Children killing children: Camden teen sentenced to 30 years for shooting boy

CAMDEN — The shooting death of a 13-year-old Camden boy will mean another city teen will spend at least the first two decades of her adult life behind bars.

Casche Alford, who was 17 at the time of the shooting last January, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter for the death of Nathaniel Plummer Jr.

While other girls her age might be studying for high school exams or playing varsity sports, prosecutors say Alford was contributing to the robberies and shootings that terrorize her city.

The shooting that killed young Nathaniel occurred almost a year before Alford's 30-year sentence was handed down by Superior Court Judge Steven J. Polansky this week.

Nathaniel's slaying was the first of 47 mostly gun-related killings in crime-torn Camden last year. Of those victims, five were 18 years or younger.

The investigation into Plummer's death started the evening of Jan. 7, 2016, when the city's ShotSpotter system was activated and calls of a shooting were reported to 911 operators. Plummer was found lying face down on the sidewalk in the area of Beacon and Line streets. He was taken to Cooper University Hospital where he died early the next morning.

Prosecutors showed evidence placing Alford at the scene, including text messages, and also found the handgun that was used during the shooting.

Alford's Twitter account shows pictures of her flashing hand signs, smoking and even pointing a gun at the camera.

In addition to the manslaughter charges, Alford also received a seven-year sentence for second-degree conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and seven years for aggravated assault. The robbery charges stem from an incident in December 2015 involving the robbery of a cab driver, while the assault charges are the result of a non-fatal shooting in October 2015.

Alford will be required to serve 85 percent of her sentence under the No Early Release Act and the three sentences will run concurrently.

Sergio Bichao contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Adam Hochron at 609-359-5326 or Adam.Hochron@townsquaremedia.com