Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced today that three Trenton men have been charged with murder for the January 2018 shooting that killed two Philadelphia men and injured a third.
According to authorities, Shaquille McNeil, 24, was arrested Wednesday evening at a friend’s house in Trenton by members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force. Tashawn Santiago, 25, was served his complaints in the Mercer County Correction Center, where he is being held on charges unrelated to this case. Cecil Blake, 31, is currently in the custody of the Mercer County Department of Corrections.
Officials said all three men were charged with being accomplices in the murders of Jerard Perdomo-Santana and Ivan Rodriguez, and the attempted murder of 29-year-old Trenton man. They are also charged with multiple weapons offenses.
Trenton police on Jan. 22nd, at approximately 2:20 p.m., were dispatched to the 300 block of Washington Street on a report of shots fired. Responding officers located two black males unconscious and unresponsive in a black Ford Taurus that was parked and idling.
Officials said both victims were transported to the hospital where they were pronounced dead a short time later.
Police identified them as 25-year-old Perdomo-Santana and 19-year-old Rodriguez. A third victim who suffered gunshot wounds to his left shoulder and left hand drove himself to the hospital and was later located by officers.
The charges are a result of an ongoing investigation by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, specifically lead investigator Michael Hughes of the New Jersey State Police. The prosecutor's office has filed motions to detain all three men, Prosecutor Onofri said.
Despite having been charged, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.