Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced a teen has been charged in connection with the murder of Sunil Edla, 61, who was shot to death Thursday evening.
Ventnor City Police Department received a 9-1-1 call on Nov. 15, 2018, at 8:04 p.m., for a report of a man down in the area of 8 N. Nashville Avenue. Police arrived and located the victim, Edla, on the sidewalk in front of 6 N. Nashville Avenue, with suspected gunshot wounds and no obvious signs of life. Edla lived at N. Nashville Ave., Apt. 2, Ventnor City.
Officials say Edla’s vehicle, a 2002 Subaru Forester, was missing from the scene. The vehicle was subsequently found by Atlantic City Police Officers in the 1600 block of Sewell Avenue, in Atlantic City.
After the vehicle was located by the officers, the suspect was subsequently tracked with the assistance of the Atlantic City surveillance center.
Further investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Ventnor City Police Department and the Atlantic City Police Department led to the identification and arrest of the suspect, a juvenile male, on the morning of November 16, 2018. The Atlantic City SWAT team arrested the suspect without incident at approximately 10:18am, in the 1500 block of Sewell Avenue.
“The speedy arrest of the juvenile charged for this homicide is an example of the success of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office working collaboratively with the Ventnor City Police Department and the Atlantic City Police Department to cooperatively investigate violent crime in our region. I thank them all for their hard work and commitment in this and every investigation. The professionalism of these three agencies is directly responsible for the arrest of this individual,” Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said.
An autopsy was performed today, November 16th, by Dr. Peter Mazari of the New Jersey Southern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Preliminary autopsy show the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death homicide.
The 16 year-old suspect was charged via Juvenile Complaint with the following offenses:
2C:11-3a(1), Murder 1st degree
2C:11-3a(3), Felony Murder 1st degree
2C:15-1a(1), Robbery 1st degree
2C:15-2a(3), Carjacking 1st degree
2C:39-5b(1), Unlawful possession of a handgun 2nd degree
2C:39-4a(1), Possession of handgun for unlawful purpose 2nd degree
The suspect was lodged in the Harborfields Juvenile Detention Facility in Egg Harbor City this afternoon.
These charges are merely an accusation and not proof of guilt. In all criminal cases, a charged defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page.
People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.