In the spring of 2020, a young man's life was violently cut short on the streets of Jersey City, New Jersey, an act that would ripple through the community and lead to a significant law enforcement response. Damone Smith, a 25-year-old male, was fatally shot on the evening of March 31, 2020. The incident unfolded just after 8:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Cator Avenue and Rose Avenue, where reports of gunfire prompted a police response.
Smith, having sustained gunshot wounds to his upper body, was transported from the scene by a private vehicle to the Jersey City Medical Center. Despite medical efforts, he was pronounced deceased in the early morning hours of April 1, 2020. The cause of his death was determined to be a gunshot wound, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The investigation into Damone Smith's murder led authorities to a suspect, Phillip Wiggins, a 23-year-old from Jersey City. On April 22, 2020, Wiggins was arrested without incident at a residence in Newark. He was subsequently charged with murder, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon. At the time of his arrest, Wiggins was also wanted on a Fugitive from Justice warrant from Texas.
Further details emerged, painting the shooting as a grim chapter in ongoing gang-related violence. Law enforcement officials identified Smith as a high-ranking member of a street gang associated with the Rutgers Avenue area. In what was described as a retaliatory act, Phillip Wiggins, allegedly a member of a rival gang from the Wilkinson Avenue area, traveled to the territory of the Rutgers Avenue gang and carried out the fatal shooting. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department. In July 2021, the case took a new turn as federal authorities charged Wiggins with murder in aid of racketeering and firearms offenses, elevating the legal battle to a federal level. The charges underscored the serious and organized nature of the gang conflict that led to the untimely death of Damone Smith.
