Crime & Safety

3 Charged in Woodbury Gas Station Killing

Cordero Hodge and Jameel Pierce of Camden City and Isaiah Williams of Woodbury, NJ, were charged in the August shooting of gas station attendant Surinder Singh.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office charged three men today in the August 25 killing of Woodbury gas station attendant Surinder Singh.

Cordero Hodge, 22, and Jameel Pierce, 22, both of Camden City, and Isaiah Williams, 24, of Woodbury were all arrested in connection with the incident.

Hodge, who previously served time in state prison, is charged with murder, felony murder, complicity in a crime, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal possession of a weapon and robbery. His bail was set at $1 million.

Williams, who was released from Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility just five days before the shooting, according to state records, was charged with felony murder, complicity in a crime, conspiracy to commit murder, and robbery. His bail was set at $750,000.

Pierce was charged with felony murder, complicity in a crime, conspiracy to commit murder, and robbery. His bail was set at $750,000.

No court dates have been set for the accused.

"These three defendants were in the city of Woodbury. They decided to commit a robbery. They went to the Garden State gas station and in the course of that robbery, defendant Hodge shot and killed Mr. Singh," said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton.

(WATCH: Patch video of Dalton's press conference here.

Dalton stressed that the case "continues to be an ongoing investigation" and that it required the efforts of "each and every unit within the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.

"There was never one tip that led to the breaking of this case and the arrest of the three individuals responsible," Dalton said. "Rather, it was the culmination of good police work day in and out that resulted in...various arrests being made.

"This work can be grinding, it's never real popular, but they did what was necessary day in and day out in order to build the case," he said.

Dalton acknowledged that gas station and convenience store robberies, which have been on the upswing, at least anecdotally, are on the radar of law enforcement officials, who are working to develop trend information to better inform their policing practices.

"It's a disturbing trend that we're seeing with respect to these type of crimes," Dalton said.

"Trends are being established as far as how they're being committed, and from that intelligence, we're able to identify individuals who may be engaging in these type of crimes in the area," he said.

Sutinder Singh, brother of the late Surinder Singh, thanked the community and the police for their assistance in the case.

Reddy Rathnaker, a partner at the gas station, thanked law enforcement officers, but reminded those present that "the victim has two kids, two-year-old, eight-month-old," and that "their future is a big question mark."

Singh, 40, was the victim of a robbery attempt at the Garden State Fuel station on North Broad St; he died about 30 minutes after the incident from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Friends remembered Singh with a memorial of flowers, teddy bears and other mementos at the station.

Editor Tim Zatzariny, Jr. contributed to this report.


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