Willingboro man pleads guilty to fatal shooting in Trenton

TRENTON - A Willingboro man has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a man here in April 2016.

Virgil R. Howard, 29, faces a recommended term of 23 years in state prison on a charge of aggravated manslaughter, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

At a court hearing Monday, Howard admitted guilt to the fatal shooting of Elliot Simon Jr. on the night of April 8, 2016.

Trenton police found the 52-year-old victim after responding to a ShotSpotter activation on North Hermitage Avenue in Trenton.

Simon was shot during a robbery, according to the prosecutor's office.

Howard, an Ebbtide Lane resident, has been held since his arrest shortly after the shooting.

Court records show Howard has prior convictions for drug and weapons offenses, as well as sexual assault.

Howard is to be sentenced March 13 by Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Brown.

Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who’s been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.

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