The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Two Franklin youths, aged 14 and 13 years, were among three teens recently sentenced for the 2023 murder of a cab driver in the township.
The driver, Kofi Addo, 57, was killed during a robbery committed by the trio at Rose Street and Sydney Place, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
A township 14-year-old was sentenced to 11 years for 1st Degree Murder, 1st Degree Robbery, 2nd Degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun, according to the release.
A township 13-year-old was sentenced to four years for 1st Degree Robbery, according to the release.
The third juvenile involved in the incident, a New Brunswick resident, was sentenced to eight years for 1st Degree Felony Murder, and 1st Degree Robbery, according to the release.
Three juveniles were sentenced by Judge Christopher A. Edwards.
On Thursday, May 11, 2023, at approximately 9:56 p.m., Franklin Township Police responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a shooting in the area of Rose Street and Sydney Place. Responding officers encountered the victim suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the release.
Detectives from the Franklin Township Police Department, along with the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit and the Warren Township Police K-9 Unit responded to the scene to conduct the investigation.
The continued investigation revealed the three male juveniles as being involved in the robbery and murder of Mr. Addo, according to the release. The juveniles intended to rob Mr. Addo when one of them fired a shot, killing the victim, as he was operating the taxi, according to the release. Following the shooting, the juveniles fled from the area on foot, according to the release.
The juveniles could not be prosecuted as adults because they were under the age of 15, the release said. There are no mandatory minimum terms of incarceration for juvenile offenders, according to the release.
Other LEO units participating in the investigation were the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County SWAT team, the New Brunswick Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Franklin Resident Office.
