City man arrested for murder of Rahkeem Ortiz
TRENTON » The alleged gunman who shot and killed 29-year-old Rahkeem Ortiz in downtown Trenton last week has been arrested.
Arthur Ford, 29, of Trenton, is facing murder and weapons offenses in the Aug. 17 slaying of the Blackwood resident, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri announced Wednesday.
Authorities found Ford Tuesday evening hiding at a family member’s house in Pocomoke, Maryland, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. The Trenton man is currently incarcerated at the Worcester County Detention Center in Snow Hill, Maryland, pending extradition to New Jersey.
Surveillance footage and witness statements helped police solve the grisly murder of Ortiz, who died from multiple gunshot wounds in the daylight homicide last week, authorities said.
The shooting occurred about 1:40 p.m. Aug. 17 in downtown Trenton, near South Warren and West Front streets. After the
shooting, the Trenton Police Department’s Communications Center received several calls with descriptions of a black male fleeing the area, the prosecutor’s office said Wednesday in a news release.
During their investigation, homicide detectives located multiple surveillance cameras in the area. After reviewing video footage
and speaking with one or more witnesses, detectives were able to positively identify Ford as the shooter, authorities said.
Onofri announced the arrest Wednesday morning but did not identify a motive in the murder of Ortiz.
Officers found Ortiz suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in a public parking lot last week. He was rushed
to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Ortiz was a resident of Blackwood in Camden County, about 40 miles away from Trenton. He previously lived in the capital city and formerly served time in state prison for a July 2015 aggravated assault and unlawful possession of firearms in 2014, records show.
The alleged killer Ford is also an ex-con who previously pleaded guilty to third-degree drug charges stemming from a July 2012 arrest in Trenton, according to online court records.
It could take weeks or months before Ford is extradited to New Jersey to answer charges of murder.