DEADLY SETUP
Trenton man murdered in Hamilton
HAMILTON » A Trenton man who had a regular routine of driving his girlfriend home from work was murdered Tuesday night after he dropped her off and sources believe the gunman knew his target would be there at that time.
Residents of the Society Hill housing complex awoke Wednesday morning and had no idea a man was murdered overnight in their neighborhood.
Many of them briefly stopped to gawk and snap pictures as they hurried to work, wondering what type of drama could have blocked off an entire street.
“How do I get to my destination?” a motorist asked as his car idled in the middle of the street, holding up traffic behind him.
A portion of Cypress Lane was blocked off at the intersection of Bordeaux Drive, as police guarded the shooting scene.
Matthew J. Dukes, 28, of Trenton, was shot multiple times in the chest around 11 p.m. Tuesday while driving a car. He was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour and a half later.
The car was partially parked on the sidewalk within the crime scene Wednesday morning, as if it had jumped the curb during the shooting.
Officials say police were dispatched to the scene Tuesday night after receiving a call about a man screaming that he had been shot.
Dukes was previously arrested as part of a statewide violent offender fugitive sweep that took place between November 2016 and January 2017 and nabbed more than 150 people. When the Attorney General’s office announced the sweep last year, officials said the operation was intended to target violent fugitives, many of whom were criminal gang members with arrest warrants for crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. It’s unclear how long Dukes had been back on the streets prior to being murdered.
His Facebook profile indicates he left behind at least one young daughter.
“This s**t is so f****d up like all he talked about was his daughter & I kno she loved him as much as he did,” Manisha Matthews wrote on social media.
Other area residents expressed their grief regarding his death as well.
“That s**t was a setup,” Christiana Nicole wrote on Facebook, echoing rumors that the suspect who killed Dukes knew he would be in Hamilton at that time.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity say Dukes had a regular routine of picking up his girlfriend from work at night and dropping her off at home. The working theory is that the gunman either followed Dukes or knew for certain that he would be around the Society Hill complex at that specific time of night.
“We was just talkin the day before yesterday he said continue to flex on the N****s that loved to see u down,” Brandon Adams wrote online. “I never thought this s**t was gone be like this s**t just hurt my soul ima always love u bro u truly gone live threw me I’m speechless R.I.P that real south Trenton n****.”
The capital city area was rife with gunfire Tuesday night. Officials say someone shot up a Trenton block around 10:10 p.m. Responding cops found numerous shell casings that were fired from a rifle in the first block of Cleveland Avenue. Police say bullets went through the door of a residence and struck three vehicles parked in the area as well. At this time, police have not found any victims who were personally struck by gunfire in Trenton.
Anyone with information about Dukes’ murder is asked to call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406. Or contact the Trenton Police confidential tip line at 609-989-3663. Individuals may also call the Trenton Crime Stoppers tip line at 609278-8477. Those wishing to text a tip can send a message labeled TCSTIPS to Trenton Crime Stoppers at 274637.