Three New Jersey men have been charged with murder in a 2024 drive-by shooting that killed a 45-year-old man who was not the trio’s intended target, officials announced Friday.
Kirk Williams, 33, of Burlington City, and Robert Cardona, 39, and Christopher Tokley, 45, both of Camden, are accused of fatally shooting Major Hamilton on May 21, 2024.
The victim was standing outside a social club in Willingboro with a group of people around 9 p.m. when a dark-colored vehicle passed the place, only to return a few moments later.
As the vehicle drove by the 609 Elite Social Club a second time, “a gunman fired multiple rounds toward the crowd from the vehicle,” striking the victim in the chest, officials said in a news release.
Hamilton, a Willingboro resident, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Investigators later determined that the three men “were attempting to execute a different man who was present at the club but was not in the area where the shots were fired,” police said.
The 609 Elite Social Club is described as a “place where our community is at the forefront of building a new tomorrow.”
Williams was taken into custody by Willingboro Township police on April 10, while Tokley was arrested in Camden the following day by the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Cardona, who had been lodged at the Camden County Correctional Facility on unrelated offenses, was served with the charges on Tuesday.
All three men were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons-related offenses, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Willingboro Township Police Chief Ian S. Bucs said Friday in a joint statement.
The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment, officials said.
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