In the spring of 2016, a period of two months without a homicide in Trenton, New Jersey, came to a tragic end. On the evening of April 8th, Elliot Simon Jr., a 52-year-old Black male, was shot in the chest. The day before, he had celebrated his 52nd birthday. Police believe the shooting occurred near 37 North Hermitage Avenue, an area where the city's ShotSpotter system detected gunfire around 9 p.m. It is thought that after being shot, Simon attempted to make his way to his home on Boudinot Street but collapsed in the middle of the road in the 100 block of that street.
Responding officers found Simon lying in the street, and he was quickly transported to a nearby hospital. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he succumbed to his injuries about an hour later.
Those who knew him, including a man who regularly had coffee with him at a local deli, remembered him as 'one of the coolest guys you could meet' and referred to him by the nickname 'June.'
The investigation into the shooting, led by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force, soon focused on a suspect. Ten days after the shooting, on April 18th, authorities arrested 26-year-old Virgil Howard in a motel room in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Howard, who had been released from a youth correctional facility just three months prior after serving time for drug offenses, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Investigators believe the motive for the attack was a robbery that went wrong. Howard was charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, and related weapons offenses in connection with Elliot Simon Jr.'s death. A Mercer County grand jury later returned a seven-count indictment against him, and his bail was set at $1 million.
