Mercer County Homicide Task Force Investigation Leads to Arrest Of Burlington Man in Sunday Morning Homicide In Trenton

February 13, 2023

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–A Burlington man has been arrested and charged for the murder of Stephanie Vil yesterday in Trenton, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri reported.

Jamar Leonard, 38, is charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and certain persons not to possess a weapon. The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to detain Leonard pending trial.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department. At approximately 9:06 a.m. on Sunday, February 12, 2023, Trenton police responded to a ShotSpotter activation and Trenton Communications received calls for a female shot in the area of Prospect Street and W. Hanover Avenue. Patrol officers arrived and located a black female with a gunshot wound lying in the street next to a heavily damaged vehicle. She was pronounced deceased at the scene at 9:19 a.m. The victim has been identified as 34-year-old Stephanie Vil, of Burlington, New Jersey.

Despite having been charged, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.