Two Trenton Men Indicted for the Murder of a Mercer County Corrections Officer

A Mercer County grand jury returned a six-count indictment on Wednesday charging two Trenton men with the November 2012 shooting death of Mercer County Corrections Officer Carl Batie, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr. announced.

Maurice Skillman, 27, and Hykeem Tucker, 26, were each indicted on one count of murder, one count of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.  They were also indicted on three counts of fourth-degree aggravated assault for pointing a firearm at three additional victims.

Skillman and Tucker are charged with firing into a crowd on a banquet hall balcony at approximately 1:15 a.m. on November 11, 2012.  Batie, an innocent bystander attending a party, was the only one injured.  He suffered a fatal gunshot to the head.

A investigation by detectives with the Trenton Police Department and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, including multiple interviews, and surveillance video review and enhancement, lead to the charges against Skillman and Tucker.

Both Skillman and Tucker remain in jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

Assistant Prosecutor James Scott presented the case to the grand jury.

Despite having been indicted, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.