A Trenton man charged with two counts of murder, in addition to other violent crimes, is headed to trial in Mercer County Superior Court after he rejected a plea offer from prosecutors. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office reportedly gave the suspect the opportunity to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in exchange for prosecutors recommending that he be sentenced to two consecutive 30-year prison terms. The terms of the plea agreement meant that the suspect would have been required to serve 60 years behind bars before becoming eligible for release on parole. The suspect ultimately made the decision to reject the plea deal and contest the charges in court. The suspect, a 35-year-old man from Trenton NJ, has been accused of committing numerous criminal offenses during a crime spree that lasted four months and that involved multiple robberies and shootings in Mercer County. According to law enforcement, the suspect shot and killed a 64-year-old man near a Route 1 overpass, fatally shot a 43-year-old man at a bus stop in Trenton, and committed several armed robberies involving the use of a handgun. The suspect was eventually apprehended by police after detectives used video surveillance footage to determine his identity and track his location. Police captured the suspect a short time after the Trenton bus stop shooting. In many criminal cases in Mercer County NJ, defendants are given the chance to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for forgoing the right to contest the charges at trial. Prosecutors typically have a mandate to streamline the legal process and get criminal defendants to plead out because the Mercer County criminal courts are clogged with cases and the prosecutor’s office simply doesn’t have the resources needed to take every case to trial. Now that the suspect in the Trenton crime spree homicides has turned down the latest plea deal from prosecutors, he is slated to stand trial in Mercer County Superior Court in June. Although the consequences of the plea agreement would have been onerous, things could go much worse for the suspect if he is ultimately convicted on the homicide charges. That’s because each charge carries a potential punishment of life imprisonment. Moreover, the NJ Criminal Code imposes a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of 30 years for anyone convicted of first-degree murder. When the suspect recently appeared in court to formally reject the plea deal, the judge advised him of the significant costs of a conviction at trial. If you have been charged with a violent crime in Mercer County, NJ, you need an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney assisting you throughout the legal process. The experienced, aggressive criminal defense lawyers at the Davis Law Firm, LLC can help you fight your charges. Contact us anytime to schedule a consultation.
