Juanya Weathers will likely be charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after allegedly using an unknown object to stab a 33-year-old in the neck and back.

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — The 18-year-old accused of threatening to shoot up Trenton Central High School more than a year ago stabbed a fellow inmate twice in a fight at the Mercer County Corrections Center yesterday, officials said.

Juanya Weathers will likely be charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after allegedly using an unknown object to stab the 33-year-old victim in the neck and back. Motive for the brawl in the workhouse’s general population area was under investigation yesterday, said Julie Willmot, a county spokeswoman. The man’s injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, she said.

Weathers was charged as an adult following what school officials called a near-disaster on Nov. 29, 2012, that was averted by an observant cab driver. After a lunchtime brawl in the high school cafeteria where Weathers was beaten, he allegedly left the school, went home, retrieved a handgun and headed back to the high school by cab.

But Weathers was thwarted by the cab driver, who began to drive in a roundabout trail as Weathers spoke with his girlfriend about spraying up the people who had jumped him, prosecutors said in court last year. Though Weathers bailed from the cab on Adeline Street, the cabbie was able to alert authorities, who locked down the high school and dismissed classes that afternoon under heavy police guard. Weathers was arrested that afternoon.

The heroic cabbie who turned him in was praised by police and school administrators, but was too frightened to identify himself publicly, according to co-workers at the time. He quit his job and hasn’t been heard from since.

Yesterday’s stabbing occurred in the general population area of the facility off Route 29 around 1:10 p.m., Willmot said. Kareem Pygum, the 33-year-old inmate who Weathers allegedly stabbed, was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton for treatment.

No corrections officers were injured in the assault. Corrections authorities are investigating.

Pygum had been in the correction center in lieu of $100,000 bail since October 2013 on aggravated assault charges, Willmot said.

Weathers had been held in county custody since June 2013, when he was formally charged as an adult.

During a search of his bedroom the day of his arrest, police had found a sawed-off shotgun, case for a handgun, ammunition and more than 1,000 decks of heroin, police said, and he was charged with multiple drug and weapons offenses.

Prosecutors last year offered Weathers a plea deal that would have reduced the charges to one possession with intent to distribute heroin within 1,000 feet of a school and one possession of a sawed-off shotgun with a sentence of five years in prison without the possibility of parole.

No decision on the plea deal had been announced prior to yesterday, and Weathers was scheduled for a court date on April 7.

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

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Dashawn Bethea, 24, shot at a group of people on the 400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue on June 9, 2013, but missed his intended targets.

A judge today maintained bail at more than $1 million for a Trenton man accused of killing an innocent bystander and wounding his own father last year.

Dashawn Bethea, 24, shot at a group of people on the 400 block of Stuyvesant Avenue on June 9, 2013, but missed his intended targets and struck 61-year-old Berkely Walter McDaniel in the head, Assistant Prosecutor Lew Korngut said.

Two of his intended targets told police they knew Bethea meant to shoot them, Korngut said. A third man told police Bethea admitted to him that the death of McDaniel was an accident, Korngut said.

“There’s a strong case against him, two witnesses and he admitted to a third witness,” Korngut said.

McDaniel was walking home with Charles Boston, 51, who was shot in the shoulder. Bethea’s attorney Kathleen Redpath-Perez said that Bethea would never shoot in the direction of Boston, who was his father.

“He denies the allegations against him. Charles Boston is actually his father, and he would have no motive,” Redpath-Perez said.

Bethea is charged with murder and attempted murder, and has pending cases involving several weapons offenses.

“He has a number of gun offenses, which is rather disturbing,” Korngut said.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Brown maintained Bethea’s bail for the murder charge at $1 million cash only, and upheld bail for his other charges at $100,000 cash only.

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Police linked Markquice “Tank” Thomas to the shooting through his car, a Mercury Montego, which had been involved in a traffic stop the day before

Markquice R. Thomas, also known as "Tank," stood on Martin Luther King Boulevard near the intersection of Rossell Avenue around 3:45 p.m. March 9 and fired a handgun several times at Joseph Gaines, who was seated in the vehicle parked outside a memorial set up outside the club, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office announced said in a statement.Courtesy of Mercer County Prosecutor's Office 

Police linked Markquice “Tank” Thomas to the March 9 shooting through his car, a Mercury Montego, in which they had found drugs March 8, Assistant Prosecutor Lew Korngut said.

“He’s got heroin in his pocket, heroin drops to the ground, he’s arrested,” Korngut said in a bail hearing for Thomas this morning.

Thomas is charged with attempted murder for shooting Gaines, 45, as he sat inside a vehicle parked outside the club on the 900 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard. A memorial was set up outside the club, which was the scene of a deadly shooting the day before.

“Mr. Thomas admitted being at the scene of the crime and driving the Mercury Montego -- which he is seen on video driving -- but he denies doing the shooting,” Korngut said.

Thomas’ attorney Mark Fury said Thomas could not have been at the scene of the shooting because he had given his car keys to another person the night before and she misplaced them.

“Mr. Thomas and the car he was alleged to use were on another street,” Fury said. “I’m going to be able to show the defendant wasn’t there.”

Korngut said there is video evidence that Thomas was at the scene, and Thomas admitted to police he was there.

In addition to the charges stemming from his arrest the day before the shooting, Thomas has a number of prior drug convictions, Superior Court Judge Thomas Brown said.

“His priors relate to drugs, but there’s nothing in his background to allude a murder or attempted murder would follow suit,” Fury said.

Brown maintained Thomas’ bail for the attempted murder at $250,000 cash or bond and for his drug offenses at $20,000 cash or bond.

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Brian Johnson, 44, and Damien Johnson, 38, are standing trial before Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier on charges of murder and could each face life in prison.

TRENTON — Prosecutors yesterday showed a jury photos of a Hamilton man’s lifeless body, taken after he was shot in the face during a December 2008 home invasion in Trenton.

Trenton police officer Robert Villa said the photos, which showed 38-year-old Joseph Costanza dead on a living room floor with a gunshot wound to his face, depicted what he saw when he got to the home the night of Dec. 1, 2008.

“I was able to see the victim through the glass on the screen door,” Villa said. “There was sufficient lighting.”

Villa and his partner were the first to arrive at the home on the 1400 block of South Clinton Avenue after Costanza’s murder.

Brian Johnson, 44, and Damien Johnson, 38, are standing trial before Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier on charges of murder, first-degree felony murder, robbery, burglary and weapons charges. If convicted, each defendant could face life in prison.

Mark Walker, a former friend of the Johnsons, testified yesterday that the men told him they wanted to enter the house and steal drugs and money. A witness in the case has previously testified that he used heroin at the home, which had multiple occupants.

Costanza, a U.S. Navy veteran and college student, was in the house at the time the Johnsons entered and was shot because he flinched, Walker said yesterday.

On Monday another witness, Linda Tesauro Hillman testified that Costanza stood up as if he was going to show the masked intruders he had no money in his pockets, and was then shot.

Walker said he and the Johnsons used to drive around Trenton and
drink coffee. It was during one of those rides that Brian Johnson told him he wanted to steal from the house because he saw people coming and going and knew they were dealing drugs or “eating.”

“I didn’t really take it no type of way, though. We’re riding around all over, people are eating all over the city,” Walker said. “That’s what was around there: dope fiends.”

Damien Johnson’s attorney Bruce Throckmorton said the Johnsons did not actually plan to steal drugs or money, and have observed drug dealing all over the city and have not committed robberies elsewhere.

“It really wasn’t very meaningful; it was just a comment,” Throckmorton said.

Walker said the men drove by the house a few days later and saw the police tape out front. The Johnsons admitted to stealing heroin from the house and shooting Costanza, he said.

“It went past like it was nothing,” Walker said of the confession.

He said he was with the men later when they threw the gun into the Delaware River, but he stayed in the car when they got out to make sure it sank to the bottom.

Walker said Damien Johnson planned to take the stolen heroin to Camden to sell, but the deal fell through.

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

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Anthony DiMatteo, of Hamilton, admitted in court yesterday that he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. The conspiracy was centered at JoJo’s Steak House, the steak shop owned by Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni and operated by Giorgianni’s caretaker Mary Manfredo.

Hamilton resident Anthony DiMatteo, left, leaves the Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Courthouse in Trenton after a plea hearing on Thursday, March 21, 2013. 

TRENTON – The final defendant in the FBI’s wide ranging investigation into former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and his cohorts has pleaded guilty.

Anthony DiMatteo, of Hamilton, admitted in court yesterday that he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. The conspiracy was centered at JoJo’s Steak House, the steak shop owned by Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni and operated by Giorgianni’s caretaker Mary Manfredo.

DiMatteo, 32, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 24.
DiMatteo’s attorney Robert Plaza did not immediately return a call left with his office.

Manfredo and Giorgianni pleaded in the drug case last year. Five others admitted their involvement in the conspiracy where individuals would get a prescription from a doctor, get it filled and drop off the pills to the steak shop where they would then be redistributed and sold.

Giorgianni was also charged alongside Mack and his brother Ralphiel on corruption charges related to a parking garage development. Girogianni also admitted he accepted cash bribe payments from the developer, who was really working as a FBI informant, on behalf of the mayor, and sometimes diverted the cash to Ralphiel Mack.

The Mack brothers were not involved in the drug ring, but were convicted on the corruption charges on February 7.

During their corruption investigation, the FBI discovered the pill peddling scheme.

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Joseph Costanzo died from complications to a gunshot wound to the face, Mercer County Medical Examiner Dr. Rafaat Ahmad said.

TRENTON — In the ongoing trial over the murder of Joseph Costanzo, a medical examiner today testified that the 38-year-old Hamilton man shot during a 2008 home invasion died after he choked on his own blood.

Costanzo died from complications to a gunshot wound to the face, Mercer County Medical Examiner Dr. Rafaat Ahmad said.

The bullet entered through his right cheek, passed through his mouth and entered his left shoulder and lodged in his upper left arm, Ahmad said.

“The blood collected in his mouth and then it went down in his airway,” Ahmad said. “He couldn’t breathe. He’d be gurgling initially, then he’d die.”

Brian Johnson and Damien Johnson, who are not related, are on trial for Costanzo’s murder. Prosecutors allege they wanted to enter a house on the 1400 block of South Clinton Avenue on the night of Dec. 1, 2008 to steal money and drugs. Costanzo was in the living room of the home watching Monday Night Football.

Troy Negron, who was at the home at the time, said he saw Costanzo get shot and was at his side a few minutes later, after the intruders left.

“He was gurgling, holding his face in the couch,” Negron said of Costanzo.
Ahmad said that from the autopsy it was evident that Costanzo had bled profusely.

“I found he had lost a lot of blood,” Ahmad said.

A small pattern of dots on Costanzo’s face — caused by unburned gun powder —revealed he was shot from between 18 and 20 inches away, Ahmad said.

The gun powder only leaves marks on a person’s skin when they are shot at close range, Ahmad said. If a gun is closer than 18 inches away when a person is shot, their skin would be charred, she said. There would be no such marks if a person is shot from farther away, she said.

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

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After seeing a drug deal in Trenton yesterday, Mercer County Sheriff's Officers tracked down and arrested a man carrying heroin and cocaine, officials said.

Corey ThomasCourtesy of Mercer County Sheriff's Office 

TRENTON — After seeing a drug deal in Trenton yesterday, Mercer County Sheriff’s Officers tracked down and arrested a man carrying heroin and cocaine, officials said.

Corey Thomas, 30, was allegedly involved in a drug transaction while in a car on the 300 block of Ferry Street around 11:30 a.m., the office said in a news release.

A nearby sheriff’s patrol unit witnessed the deal and Thomas attempted to escape by getting out of his vehicle and taking off on foot, the office said. Officers caught up to and apprehended Thomas three blocks away near the intersection of Bridge and Lamberton streets, the office said.

During the chase, Thomas allegedly threw drugs out of his pockets and officers recovered 150 decks of heroin contained in packaging with the words “Magic Dust” and 3 grams of crack cocaine, the office said.

Thomas faces a number of possession and distribution charges for the heroin and crack cocaine including possession of controlled dangerous substances within 1,000 feet of a school, Parker Elementary, and possession with intent to distribute near a public park, Bridge Street Park, the office said.

He also is charged with resisting arrest by flight and use of physical force, and is being held at the Mercer County Correction Center in lieu of $250,000 bail.

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Hamilton resident Anthony DiMatteo admitted in court Tuesday that he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone based at JoJo's Steak House.

By Alex Zdan and Jenna Pizzi

TRENTON — The final defendant in the FBI’s wide-ranging investigation into former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and his cohorts has pleaded guilty.

Hamilton resident Anthony DiMatteo admitted in court Tuesday that he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone based at JoJo’s Steak House, and operated under the control of Mack’s friend and campaign supporter, Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni.

DiMatteo, 32, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 24. He had been indicted on three counts, but pleaded guilty to just one under the terms of the agreement.

“If I plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, all other charges will be dismissed,” DiMatteo wrote in his own hand on the plea application. DiMatteo’s attorney Robert Plaza did not immediately return a call left with his office today.

DiMatteo was one of nine people, including Giorgianni and his longtime companion Mary Manfredo, linked to the ring selling prescription painkillers. He was arrested along with Mack, Mack’s brother Ralphiel and Giorgianni on Sept. 10, 2012. The FBI said DiMatteo obtained 7,600 pills that were later sold between May 2011 and May 2012.

Manfredo and Giorgianni pleaded guilty in the drug case last December. Five others admitted their involvement in the conspiracy where individuals would get a prescription from a doctor, get it filled and drop off the pills to the steak shop, where they would then be redistributed and sold.

Though the drug scheme involved Giorgianni, who was indicted in a corruption sting along with the former mayor and eventually pleaded guilty, the case was treated separately and prosecutors consistently said the Mack brothers, who were convicted on corruption charges Feb. 7, were not involved. The FBI discovered the pill-peddling scheme during its investigation of Mack.

In the federal indictment handed up last March, prosecutors said DiMatteo introduced city employee Charles Hall III to the idea of obtaining painkillers from a North Jersey doctor. Hall sent two female acquaintances to the unnamed physician, where they fraudulently obtained pills for Hall to sell in exchange for cash or a small number of the painkillers.

DiMatteo’s role in the drug ring diminshed after late 2011, when Giorgianni and Hall saw their proceeds from pill sales decrease and lost trust in DiMatteo, according to the indictment. Giorgianni and Hall then switched to Giuseppe Scordato for the majority of the pill distribution.

In the months before his guilty plea, DiMatteo failed multiple drug tests and spent a month in jail before being released to a treatment program, according to court documents. His father Ralph, who also was arrested by the FBI and accused of buying painkillers, died last October before he could reach a trial date or plead.

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

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

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The 30-year-old was shot inside a house on Colonial Avenue, then fled to the nearby Rowan Towers apartment complex.

TRENTON - A city man was shot four times Wednesday night by intruders to a home on Colonial Avenue, police said this morning.

Though shot three times on the right side of his hip and once in the buttocks, the 30-year-old is expected to survive his injuries, said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman.

The victim was inside the home with four other people around 9:30 p.m. when four armed men allegedly forced their way inside. During the chaos, shots were fired and the 30-year-old was wounded by the intruders, according to police.

The 30-year-old fled a block away to the Rowan Towers apartment complex at 620 W. State St., where Detective Gairy Robinson was working off-duty security. Robinson called for an ambulance and the victim was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton for treatment.

Police are investigating what was going on at the house, which belongs to the mother of one of the five people who were inside, Kieffer said.

Also Thursday night, a 29-year-old man was shot in the arm and shoulder. Though the victim took a car to Capital Health Medical Center - Hopewell for treatment, he claimed he had been shot on Hoffman Avenue in the city around 9 p.m., Kieffer said.

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Prosecutors asked the state’s highest court to consider reinstating the gangster’s 2009 murder conviction. The conviction was overturned and sent back for a new trial after by the state appellate court in August. The state Supreme Court entered a denial today, saying they will not consider the matter.

Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete, waits at the defendant table for his trial to get underway at the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008.Martin Griff/ The Times of Trenton 

TRENTON – The state Supreme Court will not consider the case against Latin Kings gang leader Jose “Boom Bat” Negrete, according to a decision signed by Chief Justice Stewart Rabner this week.

Prosecutors asked the state’s highest court to consider reinstating the gangster’s 2009 murder conviction. The conviction was overturned and sent back for a new trial after by the state appellate court in August. The state Supreme Court entered a denial today, saying it will not consider the matter.

The appellate court found that because a juror in Negrete’s trial, identified as juror No. 8, told the others during deliberations that he had known the father of Dotson’s children and his girlfriend knew the people who were taking care of the children after their mother’s death.

Following the decision, Negrete, who also goes by the nickname “BoomBap” in court papers, was held in lieu of $2 million bail while he awaits the new trial on charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder connected to the 2004 execution-style killin of Jeri Lynn Dotson.

Negrete’s attorney Mark Fury did not immediately return calls left at his office.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment about the state supreme court’s decision not to hear their argument.

Last year Assistant Prosecutor Tom Meidt said many of the state’s witnesses are still available to testify. If the case goes to trial again, it would be the third time a jury would hear the evidence. The first time, in 2008, the jury was unable to make a decision about Negrete’s guilt or innocence.

The state alleges that Negrete sent three gang members to kill Dotson, a 23-year-old mother of two, because she had witnessed the abduction and attempted murder of another gang member. Her body was found near inside her Trenton home with her two young children.

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The raid was part of the Targeted Integrated Deployment Effort (TIDE), a State Police effort to lower violence crime in Trenton that has been ongoing since last August.

TRENTON - Two men were arrested and 28 bricks of heroin seized when the New Jersey State Police raided a West Ward home Tuesday, authorities said.

An investigation by troopers from the Crime Suppression unit and those who have been part of the ongoing Targeted Integrated Deployment Effort (TIDE) led to a search warrant for a home on the 200 block of Highland Avenue, said Trooper Jeff Flynn, a State Police spokesman.

Along with the TEAMS tactical unit and agency K-9s, troopers executed the warrant on Tuesday. Inside they found 28-year-old Michael Monroe and 27-year-old Robert "Monkey Boy" Gbanapolor and 28 bricks of heroin, Flynn said.

The TIDE initiative began last August as state troopers surged into Trenton in an attempt to reduce violent crime.

Both Monroe and Gbanapolor were charged with possession of a weapon, possession of heroin, possession with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public park, and unlawful weapons possession. They are both Bloods gang members, Flynn said.

Along with the drugs, Flynn said troopers seized cash, a .38 caliber semi-automatic handgun, and "numerous" .38, .380 and .22 caliber bullets.

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Maurice Wallace was arrested and charged with drug offenses in New Jersey and weapons and drug offenses in Pennsylvania, the office said.

TRENTON — A local drug task force completed a one-month drug investigation today with two arrests, and the seizure of two guns and $4,524 in drugs and cash, officials said.

The Mercer County Narcotics Task Force stopped Maurice Wallace, 26, in a car at Calhoun Street and Bellevue Avenue about 8:30 a.m. and executed a search warrant, officials said. They allegedly found him to be in possession of marijuana and crack cocaine, the county prosecutor’s office said in a news release.

Across the river in Morrisville, Pa. local police executed a warrant on Wallace’s Plaza Boulevard apartment and discovered two handguns, one defaced weapon, six grams of crack cocaine and 10 grams of marijuana, the release said.

Wallace was arrested and charged with drug offenses in New Jersey and weapons and drug offenses in Pennsylvania, the office said.

He is being held in lieu of $7,000 bail for the New Jersey charges and has a detainer placed on him from Pennsylvania, the office said.

In relation to the investigation, the task force also executed a search warrant at 407 N. Montgomery Ave. in Trenton where they allegedly found Mira Mathis, 37, with ecstasy, marijuana and $1,694 in cash in her apartment, the release said. Mathis was charged with drug offenses and is being held in lieu of bail.

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A man has been accused of breaking into a township jewelry store early Wednesday morning, police said.

HAMILTON — A man has been accused of breaking into a township jewelry store early Wednesday morning, police said.

Hamilton police responded to an alarm at Dave’s Sales Jewelers on Nottingham Way at 2:05 a.m. to find the store’s front glass door broken, police said in a news release.

The officers on scene then observed a man, later identified as Kariem Thompson, walking from the business, police said. As the officers approached, Thompson fled on foot and threw items believed to be stolen from the store out of his pockets, police said.

Thompson was arrested on Nottingham Way, police said. He was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief and obstruction by flight and is being held in lieu of $87,500, police said.

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A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly robbing and kidnapping an 85-year-old township woman at knife point, police said today.

HAMILTON — A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly robbing and kidnapping an 85-year-old township woman at knife point, police said today.

The victim told police that she was in her home Tuesday around 12:45 p.m. when she heard the doorbell ring. Police said she answered the door because she thought it was her grandson, but as she opened it a man later identified as Anthony Cucinotta allegedly forced his way in.

Cucinotta then allegedly pulled out a knife, grabbed the woman and demanded money, police said in a news release. She gave him $50, but he allegedly grabbed more from her purse and forced her into her car and drove her to the bank and demanded her account information, police said. The police report did not say whether Cucinotta withdrew money from the woman’s account.

Cucinotta allegedly then drove the victim around and then forced her out of her car on Rowan Avenue near William Street, police said. Township police arrested Cucinotta at 9:50 p.m. on Reeger Avenue, police said.

Cucinotta was charged with kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, burglary and weapons possession and is being held in lieu of $800,000 bail.

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An apparent home invasion by four armed men at a West Ward house that had marijuana stored inside left a city man shot four times Wednesday night, police said.

TRENTON — An apparent home invasion by four armed men at a West Ward house that had marijuana stored inside left a city man shot four times Wednesday night, police said.

The house on the first block of Colonial Avenue was left riddled with “numerous” hits from rifle rounds, Lt. Mark Kieffer said. Police officers who went inside the house in search of victims and suspects discovered a marijuana in plain view, then withdrew until a search warrant was issued yesterday.

Police believe their search will reveal more about the motive for the home invasion.
Though shot three times on the right side of his hip and once in the buttocks, the 29-year-old is expected to survive his injuries, said Kieffer, a police spokesman.

The victim was inside the home with four other people around 9:30 p.m. when four armed men allegedly forced their way inside. During the chaos, shots were fired and the 29-year-old was wounded by the intruders, according to police. The 29-year-old fled a block away to the Rowan Towers apartment complex at 620 W. State St., where Detective Gairy Robinson was working off-duty security. Robinson called for an ambulance and the victim was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton for treatment.

Police are investigating what was going on at the house, which belongs to the mother of one of the five people who were inside, Kieffer said.

Descriptions of the suspects, who were allegedly wearing dark hoodies and dark masks, were not available yesterday. No arrests have been made, and police did not announce any charges filed for drugs as of press time yesterday.

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While the 30-year-old victim told investigators he had been shot on Hoffman Avenue near Moreland Avenue around 9 p.m., no crime scene could be found there, police say.

TRENTON — Police were trying to find out yesterday where in the city a man who had been dropped off at a Hopewell hospital Wednesday night had been shot.

While the 30-year-old victim told investigators he had been shot on Hoffman Avenue near Moreland Avenue around 9 p.m., no crime scene could be found there, Lt. Mark Kieffer said.

Detectives were reviewing the evidence yesterday after receiving minimal cooperation from the victim the night before, Kieffer said.

The city resident, who was shot twice, only told police he had been walking in the area of Hoffman and Moreland when he heard four to five gunshots, then felt a burning sensation in his right shoulder and right hand.

He was able to flag down a passing Good Samaritan in a car, who drove him to Capital Health Medical Center — Hopewell for treatment, Kieffer said.

No one in the Hoffman Avenue area reported shots fired around that time, he said. Trenton police were called out to the hospital in Hopewell at 10:55 p.m., and the victim was subsequently transported back to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton to be treated for his injuries. Police did not believe they were life-threatening.

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The 18-year-old passenger who was wounded in the shooting was the target of the gunmen, police say.

TRENTON - Two gunmen opened fire on a taxi as it sped away on Walnut Avenue last night, wounding the 18-year-old passenger who was apparently the target of the shooting, police said today.

The victim was shot five times, in his back, upper back and right arm, and was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton. He is expected to survive, said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman.

The gunfire left the back window of the cab shot out, but but the cab driver was unhurt, Kieffer said.

Around 11:50 p.m. Thursday, the victim was on the 100 block of Walnut Avenue when the cab he had called arrived. As the teen got into the taxi, the driver spotted the two gunmen.

"They walk past the cab, the cab driver sees them in the rear-view mirror," Kieffer said. "The cab takes off and they fire into the back of the cab."

The driver sped a block up Walnut Avenue, where taxis line up around the back of the Trenton train station. There, he called for assistance and police and an ambulance were called.

Police yesterday had no information on what might have led to the shooting. Descriptions of the suspects were not available.

Both suspects were using handguns, police said.

Detective Edward Cunningham is investigating. 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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Twice this week, pizza deliverymen were robbed of their cars, cell phones and cash at knife point while fulfilling orders in the township, police said. One victim works for Domino's.

HAMILTON — Twice this week, pizza deliverymen were robbed of their cars, cell phones and cash at knife point while fulfilling orders in the township, police said.

About 2 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a reported robbery at Greenwood and Massachusetts avenues to find a Domino’s deliveryman who said he was approached by man with a large knife who demanded his money and car keys, police said in a news release. The suspect then forced the deliveryman to show him where his car was parked, police said.

As they approached the car, its alarm began to sound and the victim ran from the suspect, police said. The victim was not harmed, but he told police that the suspect made off with his silver four-door 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, cellphone and $70 in cash.

Then, about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to a similar call on the
100 block of S. Olden Avenue.

When officers arrived, they were met by a Purple Pizza deliveryman who said he was approached by a man with a knife who grabbed the victim’s car keys, cellphone and $60 in cash, police said.

The suspect forced the deliveryman to show him where his car was parked, and then ordered him to sit on the ground.

The suspect took off in the victim’s green four-door 1997 BMW 328i, police said, but the victim was not hurt.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to contact Detective James Walters at (609) 689-5822 or the Crime Tip Hotline at (609) 581-4008.

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A police search Thursday of the residence where a city man was shot during a home invasion revealed marijuana and three firearms, including an assault weapon, police said today.

TRENTON — A police search Thursday of the residence where a city man was shot during a home invasion revealed marijuana and three firearms, including an assault weapon, police said today.

No charges have been filed against the five victims who were inside the home on Colonial Avenue when four male intruders burst in Wednesday night, firing rifle rounds and leaving a 29-year-old shot four times. He is expected to survive his injuries, police said.

Police officers going through the house the night of the shooting to check for additional victims or suspects spotted the marijuana in plain view, said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman. As soon as they were satisfied no one else was in the house, the officers withdrew to await a search warrant, Kieffer said.

That warrant arrived late Thursday and a thorough search of the duplex revealed an SKS assault rifle and two handguns, along with a significant quantity of marijuana, Kieffer said.

The motive for the home invasion remains under investigation. A full description of the suspects, who were masked, was unavailable.

Police said the home is owned by the mother of one of the people who was inside when the home invasion took place. The owner herself was not there and does not make the home her primary residence.

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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A city teenager who was shot five times while in the back of a taxi Thursday night is expected to survive his injuries, police said yesterday.

TRENTON — A city teenager who was shot five times while in the back of a taxi Thursday night is expected to survive his injuries, police said yesterday.

Two gunmen opened fire on the cab as it sped away on Walnut Avenue, wounding the 18-year-old passenger, who was apparently the target of the shooting, police said. Both suspects were firing handguns, according to police.

“They walk past the cab, the cab driver sees them in the rear-view mirror,” said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman. “The cab takes off and they fire into the back of the cab.”

The 18-year-old victim was shot multiple times in his back and right arm, and was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton. The gunfire left the back window of the cab shot out, but the cab driver was unhurt, Kieffer said.

The victim was on the 100 block of Walnut Avenue around 11:50 p.m. Thursday when he needed a ride to take him to another area. He called a city cab company whose name was not disclosed, and a taxi was sent to pick him up.

Just as the victim was getting into the taxi, the driver spotted the two gunmen, who opened fire on the vehicle. With his wounded passenger in the rear seat, the driver sped a block up

Walnut Avenue, where taxis line up around the back of the Trenton train station.

There, he called for help, and police and an ambulance were called.

Police yesterday had no information on what might have led to the shooting. Descriptions of the suspects were not available.

There was no indication the cab driver was aware of the shooting or targeted by the gunmen, Kieffer said.

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

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