Two men have been convicted in the 2022 killing of a 15-year-old boy at a south Jersey trailer park.
Deshawn Bowen and Rohdane Watson were found guilty of murder, aggravated manslaughter and robbery following their five-week trial in Cumberland County, according to a statement released by the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday. Bowen was additionally convicted on a count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors said both men connected with the teen victim — whose name has not been released — on the morning of May 26, 2022 at the Redwood Courts Trailer Park in Vineland. They were allegedly there for a drug deal, but Bowen and Watson instead forcibly robbed the boy of his money and a handgun, according to authorities. They then shot the victim with a different firearm they’d brought along to the meeting, prosecutors said.
The teen was found fatally shot shortly thereafter and raced to an area hospital, where he eventually died from his wounds, police said.
Bowen and Watson now each face 30 years to life behind bars. They are both due to be sentenced on on April 4.
