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 — 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.