Investigators also recovered a sawed-off shotgun and shells, a .380 semi-automatic handgun and a large-caliber magazine, a rifle scope and other ammunition, the prosecutor's office said.

Dorian Fleming Mercer County Prosecutor's Office  

Eric Hicks Mercer County Prosecutor's Office  

TRENTON — A raid of a city home early Tuesday morning resulted in two arrests and uncovered a handgun in the refrigerator and 20 bags of marijuana in the basement, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The prosecutor’s Special Investigations Unit had spent a week investigating the house on the 500 block of Genesee Street. The office obtained search warrants and entered the home on Tuesday at 5:30 a.m.

Dorian Fleming, 26, who lives at the address, was arrested along with Eric Hicks, 29, of Philadelphia. The home was searched by by SIU detectives, and Ewing, Hamilton, Lawrence and Trenton police officers, who found a sawed-off shotgun and shells in the basement along with the bags of marijuana and a .380 semi-automatic handgun and large-caliber magazine in the refrigerator, the prosecutor’s office said.

The officers found a rifle scope in the living room and multiple holsters and bullets throughout the house.

Fleming was charged with counts of certain persons not to possess a firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine, and Hicks was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession with the intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of a firearm while committing a narcotics offense.

Both are incarcerated at the Mercer County Correction Center, Fleming on $150,000 bail and Hicks on $50,000.

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Prosecutors said McClain and a 16-year-old accomplice kicked in the front door of the woman’s house on Jan. 17 and held her at knifepoint.

Exterior view of the the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse in Trenton on South Warren St. Michael Mancuso/The Times  

TRENTON — Bail was raised to $200,000 this morning for a city teen charged with breaking into a Villa Park home and assaulting the resident at knifepoint.

Markese McClain, 18, appeared in court via video from the Mercer County Correction Center for the bail hearing.

Prosecutors said that McClain and a 16-year-old boy kicked in the front door of the woman’s house on the 900 block of Lyndale Avenue on Jan. 17 and held her at knifepoint.

The younger accomplice took the necklace the woman was wearing while McClain went upstairs to the second floor and began taking jewelry, prosecutors said.

The victim was alone, but a neighbor called police at around 12:45 p.m. One officer interrupted the two teens and held them inside the house until backup officers arrived and took them into custody. The woman's injuries were not serious, police said.

McClain was charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree burglary.

McClain, who asked to be called Markese Anderson, has three known aliases and is currently serving probation on a burglary charge after being sentenced in September, Jimenez said.

Jimenez said McClain cannot be released until he has a violation of probation hearing, even if he posts bail.

McClain’s alleged accomplice had juvenile petitions signed against him on the same charges. The status of those petitions was not available.

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Five additional charges of animal cruelty were filed against Princeton dog trainer Michael Rosenberg.

Dog trainer Michael Rosenberg faces charges of animal cruelty. Mercer Co. Prosecutor  

PRINCETON— A dog trainer who was recently charged with causing the death of one dog and injuring another was hit with a new charge today of injuring his own two dogs over a six-month period.

Animal control officer Mark Johnson said five additional charges of animal cruelty were filed against Michael Rosenberg, 31, of Princeton, who is currently being held in a detention center for sex offenders on a probation violation.

Johnson said a former friend of Rosenberg’s witnessed him abuse his dogs about once a week from February to August of last year. The dogs will be seized, Johnson said.

“Since I’ve charged him, I’ll take the dogs as evidence,” he said. “The dogs will be removed from his custody.”

Rosenberg was charged in November with six counts of animal cruelty in the beating death of a German shepherd mix he had been hired to train, officials said. And last week a Montgomery woman came forward to file charges against him for alleging injuring her bull terrier.

In November he was sent to the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel for four months in November for a probation violation stemming from the charges in the dog's death, Johnson said.

Rosenberg was convicted in 2011 for child endangerment involving sex with a juvenile and is required to register as a sex offender, according to the State Police database.

The witness in the new charges said he saw Rosenberg pick his dogs up “chest- and head-high” and throw them onto a concrete floor, and throw them 7 or 8 feet across a room, Johnson said.

Johnson said the witness came forward just before Christmas. He said he did not know why the witness waited to come forward.

Rosenberg was charged with three disorderly person charges, which could each bring a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, and two civil charges that could make him responsible for the costs of caring for the dogs until they are adopted out, Johnson said.

Johnson said he went to Rosenberg’s listed address this morning to take ownership of the dogs but they were nowhere to be found. He did not know the condition or breeds of the dogs.

Johnson said Rosenberg's girlfriend may have the two dogs.

“Where she went, I don’t know,” he said.

Johnson said Rosenberg is scheduled to be released from detention at the end of February but he was not sure if the new charges would keep him there longer.

Contact Alyssa Mease at amease@njtimes.com or at (609) 989-5673.

Previous coverage:

• Second complaint filed against Princeton dog trainer accused of animal cruelty in dog's beating death

• Princeton dog trainer is charged with six counts of animal cruelty in beating death of dog

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Tormu Prall, 49, faced murder, attempted murder and arson charges for setting the fire that engulfed the home on the 200 block of Wayne Avenue, where he and his brother John Prall lived.

Tormu Prall file photo  

TRENTON — Tormu Prall, who was charged with setting a fire that killed his brother and badly injured his brother's girlfriend in September 2007, was found guilty of all charges by a jury this afternoon.

Prall, 49, faced murder, attempted murder and arson charges for setting the fire that engulfed the home on the 200 block of Wayne Avenue, where he and his brother John Prall lived.

Prosecutors said Tormu Prall sprayed a flammable liquid around the windows and door of his brother's bedroom while he was sleeping inside and set it alight before fleeing. Prall remained a fugitive for nearly a year until he was taken into custody in Connecticut in 2008.

The brothers had had a series of heated arguments over household expenses witnessed by several friends in the weeks leading up to the fire, prosecutors said. Prall was told by his brother that he could not live in the house if he did not contribute to the bills, prosecutors said.

During the trial the woman who was injured, Kimberly Meadows, described waking up with her legs on fire and finding John Prall, who was sleeping next to her, on fire from the waist up. He died four days later at Temple University Hospital's burn center in Philadelphia, and she was hospitalized for more than two months.

Previous coverage:

• Jury to decide if Trenton man accused of brother's murder is guilty or innocent

• Witness in Trenton murder trial describes waking up to inferno

• Trenton man allegedly threatened to kill his brother days before fatal fire

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The suspect was captured on tape driving a pickup truck stolen from a man who was forced into his home and then knocked unconscious during the crime.

Ewing Police are searching for this man in connection with a robbery. This photo is from surveillance footage of the Rite Aid on the corner of Hermitage Avenue and Edgewood Avenue in Trenton. courtesy of Ewing police  

EWING — Police said they have video tape footage of a suspect who may have been involved in the robbery of a township man last month.

The suspect was captured on tape driving a pickup truck stolen from a man who was forced into his home and then knocked unconscious during the crime.

The 56-year-old victim told police that he was walking from his car to his home on Jan. 10 around 5:30 a.m. when he was approached from behind by two men and a woman.

Police said the victim told police that the robbers pressed an unknown object to the back of his head and led him into his house.

Once inside, the robbers then struck the victim in the back of the head with a blunt object, causing him to lose consciousness, police said.

When the victim awoke, he found that his laptop, a jar with loose change and his black Ford pickup truck were missing, police said.

The next day, police said a man driving the victim’s truck pulled into the Rite Aid on the corner of Hermitage Avenue and Edgewood Avenue in Trenton. Police have released a photo of surveillance footage of the man who exited the truck, police said.

On Jan. 12, the victim’s truck was recovered unoccupied on Artisan Street just off Hermitage Avenue in Trenton.

Anyone who has information about the robbery or who can identify the individual in the surveillance photo is asked to call Detective Pat Holt at (609) 882-1313 ext. 5571 or the tip line at (609) 882-7530.

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Sarpeh was sentenced to five years of probation and Solomon was sentenced to three years. Neither man has any prior criminal record.

Exterior view of the the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse in Trenton on South Warren St. Michael Mancuso/The Times  

Two former students at The College of New Jersey were sentenced to probation today for sexually assaulting a freshman on campus in the fall of 2010.

Samuel Sarpeh, 22, of East Orange and Christen Solomon, 21, of Irvington pleaded guilty to lesser offenses of criminal sexual contact and inappropriate touching, respectively.

Sarpeh was sentenced to five years of probation and Solomon was sentenced to three years. Neither man has any prior criminal record.

Both men were suspended from TCNJ following the incident.

Prosecutors said the woman was at a party in Sarpeh’s dorm when she became intoxicated and asked if she could stay over so she did not have to go back home.

During the night, prosecutors said, Sarpeh and Solomon sexually assaulted her. She reported the incident to police in late September 2010 and both men were arrested.

The victim was present in court with her family for the hearing and took the opportunity to speak about the impact that the assault has had on her.

“The triggers, the nightmares, will never disappear,” said the victim, whose name is being withheld by The Times. “And now I can no longer trust people. I lost trust for everyone around me.”

The woman said she suffered harassment after she reported the incident to police from friends of Sarpeh and Solomon, which made it more difficult to move forward and begin to heal.

“They are monsters that robbed me of my peace and normalcy,” she said. “These men killed my spirit and darkened my soul.”

Both men apologized to the woman and her family for the pain caused to them.

“I’m sorry and for whatever that happened that night, I know that it has held both of us back and our life is never going to be the same,” Sarpeh said. “I have learned my lesson and nothing like that will ever happen again.”

“My whole world is just shattered,” Solomon said. “It will never leave me — the lessons I have learned.”

The woman and her family had previously told Superior Court Judge Thomas Sumners, who oversaw the hearing, that they would have liked to see the men receive time in jail for their actions or would have like to see the matter go to trial.

Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing said she had spoken with the family about the difficulty in prosecuting a case such as this one, and they had agreed to go along with the probationary sentence.

“There are no winners in this,” Sumners said. “Sometimes things happen that may not be fair to you but you need to marshal the strength to carry forward.”

Sarpeh had previously pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact in exchange for a sentence of two years probation. That plea deal was voided in June 2011 by Superior Court Judge Gerald Council after the victim wrote him a letter describing the effect the assault had on her and calling for a harsher sentence. The case was then presented to a grand jury, which indicted the pair in August of 2011.

In addition to probation, Sumners sentenced the two men to 40 hours of community service and they will have to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation. He said he hopes that the community service will be in some kind of program that will be in some kind of volunteer service where Solomon and Sarpeh can “advise young men and young adults the proper way to behave themselves.”

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717,

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Jamal B. Darby, 24, said he showed a gun to his co-defendant who then shot and killed Marshan Washington

A Trenton police SUV sits at a crime scene in this April photo. A similar truck was shot at last night, police said. Times of trenton File Photo  

TRENTON — A city man charged with murder in the 2008 death of Marshan Washington pleaded guilty today to helping in the fatal shooting.

Jamal B. Darby, 24, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated manslaughter, telling Judge Robert Billmeier that on Feb. 24, 2008, he showed a gun to his co-defendant Wallace L. McClain, who then shot and killed Washington. Prosecutor Skylar Weissman had argued previously that it was Darby who shot Washington.

In Superior Court, Darby said that he and Washington had fought the previous day, and they met again when he returned to a house on the 200 block of West Hanover Street in the early morning hours of Feb. 24.

When he went inside he found that McClain there, acting strange and violent, he said.

He gave some crack cocaine to McClain, who became even more violent after using the drug. Darby showed McClain where a handgun was hidden in a couch, and McClain used the gun to shoot and kill Washington, he said.

City sanitation workers later found Washington’s body wrapped in a blue tarp, with one arm sticking out, at a bend in the road where Riverside Drive becomes Clearfield Avenue.

Darby pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence, Weissman said. He will have to serve 85 percent, or about 8 1/2 years, before he is eligible for parole.

If Darby had not accepted the plea deal the case was set to proceed to trial in March. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3.

McClain pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in 2010 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.

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After deliberating for just a few hours, the jury found Prall, 49, guilty of murder, felony murder, attempted murder and aggravated arson charges

Tormu Prall file photo  

TRENTON — Tormu Prall was found guilty yesterday of setting fire to the home where he and his brother lived in 2007, killing his brother and badly injuring the woman who was sleeping beside him.

After deliberating for just a few hours, the jury found Prall, 49, guilty of murder, felony murder, attempted murder and aggravated arson charges for setting the fire that engulfed the home on the 200 block of Wayne Avenue.

Prall, who could face decades in prison, sat calmly beside his attorney, speaking to him softly as the judge confirmed the jury’s verdict. Prall is already serving another sentence for an unrelated offense.

Prall’s sister and friends the brother who died, John Prall, broke into tears as the jury read the verdict yesterday afternoon.

“This case is just a tragedy for everyone,” said Assistant Prosecutor Lew Korngut, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Renee Robeson.

Prosecutors said Tormu Prall sprayed a flammable liquid around the windows and door of his brother’s bedroom as his brother slept and set it alight before fleeing. Prall remained a fugitive for nearly a year until he was taken into custody in Connecticut in 2008.

The brothers had a series of heated arguments over household expenses witnessed by several friends in the weeks leading up to the fire, prosecutors said. They said Prall was told by his brother that he could not live in the house if he did not contribute to the bills.

During the trial the woman who was injured, Kimberly Meadows, described waking up with her legs on fire and finding John Prall, who was sleeping next to her, on fire from the waist up. He died four days later at Temple University Hospital’s burn center in Philadelphia, and she was hospitalized for more than two months. The mother of John Prall’s children also testified in court.

Tormu Prall’s attorney Michael Dawson said his client is already considering an appeal of the conviction.

“There have been a bunch of issues to ask for an appeal,” Dawson said.

Dawson said he was happy at how attentive the jury was but disappointed in the verdict.

“The evidence was not there,” Dawson said.

Dawson argued that the jury could not say beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Prall who set the fire because there was no physical evidence that he lit the blaze and no one saw him at the scene setting the fire.

The prosecutors thanked the Trenton police and the detectives who have worked on the case since 2007 as well as the witnesses who agreed to testify.

Prall is expected to be sentenced in April.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.

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Employees at the Motor Vehicle Commission facility on Bakers Basin Road became suspicious of the woman's ID, police said.

Mayangbe Swaray Mercer Co. Prosecutor  

LAWRENCE — A 27-year-old Trenton woman has been charged with impersonating her 17-year-old sister in order to take a driver's license test on her behalf.

Police said Mayangbe Swaray arrived at the state Motor Vehicle Commission on Bakers Basin Road around 11:45 a.m. Monday and presented her sister’s permit to take the written test. Motor vehicle employees quickly became suspicious of Swaray, Sgt. Joseph Amodio said.

“After looking at the ID presenting to them, obviously it wasn’t the person presenting it,” he said.

Swaray was confronted and quickly became uncooperative, police said. The employees called for police and Swarty was arrested.

She was charged with wrongful impersonation and released on a summons. There was no word on whether her sister later took the test.

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People were lined up this morning outside the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office substation in Trenton, seeking to redeem IOUs issued during last weekend's gun buyback.

People lined up outside the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office substation in Trenton today to redeem IOUs issued during last weekend's gun buyback. Alex Zdan /The Times  

TRENTON — Lining up outside the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office substation in the cold under intermittent light snowfall, dozens of area residents owed cash from last weekend's gun buyback arrived with their IOUs in hand.

The $200,000 that the state Attorney General's Office approved for the two-day buyback ran out by the afternoon of Jan. 26, the program's second day. Officials at the two city churches that served as dropoff sites resorted to giving out vouchers, which can be reclaimed for cash until 8 p.m. today.

People started arriving even before the scheduled noon start time at the prosecutor's office substation on Lamberton Road today. Most were understanding of the wait, but skeptical of the buyback's total impact.

"The wrong people turned in the guns," Ewing resident James Taliafero said.

In total, 2,603 firearms and an anti-tank rocket launcher were taken in, with rewards of up to $250 per weapon. The attorney general's office said $324,000 was spent or promised.

Others who were waiting outside the prosecutor's office commented that the small crowd lining up today didn't seem to include any gang members. One man said he handed in two guns and used the money he was promised to buy a new shotgun at a gun show in Philadelphia last Sunday.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the attorney general's office disagreed with the criticism.

"If the turnouts we’ve seen, and the comments we’ve overheard, are any indication, the majority of New Jersey citizens are behind this gun buyback initiative," the statement said. "That’s because they recognize that having fewer guns on the streets can only help us to reduce the number of people being maimed or killed by gun violence."

Those with vouchers can redeem them until 8 p.m. at the prosecutor's office, 1589 Lamberton Road in Trenton.

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Anthony Howlett, 28, of Trenton, was one of 14 indicted in 2010 for a series of shootings in 2005, when gun violence erupted between rival gangs in the city.

Exterior view of the the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse in Trenton on South Warren St. Michael Mancuso/The Times  

TRENTON — An alleged member of the Gangster Killer Bloods street gang pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge today, adding his name to a list of co-defendants who have accepted plea agreements with the state.

Anthony Howlett, 28, of Trenton, was one of 14 indicted in 2010 for a series of shootings in 2005, when gun violence erupted between rival gangs in the city.

Under an agreement negotiated with the state attorney general's office, Howlett pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree racketeering before Judge Robert Billmeier. The state will recommend a sentence of seven to 10 years and the other charges against him will be dropped.

Howlett admitted that in 2005 as part of racketeering with members of his street gang, he unlawfully had weapons and transferred guns.

Also today, one of Howlett’s co-defendants, Ronald “Double R” Smith, was sentenced to five years in prison by Billmeier.

Smith, 30, of Trenton, pleaded guilty on Dec. 10 to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. The sentence will run concurrent to a federal prison sentence he is serving for an unrelated charge. Racketeering, drug and weapons charges were dismissed against Smith as part of his plea deal.

Of 14 alleged gang members named in a 74-count indictment, 10 have not accepted plea agreements and may proceed to trial.

Bernard “Petey Black” Green, 30, a “five-star general” of the Gangster Killer Bloods, or G-Shine, set was one of those charged in the indictment. Prosecutors said Green was directing the gang’s activities including drug trafficking and gun violence.

Green faces three counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder and five counts of conspiracy to commit murder.

“People are sick and tired of the endless cycle of violence plaguing our streets,” Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said in a statement. “We will continue to make prosecuting those involved in gang activity a priority in my office.”

The gang members were arrested after an investigation by the Attorney General’s office, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Trenton police and the State Police called “Operation Capital City.”

The alleged criminal activity by the gang members occurred from March to August 2005. During that time three people were murdered in one two-hour span and gang violence contributed to a record 31 homicides in Trenton that year.

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Harry Harrington, 44, was in court in Middlesex County on a different matter when he was arrested on the charges out of Trenton of eluding police and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

Harry Harrington Trenton Police  

TRENTON — A city man well-known to police for his prior arrests and convictions was back in court today for a bail hearing after he was charged with hitting a police detective with a car in October and speeding away.

Harry Harrington, 44, was in court in Middlesex County on a different matter when he was arrested on the charges out of Trenton of eluding police and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

Harrington was observed by police near the intersection of South Clinton Avenue and First Street inside a GMC Suburban on Oct. 6, said Assistant Prosecutor Sean McMurtry.

Police approached Harrington, because he was known to have outstanding warrants for his arrest, and he accelerated the vehicle, striking Detective Aaron Bernstein in the waist, McMurtry said.

Harrington allegedly led police on a chase through the city and onto Route 1, traveling the wrong way into oncoming traffic. Police were called off the chase at that point because it was too dangerous, McMurtry said.

Harrington’s attorney Linda Smink said that on the day of the incident her client was nowhere near the car, which is registered to Harrington’s girlfriend Angela Hall. Hall tried to report the car missing the same day but Trenton police refused to take a report from her, Smink said.

Judge Mark Fleming set Harrington’s bail at $50,000 cash only.

Harrington was arrested while appearing in Middlesex County Superior Court for an unrelated charge of eluding law enforcement for a chase in South Brunswick in Jan 2012. He also has two pending charges in Mercer County for other incidents of eluding.

He had nine felony convictions, including for drug offenses and burglary and theft.

Smink unsuccessfully argued for Harrington’s bail to be lowered so that he can be released from jail for surgery on injuries he received as the victim of a hit-and-run accident in April 2012.

Fleming said Harrington has been using the surgery as an excuse to postpone his sentencing for several months now. The judge said Harrington will be required to show proof that the surgery is necessary and a date for the operation before he would lower his bail.

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Robert Rivera, 21, will have to serve four years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Robert Rivera file photo  

TRENTON — A Hamilton man who was found guilty by a jury last year of threatening a group of people gathered on Genesee Street with a gun in July 2010 was sentenced to eight years in prison today.

Robert Rivera, 21, will have to serve four years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole. He was found guilty of four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Rivera pointed the gun at the group because he was worried that one of the men would turn him into police in connection with a stolen car, Assistant Prosecutor William Fisher said.

During his hearing, Rivera also admitted to having a weapon for an unlawful purpose during another, unrelated incident in December 2010 while he was out on bail after the first incident. For that charge he was sentenced to three years in prison, a sentence that will run concurrent to the eight year sentence.

“Pointing a handgun is a major concern for residents of this area and in this country,” Judge Mark Fleming said before he sentenced Rivera.

Rivera’s attorney Andrew Duclair said that his client was not threatening the group on Genesee Street that night, saying if he in fact pointed a gun at them, what was stopping him from shooting at them?

“If people are pulling out guns they are going to use them.” Duclair said.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.

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The two were also arrested on April 26, 2011 after breaking into a home on Magnolia Road and were charged with burglary and theft, police said.

Verna Taulbee and her son Joseph Strang were charged with stealing copper from a shed. Pemberton Township Police Department  

PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP — A mother and son burglary team who broke into a shed where copper was stored were arrested while trying to get away from the scene of the crime Wednesday morning, police said.

It was not the first burglary arrest for Joseph Strang, 36, who resides in Browns Mills section of Pemberton, and his mother Verna Taulbee, 61, who lives elsewhere in the township. The two were arrested on April 26, 2011 after breaking into a home on Magnolia Road and were charged with burglary and theft, police said.

On Wednesday Taulbee and Strong allegedly entered the shed on the 200 block of Daniels Avenue to steal buckets of copper fittings. An eagle-eyed neighbor saw what was going on and called police.

With the neighbor providing a detailed description of Strang, Taulbee, and their 1999 Ford minivan, Patrolman Charles Bennett was able to pull the vehicle over on South Lakeshore Drive, police said.

Strang and Taulbee were arrested at about 9:30 a.m. and charged with burglary and theft.

They were taken to Burlington County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail for Strang and $5,000 bail for Taulbee. The Ford minivan was confiscated and will be sent to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office for forfeiture, police said.

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Hykeem Tucker, 26, of Trenton was arrested Jan. 24 and charged with murder and weapons offenses.

Hykeem Tucker, 26, arrested in Trenton 1/24/13 and charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of Mercer County Corrections Officer Carl Batie Trenton Police  

TRENTON — A second man has been arrested in connection with the November shooting death of Mercer County Corrections Officer Carl Batie, officials said this week.

Hykeem Tucker, 26, of Trenton was arrested Jan. 24 and charged with murder and weapons offenses. Maurice Skillman, 26, was taken into custody last month on the same charges for Batie’s death.

Batie was on the balcony of the Baldassari Regency in Chambersburg the night of Nov. 11, at a party celebrating the re-election of President Barack Obama, when shots came from the parking lot below. One of them struck Batie in the head and killed him. Police did not say what role Tucker played but they believe he was instrumental in contributing to Batie’s death.

“He’s involved, and there’s the possibility of additional arrests,” Sgt. Mark Kieffer said.

Tucker is being held on $1 million cash or bond, the prosecutor’s office said. Skillman’s bail was also set at $1 million and a judge rejected his request to have it lowered earlier this month.

Police have said they believe Batie, a five-year veteran of the corrections department, was an innocent bystander and not the target of the shooting. Several other people were on the balcony with him and escaped injury, but authorities have not identified them or specified who was being targeted.

In the hours after Batie’s killing, city resident Shaquel Rock, 19, was also arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after he allegedly threatened a city police officer who was working off-duty at the Regency that night.

No murder charges have been filed against Rock, and any connections between Rock, Skillman, and Tucker remain under investigation.

Police would only describe Tucker and Skillman as “associates” and would not comment on any possible gang affiliations. At a December press conference announcing Skillman’s arrest, authorities had described the killing as gang-related.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Tucker, 22 shots were fired at the Regency’s balcony during the assault that took Batie’s life. Trenton Detective Scott Peterson issued a warrant for Tucker’s arrest on Jan. 22.

Tucker was arrested the morning of Jan. 24 on Bellevue Avenue by the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, offering no resistance when he was taken into custody, Lt. Stephen Varn said. No weapons were recovered during the arrest.

Varn said police used a “combination” of tactics to lead them to Tucker, among them video enhancement and suspect interviews. And he said detectives continue to investigate the shooting.

Anyone with further information on the killing is asked to call police at (609) 989-4170 or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.

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One man was punched and another bitten during the fight inside the Sandbar, police said.

The Sandbar in New Hope, Pa. Photo from Google Maps  

NEW HOPE, Pa. — A brawl inside a borough bar led to punches, shoving, and biting early this morning, police said.

No serious injuries were reported as a result of the fight at the Sandbar on Main Street, Police Chief Michael Cummings said.

“It sounds like it was just pushing and shoving,” he said. “Someone got punched and someone got bit.”

The brawl began just before 1 a.m., possibly when a bar patron pulled a man’s pony tail, Cummings said. One man was punched in the stomach and had a cut there, and another was bit on the ankle while on the ground.

Initial reports to police said that 25 to 30 people were involved. Three New Hope officers and two from neighboring Solebury Township went to the scene.

When the officers arrived, they found the fight involved two groups of three men each, who had been separated by bouncers. Police will likely write summonses charging the two men involved with disorderly conduct and simple assault. Their names will be released when the charges are filed.

Last January, an allegedly intoxicated man tried to flee a $25 tab at the Sandbar by diving into the frigid Delaware River. He was eventually rescued by firefighters and faced charges of theft of services.

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The DCA’s Local Finance Board would handle all ethics complains filed by or against township employees or board members, she said.

Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede leads a directors meeting on Tuesday, December 11, 2012. Michael Mancuso/The Times

To purchase prints of this photo, visit TimesofTrenton.zenfolio.com

Michael Mancuso/The Times  

HAMILTON — A state Department of Community Affairs panel could begin serving as the township’s ethics board soon, Mayor Kelly Yaede said today, with township employees and appointees subject to a strengthened gifts policy.

At a press conference this afternoon, Yaede said she was recommending the council abolish the township’s ethics board, which was established five years ago but never once called on to hear a case.

The DCA’s Local Finance Board would handle all ethics complains filed by or against township employees or board members, she said.

“By using the state’s local government ethics board, we’re taking the politics out of the procedure,” Yaede said. “The DCA has the staff and resources to properly operate and has complete separation and independence from (municipal) matters.”

The board can hear cases and make recommendations to the township’s personnel department about any penalties, township attorney Lindsay Burbage said.

Township officials have been promoting good government efforts in recent months, following a corruption scandal that led to a federal conviction for former mayor John Bencivengo.

Bencivengo and two department directors resigned or were fired last year in the wake of his federal trial, which saw him convicted on extortion and money laundering counts.

Officials also said today that the township’s gifts policy, which prohibits all employees from accepting anything of value from vendors, would be extended to include the planning, zoning and redevelopment boards.

The board members, who have authority over rule changes that affect businesses, are appointed by the mayor or council and do not receive salaries.

A potentially corrupt developer could reach out to a planning board member who has a direct vote on the project, Burbage said.

“That developer could very well come before the planning board in the near future,” he said. “Those are the kinds of things that we’re trying to prevent.”

In addition, all employees and board members will receive a copy of the township’s ethics code each year and certain individuals will be required to undergo annual ethics training.

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Eric Deltoro, 38, was found with nine ounces of cocaine, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said.

Eric Deltoro Mercer Co. Prosecutor  

HAMILTON — A Vermont man who drove to Hamilton with his wife and young son to purchase drugs was arrested at a township gas station last week, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said today.

A search of Eric Deltoro’s car revealed nine ounces of powder cocaine worth $25,000 along with a handgun, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Deltoro, 38, of Websterville, Vt. was held on $250,000 bail on multiple drug offenses. No charges were filed against his wife, authorities said.

The investigation by the prosecutor’s Special Investigations Unit began after detectives received information Deltoro was allegedly headed from Vermont to the Hamilton area to buy a large amount of cocaine.

Officers saw Deltoro getting gas on South Broad Street the night of Jan. 30 and stopped his SUV around 8:45 p.m. He was taken into custody without resistance.

A K-9 indicated she detected the scent of narcotics in the vehicle and the SUV was towed and searched. Detectives found a cloth bag in the rear passenger side compartment with the cocaine inside along with a .40-caliber Glock handgun with a laser sight, the prosecutor’s office said. Over $2,000 was allegedly found on Deltoro’s person as well.

Deltoro was charged with drug possession, possession with the intent to distribute, possession with the intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school and possession of a firearm while committing a narcotics offense.

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Keith Nock, 26, was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute in the parking lot of the Carlton Apartments on West Farrell Avenue.

The Ewing Police logo Times File Photo  

EWING — A Trenton man was arrested on stalking charges and other offenses after police were called to a township apartment complex Friday night to investigate a shooting, police said.

Keith Nock, 26, was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute in the parking lot of the Carlton Apartments on West Farrell Avenue. Nock was charged with simple assault, contempt of court, outstanding warrants from Trenton and Ewing, the stalking charge, and hindering apprehension for allegedly providing a false name to police.

Officers were called out to the area of building 124 in the apartment complex just after 10:30 p.m. following a report that at least one shot was fired there. When they arrived, the officers discovered the domestic dispute in the parking lot.

No gun was found at the scene, and police are still trying to determine whether a gunshot was actually fired. The possible gunfire is being investigated as part of the domestic violence incident, Lt. Rocco Maruca said. No injuries were reported,
Both Ewing police and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said that Friday night’s incident had nothing to do with a fatal shooting on Rosedale Avenue early Sunday or with a shooting on Dryden Avenue Jan. 26, in which a 30-year-old township man answering a tap on a window was shot in the face by an unknown suspect, police said.

In critical condition immediately after the shooting, the victim in that case has been upgraded to stable condition, Maruca said. No arrests have been made.

Anyone who witnessed any of these incidents or has information on them should call Detective Pat Holt at (609) 882-1313 ext. 5571 or the Ewing Police Tip Line at (609) 882-7530.

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The 13-year-old was in a parking lot of the Twin Rivers Drive North apartment complex around 3:10 p.m. on Friday when a man approached

Police are looking for a man who allegedly approached a 13-year-old girl and asked her to come near his car Friday afternoon. Martin Griff/The Times  

EAST WINDSOR — Township police are searching for a man who allegedly approached a 13-year-old girl and asked her to come near his car Friday afternoon.

The 13-year-old was in a parking lot of the Twin Rivers Drive North apartment complex about 3:10 p.m. when the man got out of his car and came about 15 to 20 feet away from her. According to police, the man tried to talk with girl and asked her to approach his vehicle.

When the teen declined, the man allegedly followed behind her for about 10 seconds, but when she picked up her cell phone, the man walked away.

Police are calling the encounter a “suspicious incident.” The man is described as white, in his 20s or 30s, 6 feet tall, thin build, possibly with black hair, some type of facial hair and glasses. He was wearing a yellow shirt or jacket at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information should call police at (609) 448-5678.

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