Marcus Hunter, 16, was shot around 2:30 p.m. near the Donnelly Homes housing complex. Nearby residents said they heard several gunshots.

Trenton police on Beakes Street in the city investigate a homicide this afternoon. Alex Zdan /The Times  

TRENTON — A 16-year-old city boy is dead following a shooting on Beakes Street in North Trenton this afternoon.

Marcus Hunter was shot dead by one suspect on the first block of Beakes, Lt. Steve Varn said this evening. Police called out to investigate shots fired on the street found Hunter on the sidewalk near the Donnelly Homes housing complex. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Varn said.

Nearby residents said they heard several gunshots.

Police did not have a full description of the gunman, but said they believe just one shooter was involved. The motive in the crime was not immediately clear.

As police began their investigation, the body lay on the sidewalk in front of a gated parking lot, covered by a white sheet stained with blood.

Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. was at the crime scene shortly after the shooting, speaking with detectives. Varn said Rivera was briefed on the investigation up to that point.

Investigators will be reviewing video from the area to see if any cameras captured the crime. Detectives this afternoon did an extensive canvass of the neighborhood, walking through the housing projects and several blocks up from the crime scene seeking evidence and witnesses.

The death is Trenton's fourth homicide of 2013.

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

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Rohit Maddineni, 26, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16 to one count of vehicular homicide. He was charged after police learned Maddineni had been drinking before the crash.

Rohit Maddineni in court in April Noah K. Murray/The Star Ledger  

A Plainsboro man was sentenced to three years in prison today for a March crash in South Brunswick that left one of his passengers dead and another injured, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Rohit Maddineni, 26, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16 to one count of vehicular homicide. He was charged after police learned Maddineni had been drinking before the crash.

Police said Maddineni was driving on the 200 block of Dey Road when his car crashed into a utility pole. Pavan Gottumukala, 25, of Edison, was pronounced dead at the scene after he was ejected from his seat in the rear of the car.

Maddineni will be required to serve 85 percent of his prison sentence, or approximately 2½ years, before he is eligible for parole. Once he is released from prison Maddineni will have to serve a 3 year period of parole.

Maddineni and a 25-year-old passenger who was seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The sentencing was in Superior Court in Middlesex County.

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

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Steven Applegate, 34, was originally sentenced to eight more years in prison for a car accident that left another man injured,

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

HAMILTON — A township man received a new sentence today for a hit-and-run accident while he was on probation.

Steven Applegate, 34, was originally sentenced to eight more years in prison for a car accident that left another man injured, and Applegate in violation of his probation. Under the revised sentence handed down today, Applegate would likely be before a parole board in approximately 2½ to three years, the judge said.

Applegate has already served 15 years in prison for killing a Trenton man in 1995.
Judge Robert Billmeier revised the eight-year sentence handed down in December, imposing a sentence of 20 years in prison with 15 years of parole ineligibility. But Billemeier explained that because Applegate has more than 15 years in jail credit, he would be eligible for parole immediately.

Billmeier said he has done research in the last few weeks regarding the sentence, and in his discussions with parole board officials he found that it is more likely that Applegate would not be paroled immediately, but in about three years.

“That is the type of time frame that the court was thinking about,” Billmeier said.

Applegate was sentenced for a violation of his parole for the hit-and-run accident in October 2011 in which a passenger in another car was injured. He told the court that he had used drugs and alcohol that night when he ran a stop sign on Estates Boulevard in Hamilton.

When he was 17, Applegate beat and strangled Jerry Riley, a cook at a Beatty Street tavern. He was sentenced in 1998 to 30 years in prison, of which he would have to serve 15 years before he would be eligible for parole.

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In two of the crimes, the suspects stole the victims’ vehicles. In another, a deli was robbed of more than $1,000 cash at gunpoint, according to police.

A Trenton police car positioned on Chambers Street at the intersection of Greenwood Ave. Michael Mancuso / The Times of Trenton  

TRENTON — Detectives are investigating three armed robberies that happened across the city within a 10-minute span Monday evening, police said.

In two of the crimes, the suspects stole the victims’ vehicles. In another, a deli was robbed of more than $1,000 cash at gunpoint, according to police. There are no indications the offenses are related.

About 7:20 p.m., two men were walking toward a car parked on the 100 block of South Cook Avenue when they were approached by a pair of men, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The robbers demanded property from both victims, and in response one of the victims handed over car keys and a cell phone, Lt. Steve Varn said.

The second victim had a wallet taken from him. No force was used and no injuries reported.

When the robbery was complete, the suspects got into the victim’s car and drove off toward Greenwood Avenue, Varn said.

Three minutes later, on the 500 block of Bellevue Avenue, a city man had parked his car and left it running while he spoke to an acquaintance outside.

As they spoke, police said a black male in his early 20s, 5-foot-7, slim build, dark-skinned, wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt and armed with a handgun, ran up to the pair. In a panic, the victim threw a set of keys on the ground, which momentarily distracted the armed man, Varn said. Taking advantage of the diversion, the victim ran away down the street with the suspect in pursuit.

The acquaintance got into his own car and drove it up the block, picking up the victim and taking him away from the area to safety. When they returned, the victim’s car was gone, police said.

At 7:30 p.m., police were called to a deli on the 300 block of Roebling Avenue that had just been held up at gunpoint. According to police, three masked suspects entered the store, one of them brandishing a handgun, and demanded money from the cash register.

After taking more than $1,000, a cell phone, cigars and cigarettes, the men fled the store. Police described them as three black males, in their late teens to 20s, one medium build and wearing a black jacket, one thin with a black jacket, and one medium build with a dark gray hoodie.

No injuries were reported in the crimes, and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information should call police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-3663.

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Police said they believe one shooter was involved but they did not have a full description of the suspect.

Trenton police on Beakes Street in the city investigate a homicide. Alex Zdan /The Times  

TRENTON — Sixteen-year-old Marcus Hunter was shot dead in broad daylight on Beakes Street yesterday afternoon, police said.

Police said they believe one shooter was involved but they did not have a full description of the suspect.

Hunter, a city resident, was shot in a homicide whose motive remains unclear, Lt. Steve Varn said last evening. Police who were called out to investigate shots fired at 2:20 p.m. found Hunter on the sidewalk close to the front of a parking lot gate. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Varn said.

As Hunter’s body lay sprawled on the sidewalk, covered by a white sheet, the wailing could be heard throughout Donnelly Homes housing complex yesterday afternoon.

From one end of the crime scene to the other, behind the black metal fence ringing the brick apartments, people openly expressed their sorrow.

One woman stood in the middle of the complex, sobbing, her bags down on the ground on either side of her legs.

Driving her car out of the neighborhood underneath crime scene tape, a more composed woman offered an observation.

“This is so crazy, so tragic,” she said.

Nearby residents said they heard several gunshots, four or five depending on where they had been standing.

Workers at a nearby deli said their security cameras captured the seconds before the killing on tape. They said the video shows, from a distance, a man crossing Beakes Street from Donnelly Homes, trying to intercept a moving figure. It was unclear if the running figure was Hunter, said the workers, who did not give their names for fear of retaliation.

Varn said he has no evidence Hunter was being chased by his killer.

Investigators will be reviewing video from the area to piece together the chain of events.

Detectives did an extensive canvass of the neighborhood, walking through the housing projects and several blocks up from the crime scene seeking evidence and witnesses.

The death is Trenton’s fourth homicide of 2013.

Anyone with 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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The indictment alleges that Mansmann and Mowell shut down a contaminated well or wells before sampling in November 2010, March 2011 and April 2011.

Harry Mansmann, of Lawrence, was indicted for allegedly attempting to hide water contamination at an East Orange water treatment facility. Office of the Attorney General  

A Lawrence man who heads a water utility in East Orange allegedly manipulated the agency's water supply to make it appear that contaminants in the drinking were below allowed levels, the state Attorney General said today.

Harry Mansmann, 58, the executive director of the East Orange Water Commission, was charged along with assistant executive director William Mowell, 51, of Wycoff.

They were indicted on charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct, unlawful release of a toxic pollutant and tampering with public information or records, as well as multiple counts of violating the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Act and the New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act.

Investigators said the men conspired to falsify tests of the water supply by shutting down contaminated wells before they were tested, so that lower levels of the contaminants would be found in water supplied to customers. Mansmann and Mowell were allegedly trying to hide high levels of Tetrachlorethene or PERC, a solvent used in dry cleaning.

The indictment alleges that Mansmann and Mowell shut down a contaminated well or wells before sampling in November 2010, March 2011 and April 2011.

The case was referred to state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s compliance and enforcement program.

“It is absolutely unconscionable that the two top directors responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of drinking water supplied to tens of thousands of residents in East Orange and South Orange would deliberately manipulate sampling to hide the fact that the water supply contained elevated levels of a contaminant, as is alleged in this indictment,” Chiesa said in a statement. “These defendants rightfully face serious criminal charges.”

After allegations arose about Mansmann and Mowell falsifying tests, the DEP performed independent tests and found the levels of PERC were slightly above state and federal standards for safe drinking water. DEP has continued to monitor the water, according to the attorney general’s office.

The water commission supplies drinking water to East Orange and South Orange. The water is pumped from fields in Morris and Essex counties through a pumping station in Millburn. The commission blends water from different wells at the treatment plant before it is pumped to customers.

There were elevated levels of PERC in several wells, according to the attorney general’s office .

As a result of the criminal allegations, the DEP is requiring the water commission to send out information to the public about contamination levels in the system.

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The victim, whom police did not identify, was walking from a friend’s house around 7:15 p.m. and went into a deli near the corner of South Cook Avenue and Winder Avenue.

A Trenton police photographer snaps a crime scene picture on South Cook Avenue following a shooting there April 11, 2012. A city man was shot in the leg while running from the same spot last night. Michael Mancuso /The Times  

TRENTON — A 21-year-old city man was shot in the leg while leaving a Wilbur section deli Tuesday evening, police said.

The victim, whom police did not identify, was walking from a friend’s house around 7:15 p.m. and went into a deli near the corner of South Cook Avenue and Winder Avenue.

“When he left the deli, he heard someone say ‘Yo!’” Lt. Steve Varn said.

The 21-year-old turned around to find five suspects behind him, Varn said.

As the victim stood there, the armed suspect fired a shot, which struck the victim in the leg. As the victim hurried away from the area, three or four more gunshots rang out, but none of those hit him, Varn said.

The wounded man ran to the 300 block of Euclid Avenue, where he was picked up by an ambulance and taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center for treatment. He is in stable condition today.

Full descriptions of the suspects were not available. The case is under investigation.
Anyone with information should call police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

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Lopez was arrested and charged with the murder of Polanco-Ramos less than a week after her body was found. He was taken into custody in North Jersey.

David Lopez Courtesy Photo  

TRENTON — A city man admitted in court today that he strangled his girlfriend, whose body was found partially clothed inside a trash container near her house in May 2011.

David Lopez, 29, who spoke in court with the assistance of a translator, said he and Gladiz Polanco-Ramos had gotten into a fight and she began to pull his hair, so he put his hands around her neck, strangling her until she fell to the ground inside her Roebling Avenue house.

“She wasn’t letting go of my hair,” Lopez said. “She wasn’t going to let me go. I put my hands on her neck and I felt that she went down.”

Lopez was arrested and charged with the murder of Polanco-Ramos less than a week after her body was found. He was taken into custody in North Jersey.

Lopez, who pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated manslaughter as part of an agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office to resolve the case against him, did not admit to putting Polanco-Ramos’ body in the trash container where it was found.

When asked what he did after she fell to the ground unconscious in the kitchen, Lopez said he left the house to go to a friend. “I really didn’t mean to do this,” Lopez said, addressing his comments to Polanco-Ramos’ family members in the courtroom. “I can assure you, here in front of God, that I didn’t mean to do this. I want to ask forgiveness.”
The plea agreement calls for Lopez to serve 22 years in prison. Judge Mark Fleming said that he is “certain” Lopez will be deported after he is finished serving his sentence in this case because he was in the country illegally. Prosecutors did not have information regarding Lopez’ country of origin.

“It will be very unlikely that you could ever lawfully enter this country or apply for citizenship,” Fleming said.

“I am guilty because I did the death,” Lopez said.

Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26.

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

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Officers were sent out to the first block of Sandalwood Avenue after the residential break-in was reported there around 12:30 p.m., according to a police news release.

FILE PHOTO: A Hamilton police officer walks to his car from the Police Station located on Whitehorse Mercerville Road. Times File Photo  

HAMILTON — Police conducted an extensive manhunt this afternoon in the Cornell Heights section of the township after they responded to a burglary in progress and one of two suspects bolted from the scene, police said.

Officers were sent out to the first block of Sandalwood Avenue after the residential break-in was reported there around 12:30 p.m., according to a police news release.

Immediately upon their arrival, the township officers arrested one of the two suspects believed to be involved in the burglary while he was still inside the house.

The second suspect escaped, sparking an extensive ground search for him that involved numerous officers from Hamilton and other jurisdictions.

Police believed the second suspect had fled on foot onto Basin Road, which runs off Sandalwood behind the Hamilton train station. They set up a perimeter around the area in which the suspect was believed to be hiding, then fanned out into yards around Basin Road.

As they moved through the yards conducting their search, officers spotted the suspect. He ran, but was finally captured after a brief foot chase, according to police.

No injuries were reported, either to the suspects or officers.

Detectives in the township’s Criminal Investigations Bureau were working on the case last night, piecing together information and any evidence recovered from the scene.

Police did not release the names of the two suspects and gave out few details on the investigation. Further details were set to be released today.

Anyone with information on previous township burglaries should call the Hamilton police tip line at (609) 581-4008.

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

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Two women and three men were inside the house on the 200 block of Church Street when the two armed suspects walked in through an unlocked door around 10:30 a.m.

A Trenton police car positioned on Chambers Street at the intersection of Greenwood Ave. Michael Mancuso / The Times of Trenton  

TRENTON — An intruder wielding an “assault-style weapon” was among two men who invaded a West Ward home this morning, police say.

Two women and three men were inside the house on the 200 block of Church Street when the two armed suspects walked in through an unlocked door around 10:30 a.m., Lt. Steve Varn said. The suspects allegedly held the men and women at gunpoint and demanded money from them.

From one of the women, the suspects took a “substantial” amount of cash — more than $2,000, Varn said. No one was assaulted or injured, and the suspects soon fled the home and drove away.

Police are looking for a white Chevrolet Lumina with Pennsylvania plates and tinted windows, which they believe the suspects were riding in.

Full descriptions of the suspects were not available, though Varn said one of them was wielding an “assault-style weapon.” Both suspects were wearing masks.

There’s no immediate indication the home invasion was tried to drug activity, Varn said.

Anyone with information on the case should call police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

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In a decision published today, the court said that Kelsey could not be asked to produce the flashlight because doing so could violate his right against self-incrimination.

A Trenton police car positioned on Chambers Street at the intersection of Greenwood Ave. Michael Mancuso / The Times of Trenton  

TRENTON — Charges against a former city cop will go before a grand jury in the next few months, which will determine if he is to be indicted on aggravated assault charges for his alleged role in a bar brawl in 2011.

The case against Mylon Kelsey was on hold while an appellate court was deciding if the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office could request that Kelsey produce a flashlight they believe to be the weapon used in the alleged assault. Kelsey was suspended following a probe of the incident.

In a decision published today, the court said that Kelsey could not be asked to produce the flashlight because doing so could violate his right against self-incrimination.

Prosecutors alleged that Kelsey, who was at the time a Trenton police officer, was off duty at the TriNaNog Bar on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton on Jan, 17, 2011, when a fight broke out outside the bar. The fight was reported to Hamilton Township Police who responded to the scene at about 1 a.m. According to court documents, one caller told a dispatcher that one of the men in the fight was using a flashlight as a weapon. No arrests were made and no charges were filed in connection with the fight at that time.

The next day, after it was reported that some of the participants in the fight were off-duty officers, Trenton police initiated an internal investigation into the incident.

Four victims and two eyewitnesses were interviewed as part of the investigation. They said that one man was wielding a flashlight and struck two people in the head with it, causing concussions. The witnesses told police that the man carried the flashlight to a car.

Investigators got a search warrant for Kelsey’s car in which they found an empty flashlight box, but no flashlight.

A Superior Court judge had initially ruled that Kelsey would have to give the prosecutors the flashlight, but when his attorney asked for a reconsideration of that decision, the judge overturned the ruling, saying Kelsey did not have to produce the flashlight. The prosecutor’s office unsuccessfully appealed that ruling.

Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Katz, who has been working on the case, said now that the decision has been published she plans to present the case to grand jury in the near future.

Kelsey’s attorney did not respond to messages left at his office today.

In addition to criminal charges, Kelsey is also one of the targets of a civil lawsuit filed by the alleged victims in the incident. Also named in the suit is the City of Trenton, the Trenton Police Department and the owners of the bar. The suit also names Officers Jason Astbury, Frederick Bender, Thomas Connell and Michael Schiaretti, alleging that they were also involved in the incident.

The lawsuit, filed on Dec. 24, alleges that Max Bruno, Jonathan O’Donnell, Brian Pagano and Richard Wood were assaulted, beat and injured in the incident. The men are suing for an unspecified amount in damages because of the injuries they sustained.

A representative from Trenton’s law office said the city had not yet received a copy of the complaint today

Trenton police spokesman Lt. Steven Varn declined to comment about the incident, saying it is an internal affairs and personnel issue.

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

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John Doyle Sr. allegedly made comments to three people that he and his “several thousand followers” would “take care of” a prosecutor who had offered him a plea deal in a criminal case.

The Mercer County Criminal Courthouse in Trenton. Michael Mancuso/The Times  

A Camden County man who allegedly threatened to blow up a state police barracks and the house and car of a deputy attorney general must undergo a second psychological evaluation before he can post $60,000 bail, a Superior Court judge in Trenton ruled this morning.

John Doyle Sr., 43, of Gloucester City was arrested after he allegedly sent messages to a deputy attorney general and made comments to three people that he and his “several thousand followers” would “take care of” a prosecutor who had offered him a plea deal in a criminal case.

Supervising Deputy Attorney General Mark Eliades said Doyle sent threats to another prosecutor in his office saying, “This is war.” He also said he would place an improvised explosive device under the state police barracks, Eliades said.

The threats came after the prosecutor presented a plea offer on drug charges filed in Camden County to Doyle’s attorney in early January, Eliades said. Doyle and his juvenile son had allegedly been selling prescription drugs from their home.

Investigators had searched the home in March 2012 and found “several hundred prescription drugs and a bullet proof vest among other things,” Eliades said. Doyle is also facing aggravated assault, burglary and weapons charges from an incident in November 2012.

A Camden County judge sent Doyle for mental health evaluation on Jan. 25, Eliades said, and Doyle was released after a doctor determined he was not a threat to himself or others.

While he was under evaluation, Doyle told people at the hospital that he could arrange for someone to bring a 9mm weapon into the facility and made threats to the employees, Eliades said.

The state police subsequently took him to the Mercer County Corrections Center, where he remains, Eliades said.

Doyle gave a statement to state police acknowledging that he made the threats but said he never intended to kill anyone, Eliades said.

“He also admitted to having serious mental health problems,” Eliades said.

Doyle’ attorney did not appear at the hearing this morning, but the judge said if an attorney is able to appear on Doyle's behalf he would reconsider the terms of the bail. Doyle agreed this morning to undergo a new psychological evaluation.

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The woman, Brittany Smith, 21, of Keyport was also arrested and charged with prostitution and possession of drugs. Her case is still pending.

Brittany Smith, a 20-year-old Keyport resident, shown at left, is accused of advertising herself as a prostitute on Craigslist. Eric Everett, a 23-year-old employee of the University Store in Princeton, shown at right, was arrested for soliciting Smith as a prostitute at the store, police said.  

PRINCETON – A Chesterfield man who allegedly had sex with a prostitute at the University Store on Princeton University’s campus while he was employed there has entered into a court diversion program for first-time offenders.

Eric Everett, 23, was admitted into the pre-trial intervention program on Jan. 9, according to court records. If he successfully completes program, charges of theft and soliciting prostitution will be dropped from his record.

Everett will have to pay $700 in restitution to Princeton University, complete 40 hours of community service and be supervised for a year, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutors Office.

Everett allegedly contacted a prostitute through Craigslist and had sex with her in the store on three occasions, police said.

The woman, Brittany Smith, 21, of Keyport was also arrested and charged with prostitution and possession of drugs. Neither she or Everett are Princeton University students.

The two allegedly communicated online and agreed to meet at the store to have sex at a price that Smith set. During the encounters both Smith and Everett stole food from the store, police said. It was through the investigation of the food thefts that investigators discovered the prostitution, police said.

The building on University Place that houses the store is owned by the university, but the school does not operate the store.

The charges against Smith are pending. She is expected to appear in court for a hearing later this month.

Previous coverage:

• Worker for University Store in Princeton is accused of hiring alleged prostitute through Craigslist for sex at the campus shop

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Duckett entered into a plea agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, pleading guilty to selling the contraband to inmates in return for the five-year sentence.

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

TRENTON — A former corrections officer at Trenton State Prison who smuggled cell phones and other contraband into the prison for inmates was sentenced to five years behind bars yesterday.

Sterling Duckett, 46, of Sicklerville, had been a corrections officer for 14 years when he was indicted in 2010 on charges of official misconduct, bribery and smuggling items such as cell phones, drugs and escape tools into the maximum-security facility.

Duckett entered into a plea agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, pleading guilty to selling the contraband to inmates in return for the five-year sentence.

Other charges against Duckett were dropped, including an official misconduct charge that could have kept him incarcerated for five years before he became eligible for parole. Under the sentence he received yesterday he is immediately eligible for parole.

Duckett has no previous criminal record.

As part of his sentence, Duckett will have to forfeit his job and will be permanently barred from working as a public employee.

Duckett’s attorney Robin Lord said her client had a lapse of judgement and was manipulated by the inmates.

“It is because he has such a big heart, because he is so compassionate,” Lord said. “He thought he was giving a guy a break.”

Assistant Prosecutor James Scott said he hoped that other corrections officers would look at Duckett’s case and see that it is not worth it to bring in contraband, such as cell phones, into the prison for inmates.

Scott said inmates at the state prison are “the worst of the worst,” often using smuggled cell phones to organize crimes from inside jail.

Duckett and other corrections officers were arrested in 2010 after an investigation conducted by the Department of Corrections Special Investigations Unit.

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

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In a news release, police said Colin Matthew Hayman and Randolph V. Edwards, both 20, were each being held on $700,000 bail.

FILE PHOTO: A Hamilton police officer walks to his car from the Police Station located on Whitehorse Mercerville Road. Times File Photo  

HAMILTON – Police named two Trenton men caught after allegedly breaking into a township home Wednesday, saying both have been charged with ten counts of burglary and theft.

In a news release, police said Colin Matthew Hayman and Randolph V. Edwards, both 20, were each being held on $700,000 bail. A police spokesman was not available for additional comment.

Police were sent to the first block of Sandalwood Avenue shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after a reported burglary at a home there. One suspect was arrested immediately, but police had to track down the second during a search that led them to backyards around Basin Road near the Hamilton train station.

That suspect was arrested after a brief foot chase, the police press release said.
Detectives Len Gadsby, Salvatore Vaccaro, Robert Diszler and Daniel Inman investigated the case.

Both Hayman and Edwards are listed as unemployed.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call police at (609) 581-4008.

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The pair, both 20, were inside the home on the 100 block of Fulton Street in the city’s Chambersburg section around 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

A Trenton police car positioned on Chambers Street at the intersection of Greenwood Ave. Michael Mancuso / The Times of Trenton  

TRENTON – A man and woman who told three armed intruders they had no cash, surrendered a cell phone instead, police said.

The pair, both 20, were inside the home on the 100 block of Fulton Street in the city’s Chambersburg section around 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday. According to police, three suspects kicked down the back door and went inside, where one of the suspects pointed a handgun at the victims.

They demanded money, but both victims told the suspects they had nothing to give up. The suspects took the phone instead and the home invasion ended with the robbers fleeing on foot, police said.

Police were called out to the scene afterward, and confirmed the door had been forced open. No injuries were reported.

The suspects are described as three black men, 18 to 25 years old, one wearing a gray hoodie and another a black hoodie. There was no further description on the third suspect.

Anyone with information should call police at (609) 989-4170, or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.

As part of the agreement, charges against Guzman, such as drug distribution and six counts of aggravated assault, were dismissed.

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

TRENTON - A city man who rammed a police car while trying to escape arrest in 2010 was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Joselito Guzman, 20, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest as part of a negotiated plea agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

As part of the agreement, charges against Guzman, such as drug distribution and six counts of aggravated assault, were dismissed.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Sumners warned Guzman that he is a young man with plenty of time to put these type of criminal activities in the past.

“You can’t erase what you did you can only deal with what you do in the future,” Sumners said. “Everything that you have done that you think you are going to get away with, it will come back to haunt you.”

Guzman was arrested after the incident in December 2010 when police tried to pull over his car, prosecutors said. Police believed Guzman had been involved in a robbery they witnessed near the intersection of Hudson Street and South Clinton Avenue and followed him with lights flashing and sirens on, prosecutors said.

Guzman refused to pull over but at some point during the pursuit stopped and backed into the police vehicle, prosecutors said.

When Guzman stopped the car on Lamberton Street and when an officer got out of the police car, Guzman allegedly began driving directly at the officer, who fired three shots, prosecutors said.

Guzman was arrested after his car crashed into a tree.

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

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The dog died after suffering four broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung, the prosecutor's office said.

Dog trainer Michael Rosenberg faces charges of animal cruelty. Mercer County Prosecutor's Office  

PRINCETON — A Princeton man was indicted by a state grand jury this week on charges of animal cruelty for allegedly beating and killing a dog he was hired to train.

Michael G. Rosenberg, 31, was hired in August to train Shyanne, a 3-year-old German Shepherd mix. The dog died after suffering four broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutors Office.

Prosecutors said the dog, owned by Lawrence resident Tracy Stanton, was also suffering from hyperthermia.

The case against Rosenberg was presented Wednesday to a grand jury, which returned the indictment on the animal cruelty charge.

Rosenberg hit Shyanne with a crop whip, picked up the dog and slammed her to the ground, and jabbed his fingers into the dog's ribs, according to Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson. Johnson said Rosenberg did not seek medical attention for the dog.

If convicted, Rosenberg faces a maximum of five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.

When reached by phone this afternoon, James Wronko, Rosenberg's attorney, said he was unaware of the indictment and that his client maintains he is innocent.

"He says (the charges) are ridiculous and he look s forward to going to trail and exonerating himself," Wronko said.

Rosenberg was initially charged with six counts of animal cruelty in the case, but was indicted on only one count. He is scheduled to be arranged March 8.

Last month, a second dog owner filed similar charges against Rosenberg. A Montgomery woman alleged that in May he beat her bull terrier Ziggy at her home. Rosenberg was also charged with beating his own dogs over a period of several months.

DeBlasio said Rosenberg is being held in a correctional facility for a violation of the terms of his sex offender status. He was convicted in 2011 on child endangerment charges after he engaged in sexual activity with a juvenile. He is a registered sex offender.

Previous coverage:

• Princeton dog trainer accused of beating dog to death faces new charges

• 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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The 25-year-old man was walking in the area of South Clinton and Whittaker avenues when two suspects demanded his money, police said.

A 25-year-old city man was shot in the neck during an armed robbery at the corner of South Clinton Avenue and Whittaker Avenue. Google Maps  

TRENTON — A city man was robbed and shot in the neck in the Chambersburg neighborhood last night, police said.

The 25-year-old man was walking in the area of South Clinton and Whittaker avenues when two suspects demanded his money, Lt. Steve Varn said.

He turned over his wallet and one of the suspects shot him in the neck with a handgun, Varn said.

Varn said the man was treated for a through-and-through neck wound at St. Francis Medical Center and released.

The shooter was described as a 22-year-old black male, about 6 feet tall with a thin build, wearing a brown leather jacket and ski mask. The other suspect was a black male, roughly 24 years old, about 6 feet tall and heavily built, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Detective Brian Jones at (609) 989-4131.

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“He was shot in the manner of a hunted animal,” the prosecutor said. “He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and he didn’t have the opportunity to defend himself.”

EWING — A township man was sentenced to 25 years in prison today for shooting his neighbor to death in July 2011 after they argued over a parking spot.

Wayne Voorhees, 52, pointed a shotgun out the window of his apartment at the Versailles apartment complex and shot 24-year-old Timothy Rivella, who was in the parking lot below.

“Timothy Rivella was shot not once, not twice, but multiple times,” Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Katz said during a hearing this morning in Superior Court in Trenton.

“He was shot in the manner of a hunted animal,” Katz said. “He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and he didn’t have the opportunity to defend himself.”

Rivella’s family, including his parents, uncles, cousins and best friend, attended the hearing and consoled each other as Judge Pedro Jimenez handed down Voorhees’ sentence.

“Our lives will never be the same,” said Angela Rivella, Timothy Rivella’s grandmother.

“There is no such thing as closure,” she said, fighting back tears as she spoken on behalf of the family. “Nothing we can do will bring him back.”

Voorhees will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence, or a little more than 21 years, before he would be eligible for parole. After release he will have to serve five years of parole.

Jimenez also ordered Voorhees to pay $15,562 in restitution to the Rivella family for funeral expenses.

Previous coverage:

• Ewing man admits killing his neighbor over parking space dispute, prompting lengthy police standoff

• Authorities explain delay on moving shooting victim during Ewing's standoff

• Accused Ewing apartment shooter indicted on murder, weapons charges

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