The Trenton Times published the following article on February 2,2013. To read the the full article, click here.
Police arrest another Trenton man in connection with shooting death of Mercer County corrections officer
By Alex Zdan/The Times
on February 02, 2013 at 9:30 AM, updated February 02, 2013 at 9:52 AMTRENTON — A second man has been arrested in connection with the November shooting death of Mercer County Corrections Officer Carl Batie, officials said this week.
Hykeem Tucker, 26, of Trenton was arrested Jan. 24 and charged with murder and weapons offenses. Maurice Skillman, 26, was taken into custody last month on the same charges for Batie’s death.
Batie was on the balcony of the Baldassari Regency in Chambersburg the night of Nov. 11, at a party celebrating the re-election of President Barack Obama, when shots came from the parking lot below. One of them struck Batie in the head and killed him. Police did not say what role Tucker played but they believe he was instrumental in contributing to Batie’s death.
“He’s involved, and there’s the possibility of additional arrests,” Sgt. Mark Kieffer said.
Tucker is being held on $1 million cash or bond, the prosecutor’s office said. Skillman’s bail was also set at $1 million and a judge rejected his request to have it lowered earlier this month.
Police have said they believe Batie, a five-year veteran of the corrections department, was an innocent bystander and not the target of the shooting. Several other people were on the balcony with him and escaped injury, but authorities have not identified them or specified who was being targeted.
Anyone with further information on the killing is asked to call police at (609) 989-4170 or the Confidential Tip Line at (609) 989-3663.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.