The Trenton Times published the following article on November 5, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office to take over Trenton Police Department’s homicide unit
By Alex Zdan/The Times
on November 05, 2013 at 12:07 AM, updated November 05, 2013 at 10:27 AMTRENTON —Trenton was bleeding late this summer when the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office head of detectives Bill Straniero briefed his fellow chiefs on a plan to ease the pressure of a growing caseload of homicide investigations. Trenton’s detectives were being pushed to the limit as they worked around the clock on two or three homicides per week. They would barely have any rest or opportunity to follow up before the next killing.
In the chiefs’ meeting, Straniero said the prosecutor’s office voiced the idea of establishing a countywide homicide task force that would be the lead investigating agency for any killing within Mercer County’s borders, West Windsor Police Chief Joe Pica, who was at the meeting, said yesterday. All the county police departments were invited to participate.
The prosecutor’s plan has been set in motion, and as of tomorrow the Trenton Police Department’s homicide unit will be absorbed by the county, police sources told The Times. Like the Vice Enforcement Unit before them, Trenton’s battle-tested homicide detectives will now come under county control, sent to investigate killings not only in the capital city, but throughout Mercer.
Pica plans to take Straniero up on his offer, and said a detective from West Windsor will join the task force by the end of the year.