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Trenton police investigate at the shooting scene that killed Marquis Skillman, 38, at East State and Stockton streets in Trenton, N.J. on April 19, 2025. Trenton’s City Hall is in the background.(Photo courtesy of Peterson’s Breaking News)
A man killed in a double shooting near City Hall in Trenton early Saturday was identified Monday as Marquis Skillman.
He would have been 39 years old on Wednesday and lived in the city, authorities said.
No arrests or charges have been announced in the investigation by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office’s Homicide Task Force.
A woman was also wounded in the 4:15 a.m. gunfire at the corner of East State and Stockton streets downtown. Police officers found Skillman on the southeast corner of the intersection, next to City Hall.
Officers heard the gunfire because they were about a block away due to the crowd at NJ Weedman’s Joint — the establishment run by Ed “Weedman” Forchion in Trenton. The Joint is across the street from City Hall on East State Street.
The Joint was busy Saturday in anticipation of Sunday’s 4/20 Day, the annual and unofficial marijuana day.
It’s unclear if Skillman, the female victim or the unknown shooter was at the Joint prior to the shooting.
Forchion, in a video posted later Saturday, expressed dismay at the crime and said he did not know why it happened. “I’m pretty sure that they’re gonna blame me,” Forchion said.
He said Friday evening into Saturday was “a good night in the place, not one single drama event.”
Forchion’s Joint stays open well past 2 a.m. some nights, a former point of contention with the city that last year led him to file a lawsuit. City police stopped ticketing him for his hours after acknowledging he could stay open 24 hours if he wished under the law.
Patrons gathering in front of the business can lead to crowding, littering issues, quality-of-life violations and problems for police officers, Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson said Monday.
“And we have to attend to the problems the best we can,” Wilson said. That is why police were so close to the gunfire — they were monitoring the activity near the Joint, he said.
Wilson said the person who pulled the trigger is responsible for the crime, and Forchion is technically not responsible for patrons who leave his business, litter and cause problems.
He would like to see a change in a city ordinance to close city bars at 2 a.m.
Skillman was released from the state prison system in November 2024 for a robbery conviction from a 2013 murder on Passaic Street that killed 19-year-old Rayshawn Ransom, who was shot dead while sitting in a car.
Two others were charged in connection with the 2013 crime. Skillman served over nine years of an 11-year sentence handed down in 2017.
Anyone with information about his shooting can call prosecutor’s Detective Ryan Minnick at 609-273-7293 or Sgt. Will Jett at 609-331-5010, or via emailed at mchtftips@mercercounty.org.
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com