Three 14- and 13-year-olds sentenced for murder and robbery of taxi driver in Franklin

SOMERVILLE – Three teenagers – two 13-year-olds and one 14-year-old – have been convicted of killing a taxi driver they intended to rob in Franklin Township in May 2023.

A 14-year-old Franklin resident was sentenced to 11 years on charges of murder, robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a handgun.

One 13-year-old boy from New Brunswick was sentenced to eight years for murder and robbery.

Another 13-year-old from Franklin was sentenced to four years for robbery.

more: The sons of a taxi driver shot and killed in Franklin are seeking to honor their father’s legacy

Juveniles could not be prosecuted as adults because they were under 15 years of age.

There are no mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for juvenile offenders.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Edwards handed down the sentences.

The three were found guilty of murdering Kofi Addo, 57, of North Brunswick.

Abbo came to the US in 2006 from Ghana with his two young sons and worked as a bus driver by day and a taxi driver by night.

Franklin Police responded to the area of ​​Rose Street and Sydney Place around 9:56 p.m. on May 11, 2023 for reports of a shooting. Somerset County Prosecutor John MacDonald said they found Addo shot dead in his cab, which had come to rest after crashing into a parked car.

Addo was taken to a local trauma center where he was released, McDonald said.

The investigation determined Addo drove to Rose Street to pick up a toll, where he confronted the suspects while in the cab and was later shot, McDonald said.

The juveniles intended to rob Addo when one of them fired, killing the victim while he was driving. According to the prosecutor, after the shooting, the minors fled the scene on foot.

McDonald thanked all law enforcement agencies that assisted the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Franklin Township Police Department in this investigation, including the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County SWAT team, the New Brunswick Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Franklin Resident Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rory Eaton prosecuted the case.

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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Teenagers sentenced for murder and robbery of taxi driver in Franklin