0500

A man was found Wednesday evening shot and killed on the sidewalk in front of a residence on North Clinton Avenue.

According to law enforcement, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, police were dispatched to the 300 block of North Clinton Avenue to investigate a “man down.” When officers arrived on scene, sources say, they found a black male suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers were still on-scene around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the victim could be seen lying against a fence in front of a residential dwelling. A white sheet covered his body, and a woman who witnesses identified as the victim’s relative could be heard sobbing from a block away.

Police said Wednesday evening that the victim’s identity is unknown at this time.

The case is being investigated by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force. Anyone with information is asked to call (609) 989-6406, or use the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663.