NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A woman from Trenton was shot on Seaman Street in the city’s Fourth Ward around 4:15pm on Monday, November 24, making her the second victim of a shooting on that block this year.
Today, a full week after the shooting, police announced the details of the incident, and a subsequent raid, for the first time.
Police identified 24-year-old Brittney Holt as the sole victim of the shooting. Holt was shot in the head but remains in stable condition, according to a New Brunswick Police Department statement.
Within minutes of the shooting, as police scoured the scene for suspects, Holt apparently walked into Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for treatment of her wound.
Police said she was dropped off at the hospital by a vehicle matching the description of one that fled the shooting.
“Witnesses described a white Nissan speed away from the area when several shots rang out, and a black male wearing a gray sweatshirt carrying a handgun ran towards 289 and 291 Seaman Street,” reads the press release.
“The white Nissan then fled the area but was quickly located by New Brunswick police officers. The driver of the vehicle refused to cooperate with investigating detectives.”
Holt is the second victim of a shooting in that specific area this year.
Earlier this year, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office investigated the shooting death of Raheem Fuqua, who was gunned down the afternoon of March 1 in front of 289 Seaman Street. Authorities eventually captured and charged three men with his murder.
The day after the most recent shooting, detectives from the New Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office executed search warrants at 289 and 291 Seaman Street, arresting nine people in total.
Police say they uncovered a “heroin mill” inside 289 Seaman Street, but it was far from a secret. A year and a half ago, raids by State Police led to similar charges for some of the same individuals, as we reported.
US Marshalls were involved in a 2012 raid at the neighboring home, 291 Seaman Street, that seized heroin, firearms, hollow-nosed bullets, counterfeit money, police scanners, and a bulletproof vest.
This time, both homes were raided by authorities.
All told, investigators seized approximately 1,355 decks of heroin from the two homes and a nearby vehicle, as well as $6,500 in cash, a loaded handun, a “speed loader” used to rapidly load a handgun, two military style bullet-resistant vests, and “a large amount of drug paraphernalia consistent with the makings of a ‘heroin mill,’ or a drug manufacturing facility.”
Police arrested the following individuals in the November 25 raids:
- Derrick Fuqua (age 37)
- Tyquan Fuqua (age 23)
- Marion Darby (age 33)
- Sandra Fuqua (age 50)
- Hassan Fuqua (age 34)
- Raquan Fuqua (age 32)
- Tyrone Fuqua (age 45)
- William Cruise (age 57)
- Vance Parker (age 28)
All but Parker were charged with: Possession of Heroin, Possession with the Intent to Distribute Heroin, Possession of CDS in a School Zone, and Conspiracy To and Maintaining a Drug Manufacturing Facility.
Parker was found to be in “violation of Parole” in New York, and was charged with most of the same offenses as well as Possession of a Handgun for an Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful Possession of a Handgun, Possession of a Handgun during the Commission of a CDS Offense, and Certain Persons Not to Possess a Weapon.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact Detective Ray Quick at (732) 745-5217.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
