Taquan McNeil | Homicide Watch Trenton

Gunman who killed Taquan McNeil gets 5 years

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 19:58:25 -0400

Naquan Green

A self-confessed killer will serve only a few years behind bars for shooting and killing 25-year-old Taquan McNeil in 2015.

Naquan Green, 29, of Trenton, was sentenced to five years of incarceration last Friday. Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta imposed the sentence, which requires Green to serve 85 percent of the sentence in state prison before he can become eligible for parole, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

Green shot McNeil three times during a botched drug deal Feb. 15, 2015, on the 100 block of Boudinot Street in Trenton. He was arrested March 4, 2015, and later indicted on counts charging him with murder and weapons offenses. But Green pleaded guilty to reduced charges on May 26 after agreeing to a plea bargain offered by the state — fessing up to second-degree manslaughter committed recklessly.

Taquan McNeil, 25, of Trenton (Mercer County Prosecutor's Office Photo)

A seasoned criminal, Green has multiple state and federal convictions, including for a 2005 drug offense as a juvenile. He was sentenced to three years in state prison in 2012 for a 2009 aggravated assault. The state had active drug charges and weapons offenses pending against Green but dismissed all of those counts as part of his plea bargain in the homicide case.

In addition to being sentenced to five years of incarceration, Green will also be subjected to three years of parole supervision after serving his time in state prison.

'Unity Walk' in Trenton to visit sites of murdered victims

David Foster — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 15:27:46 -0400

Residents gather for a prayer service on the steps of Shiloh Baptist Church on May 1, 2014, in observance of the National Day of Prayer.

Like biblical verses, Rev. Lukata Mjumbe can recite the names of the city’s murder victims, the date they were killed and where.

In an attempt to humanize the victim, the executive director of Urban Mission Cabinet Inc. has made it his mission to learn what he can about the lives that ended too soon.

“I know these names because we pray about them by name when we come together,” Mjumbe said in an interview last week with other community religious leaders. “They’re no longer statistics for us.”

For the second year in a row, the United Mercer Interfaith Organization (UMIO) will host a “Unity Walk” on May 1 to visit the sites where victims were murdered this year. The Mercer County freeholders and Trenton council have already passed resolutions recognizing May 1 as the official day of unity in the community.

The walk originated last year after bullets entered the Galilee Baptist Church during a funeral in April, injuring several. Religious leaders met and decided they needed to take the message to the streets, said Mjumbe, who co-chairs UMIO.

“We need to go to those places where we were having these types of community conflicts, to go into the places where violence was running rampant and to directly engage the people,” he said. “We not only need to talk the talk we need to walk the walk.”

Islamic Center of Ewing Imam Qareeb Bashir, who is also the city’s fire director, co-chairs UMIO, an organization which spans many different denominations.

“We’re one human family,” Bashir said. “The murders that took place, these were people who were parts of families … but also part of the Trenton community.”

By the religious community coming together, Bashir said it exemplifies comprehensive strength that it is a serious matter and something needs to be done to stop the bloodshed.

“Hopefully, it will bring awareness, unity and it also will show the families that people really care,” he said.

Two years ago, Trenton experienced the city’s deadliest year with 37 murders. Last year, even though there was an 80-day stretch with no murders during the summer, 33 people were murdered. So far this year, there have been six reported homicides.

“We want to say to the kids that are living, let’s stop the murder,” Shiloh Baptist Church Rev. Darrell Armstrong said. “Trenton as a land has had so much turmoil, so much challenge, so much tragedy, so much trauma. It’s time to give the land a rest.”

Armstrong, who is on the UMIO steering committee, says the walk will be part in parcel with the Black Lives Matter marches. But he believes it’s more than just white police officers involved in the deaths of black men – it’s blacks killing other blacks like mostly what has occurred locally.

“What is the value of any life regardless of who pulled the trigger and who is on the other side that received a bullet?” Armstrong questioned. “What we’re saying in our local community, the lives of these six persons matters so much that we want to not only go to the places and reclaim where their murders took place, but we also want to make a very definitive statement that death of any kind is not acceptable. “

Unlike the recent Black Lives Matter protests, though, Westminster Presbyterian Church Rev. Karen Hernandez-Granzen said the “Unity Walk” will have no chants or signs.

“For me, it’s a statement without using any words when we walk the streets of Trenton,” said Hernandez-Granzen, the vice-chair of UMIO. “It gives us an opportunity to just enter into conversations with our neighbors. I think that it is a statement in our commitment to claim our city and that we want to have a better relationship with our neighbors.”

Stops on the walk to pray will include where Anthony Jones, Wilbur Thomas, Taquan McNeil, Steven Quinton Brannon, and Darryl Ford were murdered. A visit is also planned to the 200 block of Elmer Street where a man recently died from a fire that authorities determined to be set by arson.

First Baptist Church of Trenton Rev. Calvin Powell said he’s been trying to reach out to the victim’s families to have them come out and participate.

“We believe this would be the process of healing,” he said. “With us coming together, I think this is saying we too want a safe haven for our children. This needs to stop, it’s time to come together in peace.”

The “Unity Walk” will have three starting points: At 3:30 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1140 Greenwood Ave., and the Islamic Center of Ewing, 685 Parkway Ave., will begin their walks. For the after-work crowd at 5 p.m., the walk at the Shiloh Baptist Church, 340 Reverend S. Howard Woodson Way, will commence.

The three groups will converge at the Gandhi Peace Garden, 223 E. Hanover S., at 6 p.m. That will be followed by a free dinner at the Trenton Masonic Temple, 100 Barracks St., at 7 p.m.

“We want to bring the families together very intentionally,” Mjumbe said of the dinner. “At the dinner, we will be sitting together as a community, and breaking bread together.”

At dinner, important service providers will be offered such as job training, crisis and grief counseling, legal assistance and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

With more than 40 sponsors already participating, Mjumbe said there is still an opportunity for businesses, organizational and congregational sponsorships.

For more information email umioorganizer@gmail.com or visit www.unitedmercerinterfaith.org.

Mjumbe has one lofty goal from the “Unity Walk.”

“Moving forward, we want to change the headlines,” he said. “We hope that eventually we’ll put the Trenton Homicide Watch page out of business.”

Trenton murder suspect charged with drug possession in jail

Isaac Avilucea — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 11:07:50 -0400

A convicted drug dealer accused in last month’s fatal shooting death of 25-year-old Taquan McNeil has been charged with an additional count of drug possession after prosecutors said he was found with drugs inside the county jail.

Naquan Green

Naquan Green, 26, allegedly shot McNeil three times during a botched drug deal Feb. 15 on the 100 block of Boudinot Street. Superior Court Judge Gerald Council did not impose bail on the new drug charges for Green, who is already being held in lieu of $1.1. million on the murder charge.

McNeil was found face-down in a snow bank and died a short time later after a bullet pierced both his lungs.

Ballistics from recovered shell casings matched an unknown caliber gun authorities found in a nearby alley, and witnesses said Green was with the victim minutes before the murder.

McNeil and Green had set up a drug deal after encountering each other at a city gas station.

Green was arrested March 4 at a Bellevue Avenue apartment in Trenton by members of the U.S. MarshalsNY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He was apprehended after a short pursuit in which he allegedly tossed a .357-caliber Ruger out of the fifth-floor window of the apartment. He was also charged with drug and gun possession after police found him with ecstasy.

Green has multiple state and federal convictions, including for a 2005 drug offense as a juvenile. He was sentenced to three years in state prison in 2012 for a 2009 aggravated assault.

$1.1 million bail maintained for Trenton murder suspect Naquan Green

Isaac Avilucea — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 11:26:15 -0400

A convicted ecstasy dealer fatally shot an acquaintance on a city street during a botched drug deal, and authorities aren’t sure of a motive, prosecutors said.

“Only two people know the reason,” Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley said. “One guy is dead and another is not talking.”

Naquan Green

McCauley was referring to Naquan Green, 26, a convicted drug dealer who was arrested and charged March 4 with the murder of 25-year-old Taquan McNeil. Superior Court Judge Timothy Lydon maintained Green’s bail at $1.1 million, citing the strength of the state’s case and the defendant’s potential as a flight risk.

McNeil was found face-down in a snow bank after being shot three times Feb. 15 on the 100 block of Boudinot Street, prosecutors said at a bail hearing Tuesday. One of the bullets pierced both of his lungs, McCauley said.
Ballistics from shell casings found under McNeil’s body matched an unknown caliber gun authorities found in a nearby alley, and witnesses said Green was with the victim minutes before the murder.

McNeil and some friends had encountered Green at a city gas station after attending a Rick Ross rap concert earlier in the night, McCauley said. McNeil wanted to buy drugs from the defendant so they traveled together in a dark colored SUV to Boudinot Street, near Green’s former residence.

McCauley said witnesses’ account of the night is corroborated by surveillance authorities stitched together from multiple businesses.

Once in Green’s old neighborhood, the two men got out together while others waited in the car. Witnesses saw two men walking together; shots rang out and a dark-colored SUV was seen leaving the scene.

Green’s attorney, Sam Goldberg, said there is no physical evidence linking his client to the murder and eyewitness testimony is often unreliable.

An arrest warrant was issued for Green, who evaded authorities for two weeks, McCauley said, before he was arrested March 4 at a Bellevue Avenue apartment in Trenton by members of the U.S. MarshalsNY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He was apprehended after a short pursuit in which he allegedly tossed a .357-caliber Ruger out of the fifth-floor window of the apartment. He was additionally charged for drug and gun possession after police found him with ecstasy, prosecutors said.

Green is a felon with several state and federal convictions, including for a 2005 drug offense as a juvenile. He was sentenced to three years in state prison in 2012 for a 2009 aggravated assault in which he used a bottle to strike someone, McCauley said.

Trenton man arrested in connection with Taquan McNeil murder

Penny Ray — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 15:15:12 -0500

A Trenton man was arrested Wednesday morning in connection with a murder that occurred last month.

Naquan Green

Naquan M. Green, 26, was arrested around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday by members of the Fugitive Unit and the Counter Gang Intelligence Unit of the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Prosecutors say Green was found inside an apartment on Bellevue Avenue. He is charged in connection with the murder of 25-year-old Taquan McNeil.

According to prosecutors in the case, around 2:20 a.m. on Feb. 15, police found McNeil lying on the sidewalk in the 100 block of Boudinot Street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Mercer County Homicide Task Force developed enough evidence to charge Green with murder and weapons offenses in connection with McNeil’s death.

During the course of his apprehension Wednesday, prosecutors say, Green tossed a handgun out of a fifth-floor window. He faces additional charges for that offense.

Green is being held in jail on $1 million cash or bond.

Authorities investigating fatal shooting in city's West Ward

Scott Ketterer — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 13:49:31 -0500

Police are investigating a shooting that claimed the life of a city man early Sunday morning.

Taquan McNeil, 25, of Trenton (Mercer County Prosecutor's Office Photo)

According to Trenton Police Lt. Stephen Varn the incident occurred in the city's West Ward around 2:20 a.m. Varn said that officers were detailed to the 100 block of Boudinot Street on report of a male shot. Upon police arrival they found the victim, identified as Taquan McNeil, 25, lying on the sidewalk in front of 131 Boudinot suffering from gunshot wounds. Varn said the 25-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

McNeil has had a checkered past with city law enforcement recently. In June of 2014 he was arrested by the fugitive task force after he punched two police officers in an Oakland Street apartment stairwell to escape arrest on June 20 following a domestic dispute. In that incident police allege McNeil climbed a ladder toward the roof access ladder, but was thwarted by a locked door. Police said he placed a silver .40 caliber handgun on the ledge of the roof access and then climbed back down the ladder and charged the officers. It was in the struggle that followed McNeil is alleged to have punched the officers and evaded capture. The handgun was reportedly stolen out of Willingboro, police said last year. McNeil was arrested in the 100 block of North Hermitage Avenue by the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force on June 24. He was charged with a number of offenses related to the incident.

He was also one of three people arrested driving in a car stolen out of Delaware last October, he received charges of receiving stolen property, driving while suspended and failure to signal.

Authorities said they have not yet identified a suspect or a motive in the McNeil's killing.

The case is currently being investigated by the Homicide Task Force. Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call (609) 989-6406. Or use the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663. Tipsters may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tipline at (609) 278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.