What to Know
- Curtis Jenkins III was kidnapped, shot and left to asphyxiate in an abandoned home, prosecutors said.
- Brandon Beverly, 32, is charged with the kidnap and murder of Jenkins.
- Jalen Carr, 22, is charged with helping to steal a cellphone that Beverly used to make ransom demands from Jenkins' family.
Two men already arrested in the death of a Camden, New Jersey, councilman's grandson were formally indicted Tuesday by a Camden County jury.
Brandon Beverly, who has been accused as the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of Curtis Jenkins III, and Jalen Carr, have already been charged.
Beverly, 32, and Carr, 22, remain jailed in the June 30 death of Jenkins, 20, whose grandfather is Camden City Council President Curtis Jenkins.
They both were indicted for felony murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, conspiracy and weapons charges for allegedly breaking into a home and stealing a cellphone that was later used to demand a ransom payment from Jenkins' family before the victim was shot to death.
Beverly's defense attorney suggested in court in July that a witness interviewed by police kept changing her story and was not credible, an accusation prosecutors flatly denied as Jenkins' mother looked on and wept.
The ordeal began the night of Sunday, June 30, when Beverly and a woman allegedly placed a food order to lure Jenkins to a home on the 100 block of Liberty Street in Camden. When Jenkins arrived, Beverly and a group of men allegedly forced him into a van, tied him up and blindfolded him.
Beverly allegedly used a stolen cellphone to text and call Jenkins' family and demand that they give him 10 to 15 pounds of marijuana as a ransom payment. As time passed, Beverly allegedly became agitated and shot Jenkins, investigators have said.
After shooting Jenkins, Beverly allegedly left him in the garage of an abandoned home on the 1100 block of Liberty Street in Camden. Jenkins was wrapped in a sheet, his hands and feet bound together, with a plastic bag covering his head. He died from asphyxia, according to the medical examiner's office.
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Prosecutors allege that Carr helped Beverly steal the cellphone used to make the ransom demands from Jenkins' family.
According to prosecutors, Carr and Beverly stole the cellphone during a robbery early Monday, July 1, on the 200 block of Kaighn Avenue. Carr is charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Family members said Jenkins worked at the Camden city clerk's office and operated a BBQ food delivery service on the side. The night of his murder, they said, he was working to save up for a family trip.
