In the early morning hours of a Sunday in October, the city of Trenton was unsettled by the sound of gunfire. Police responded to a call at the intersection of Roebling Avenue and Washington Street around 12:50 a.m. on October 3, 2021. In the 800 block of Roebling Avenue, they discovered the body of 31-year-old Elias Juarez Lopez. He had sustained gunshot wounds and showed no pulse.
Despite being rushed to a local hospital, he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The investigation into the death of the Princeton resident quickly became a priority for the Mercer County Homicide Task Force. The incident was one of several violent episodes that occurred in Trenton over that weekend, prompting a determined effort by law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice. The investigation proceeded diligently as authorities pieced together the events that led to the fatal shooting.
Within days of the incident, the investigation led to significant developments. On October 7, 2021, the Mercer County Prosecutor announced that two Trenton men had been taken into custody. Thaddeus J. Adams, 40, and Clarence Williams, 35, were arrested by the Mercer County Tactical Response Team with assistance from Homicide Task Force detectives and the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force. Both men were charged with murder, felony murder, attempted murder, two counts of robbery, and multiple weapons offenses in connection with the death of Elias Juarez Lopez. The swift arrests brought a measure of resolution to a case that had added to the city's grim tally of gun violence.
