EDGEWATER PARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) — Prosecutors on Wednesday announced that a man that had been released from prison early because of the COVID-19 pandemic has been charged with fatally shooting two men in New Jersey during a birthday party in January.
The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office wrote on Twitter that on January 24, Ronny L. Paden, 27, shot and killed the two victims at a party at a home at Dogwood Road in Edgewater Park.
Police were called to the home just before 1 a.m. where they discovered the bodies of James Gist III, and Marcus Thompson, who were both 29-years-old.
According to officials, Gist had been shot while inside the driver's seat of a parked vehicle while Thompson was shot inside the residence.
Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Approximately 10 people had gathered at the house to celebrate a birthday, authorities said.
Further investigation revealed that neither victim was the intended target.
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said this case "forces us to pause and consider the public safety implications of the drive over the past year to release inmates early, purportedly due to the coronavirus pandemic."
"While no one wants state inmates or detainees placed at undue medical risk, the data suggests that inmates are no more likely to die of COVID-19 than any other New Jersey resident," Coffina said. "Due to 'COVID credits' applied to his sentence, this defendant and many other inmates have been released early from duly-imposed sentences without any individualized consideration of the crime for which they were convicted or the risk that they will resume their criminal activities," he added.
Paden was taken into custody May 7. His charges include two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
