HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Two Mercer County teens have been arrested and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man in the Hopewell Valley Nature Preserve.
Officials say a 16-year-old from Pennington and a 17-year-old from Hopewell were taken into custody Friday afternoon and are charged with murder, felony murder, robbery and weapons offenses.
The shooting happened December 17th about 7 in the evening, in the preserve off Harbourton-Woodsville Road. Officials say the teens lured the victim, identified as 20-year-old Philip Urban, of Manalapan, to the preserve with the intention of robbing Urban of a quarter pound of marijuana worth about $800.
After the robbery, according to authorities, the teens shot and killed Urban.
Police found Urban inside a vehicle, slumped over. He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he died.
The teens identities are being withheld because of their ages. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is looking into if is appropriate to seek a waiver to adult court.
The two are being held at the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.