TRENTON – The capital city had its 15th murder of the year Tuesday, one shy of last year’s total, police sources said.
The killing – the 13th since Gov. Phil Murphy implemented a stay-at-home order March 21 – happened on the 100 block Oakland Street around 5:30 p.m., police sources said.
Additional details weren’t immediately available, as a Trenton Police spokesman didn’t respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Police sources said the suspect pulled up and opened fire on the victim, identified as 37-year-old Dontae Barnes, then continued shooting him while he was on the ground.
Someone live-streamed the slaying scene on Facebook.
No arrests have been made, a spokeswoman from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Barnes had just been paroled May 26 from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, where he was serving time for drug offenses, state records show.
Trenton is on pace to hit 30 murders this year, just one off the second-deadliest year on record in the capital city.
The previous record of 31 homicides, set during the gang wars in 2005, was broken when Trenton had 37 slayings in 2013.
Trenton is two murders from eclipsing last year’s total and tying the number of killings (17) in 2018.
“We were doing pretty good until COVID started,” Mayor Reed Gusciora said. “If someone wants to shoot somebody, that’s gonna happen no matter if you have the best police plan. … We’re doing everything we can to prevent more tragedies. I’m all ears if someone has constructive ideas of what to do differently.”
Community activist Darren “Freedom” Green urged the police director Sheilah Coley to have officers posted up all day in crime hot spots as a “deterrence.”
He also called on Coley to put Sgt. Anthony Manzo back on a specialized task force that targets violent offenders.
Manzo was reassigned to patrol after spending time on the then-newly created violent crimes rapid response unit. He’s since been placed on desk duty, The Trentonian has learned.
Green said people trust the veteran cop.
“Manzo knows the shooters,” he said. “Put Manzo back on the streets, back in charge of that unit. People give him tips because they’re sick of living like they’re in prison.”
Gusciora said he wouldn’t interfere on any police assignment.
“That’s something that’s between him and the captains and the director,” Gusciora said. “[Manzo] has a well-established track record.”
