TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced
that a member of the Gangster Killer Bloods
set of the Bloods street gang pleaded guilty
today to the 2005 slaying of a Trenton man
who was gunned down because he showed disrespect
to members of the gang.
Richard
Lamar Jenkins, 26, of Trenton, pleaded guilty
to charges of aggravated manslaughter and
conspiracy to commit murder before Superior
Court Judge Edward M. Neafsey in Mercer
County. Jenkins pleaded guilty to killing
Otis Jones, 26, who was shot in the head
at Brunswick Avenue and Sanford Street in
Trenton on the afternoon of June 20, 2005.
Under
the plea agreement, the state will recommend
that Jenkins be sentenced to 15 years in
state prison, including nearly 13 years
of parole ineligibility. Bernard Green,
29, a.k.a. Petey Black, the alleged leader
in Trenton of the Gangster Killer Bloods
or G-Shine set, is also charged with the
murder. The two men were charged in a July
15, 2010 state grand jury indictment, which
superseded a county indictment obtained
by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s
Office in 2006. Deputy Attorney General
Daniel I. Bornstein took the guilty plea
for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau.
“This
guilty plea is an important step toward
justice for Otis Jones, who fell victim
to the wave of senseless gang violence inflicted
in Trenton by members of the Gangster Killer
Bloods and other Bloods factions in 2005,”
said Attorney General Dow. “Working
with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s
Office, we are continuing our prosecution
of Trenton gang members, including alleged
leader Bernard Green, who is charged in
the killing of Jones and two other murders.”
Jones
allegedly was shot because he showed disrespect
to gang members while trying to recover
a gold necklace of his that had been stolen.
In pleading guilty, Jenkins admitted that
he conspired with Green to shoot Jones.
Jenkins said that Green spoke to him twice
about shooting Jones, and he agreed to carry
out the shooting for Green, who was his
commander in the gang. Jenkins said Green
was with him in a car when they found Jones.
Jenkins admitted that he shot Jones in the
head. Jones had been loading his car to
go fishing. Green faces charges of first-degree
murder, conspiracy to commit murder and
weapons offenses in the killing of Jones.
The
state grand jury indictment that charged
Green and Jenkins stemmed from “Operation
Capital City,” an investigation by
the Division of Criminal Justice, Mercer
County Prosecutor’s Office, Trenton
Police Department and State Police.
The indictment also charges Green with two
other murders, including the August 2005
murder of Sharee Voorhees, who was caught
in gunfire while out on her porch. It charges
a total of 14 Trenton residents, including
Green and Jenkins, with first-degree racketeering
as alleged members of the Gangster Killer
Bloods
The
murders and other acts of violence charged
in the indictment occurred in 2005, when
violence erupted between the Gangster Killer
Bloods and two rival Bloods sets, the Nine
Trey Gangsters and Sex Money Murder. Green
allegedly directed the gang’s activities,
including drug trafficking and violence
involving assault rifles and semi-automatic
handguns, which were used to defend the
gang’s turf and settle scores with
other gangs.
Green
is charged along with Keith “Droop”
Parker, 30, in the murder of Voorhees, 22,
who was fatally wounded in gunfire on Monmouth
Street on Aug. 28, 2005. The men allegedly
were part of a group of gang members who
targeted a car they believed was occupied
by Joseph James, a.k.a. “Hell Rell,”
a reputed high-ranking member of the Nine
Trey Gangsters. It was the wrong car. The
car was driven by Michael Cadlett, who had
five passengers. One bullet struck Cadlett
in the stomach, and another traveled down
the street and hit Voorhees in the chest.
In
addition, Green, Anthony “Ace”
Coleman, 26, and Curtis “Lil Curt”
Hawkins, 24, are charged in the murder of
Kareem Washington, 28, of the Nine Trey
Gangsters. He was fatally shot in the neck
on Ellsworth Avenue on Aug. 28, 2005, the
same day Voorhees was shot, allegedly in
retaliation for shootings the day before
on Passaic Street that wounded three Gangster
Killer Bloods members.
The
indictment is posted with the July 19, 2010
press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
Attorney
General Dow commended the dedicated efforts
of all of the attorneys and investigators
who have worked on the case, including:
For
the Division of Criminal Justice and its
Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Andrew Butchko,
Deputy Attorney General Daniel I. Bornstein,
Volunteer Associate Randy Miller, Deputy
Attorney General Steven Bennet, Lead Detective
Cortney Lawrence, Detective Edward Augustyn
III, Sgt. Keith Stopko, Lt. Richard J. Nocella,
Chief of Detectives Paul Morris and First
Deputy Chief of Detectives Allan Buecker.
For
the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office,
Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Korngut, who
is Chief of the Mercer County Homicide Unit,
Lead Detective Brian Kiely, Chief William
Straniero, Lt. Richard Frascella, Sgt. Michael
Novembre, Detective James Francis, and Retired
Detective Frank Clayton. For the Trenton
Police Department, Lt. Chris Doyle, Detective
Frank Guido, Detective Gary Britton, Detective
Nathan Bolognini, the Trenton Police Crime
Scene Unit, and Former Police Director Irving
Bradley.
For
the New Jersey State Police, the Electronic
Surveillance Unit and from the Organized
Crime Control Central Bureau, Bureau Chief
Lt. Rick Nuel, Lt. Jay Sullivan, Sgt. Jim
Burnham, and Trooper Chris Sharpe
Attorney
General Dow also credited the Mercer County
Sheriff’s Office and members of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration VEST
initiative for their valuable assistance.
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