4th man charged in shooting death of sleeping NJ girl

BRIDGETON — A fourth man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a girl who was sleeping in her bed when a stray bullet tore through her home.

Zahmere McKoy, a 19-year-old city resident, was charged Wednesday with murder, attempted murder and conspiracy.

Prosecutors say McKoy, Michael L. Elliott, 25, Leroy Frazier 3rd, 20, and Charles Gamble, 18, fired a gun at a group of people July 17. The bullet missed the intended target and went into a home, striking 9-year-old Jennifer Trejo in the chest.

The Daily Journal reported that McKoy had been in a Delaware hospital recovering from a gunshot wound from an Aug. 20 shooting at a gas station in Bridgeton.

Police said they found a handgun, a substantial amount of suspected heroin and a small amount of crack cocaine in the homes of Elliot and Frazier.

The shooting death shocked Cumberland County this summer. Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McCrae this month called on residents to come forward and help put away criminals.

"Evil can only flourish when good men remain silent," she said in a commentary published by New Jersey 101.5.