On a grim Halloween night in 2014, the life of 36-year-old Levonza G. Thompson was cut short in Trenton, New Jersey. A Black male from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Thompson was discovered lying on the ground in the 200 block of Coolidge Avenue around 11 p.m. Police had responded to reports of shots fired in the area and found Thompson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting was handled by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force. Their efforts quickly led them to a suspect, a 24-year-old Trenton resident named Donte F. Jones. Just a week after Thompson's death, on November 7, 2014, Jones was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force. At the time of the homicide, Jones was reportedly out on bail for prior weapons charges.
Following his arrest, Donte F. Jones was charged with first-degree murder, as well as second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. In June of 2015, a grand jury indicted him on these charges. The legal process continued for several years, and at one point prosecutors offered Jones a plea deal that would have resulted in a 33-year prison sentence for aggravated manslaughter, an offer that was not accepted at the time.
Ultimately, the case concluded in June 2019 when Donte Jones confessed to the killing of Levonza Thompson. A Superior Court judge sentenced him to 10 years in state prison for first-degree aggravated manslaughter. In addition to this sentence, Jones was required to serve an extra five years for the unlawful possession of a handgun, bringing a close to the long investigation and legal proceedings surrounding the Halloween night slaying.
