Jury Finds Trenton Man Guilty in July 2021 Shooting Homicide

November 17, 2023

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced that a Trenton man was convicted by a jury this week for the July 14, 2021 murder of 53-year-old Pablo Herrera Chun.

On November 16, 2023, Blake Pittman, 32, was convicted on all counts of the indictment, including murder, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a handgun and certain persons not to possess a weapon.

At approximately 8:39 p.m. on July 14, 2021, Trenton Police received a Shot Spotter activation in the area of 43 North Stockton Street. Responding officers located Herrera Chun suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Pittman was arrested two weeks later on July 28, 2021, in a Bensalem, PA hotel room by members of the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutors William P. Fisher and Scott Gershman represented the state during the four-week trial before Mercer County Superior Court Judge J. Adam Hughes.
The evidence and testimony presented at trial showed that, on the evening of July 14, 2021, Pittman intended to shoot an individual driving north on North Stockton Street, but missed and instead hit Herrera Chun, who was walking on the sidewalk of North Stockton Street between Wood and Academy streets.

“The State commends the jury’s careful and meticulous review of the evidence in reaching its verdict,” Prosecutor Onofri said. “Pablo Herrera Chun was a family man who worked in this country to help support his family back home. While one cannot imagine the grief his family has suffered as result of this horrific act of the defendant, it is our hope that his family can take some solace from this just verdict.”

The investigation was led by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and Detective Karl Johnston of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. The defendant was represented by James R. Murphy, Esq.

Pittman is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2024. At the time of the murder, Pittman had only been released from prison for less than a year. Due to Pittman’s prior convictions for aggravated manslaughter and robbery, he will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole, pursuant to New Jersey’s “Three Stikes Law,” N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.1.

Blake Pittman, 32, of Trenton, was convicted on all counts of the indictment, including murder, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a handgun and certain persons not to possess a weapon.