A 20-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday night and charged with the November 2018 shooting death of Eric Severino, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri reported.
Officials say Issiaha Bivens, of Ewing, has been charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, attempted murder, theft, aggravated assault and weapons offenses. He is being held at the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing.
The charges are a result of an investigation by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force. Warrants were issued on January 9 and Bivens was charged at the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Homicide detectives executed a search warrant at Bivens’ Ewing home last night and recovered 18 bricks of heroin in his bedroom as well as several cell phones. Bivens was additionally charged with possession of narcotics.
According to authorities, at approximately 10:35 p.m. on November 18, Trenton police responded to the area of Monmouth Street and Walnut Avenue on a report of shots fired.
Upon arrival, patrol units discovered the victim, later identified as Severino, 27, of Philadelphia, in the driver’s seat of a white Dodge Journey that was parked in the 100 block of Walnut Avenue. Severino was unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Despite having been charged, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.