April 17, 2000 

FUGITIVE APPREHENDED IN NEW YORK 

      TRENTON – A Hamilton man sought since a botched 1997 robbery that led to a shotgun murder was arrested in New York following an intense investigation by the Central Jersey Fugitive Task Force, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service announced today.

      Renford “Gaudy” Wilson (DOB 8/14/76), a Jamaican national, formerly of the 200 block of Massachusetts Avenue, was arrested about 4 p.m. Friday in the Bronx, First Assistant Prosecutor Charles E. Waldron said.

      “This was a tremendous effort by the Task Force, which followed up numerous leads and were able to successfully track Wilson down,” Waldron said.

      Wilson was indicted on murder, robbery and weapons charges in the June 28, 1997 killing of Leandro Rafael Garcia Hernandez, 38. If convicted, Wilson could be sentenced to life in prison, required to spend about 65 years in jail without parole.

      Hernandez, a Dominican Republic native, was shot once in the face with a shotgun when he opened the backdoor at a brothel he operated in the 300 block of South Cook Avenue in Trenton. The illicit establishment catered almost exclusively to Hispanics, police said.

      An arrest warrant for Wilson, alleged to have been the triggerman, was issued a short time after the incident but he had remained at large since the shooting. Three other men who were allegedly with Wilson and helped plan the robbery were arrested and all have pleaded guilty in connection with the crime, Waldron said.

      In a combined effort led by Mercer County Detective Cory S. Kammler II and Deputy U.S. Marshal Rick Cope, investigators from the prosecutor’s office, U.S. Marshals Service, the New Jersey State Police, Trenton Police, federal Immigration and Naturalization Service, Massachusetts State Police, and the New York City Police participated in tracking down Wilson.

      After following up numerous leads, Kammler and Cope traced Wilson’s whereabouts to a section of the Bronx. Through further investigation, officers confirmed that Wilson frequented a busy Bronx neighborhood near Jerome Avenue and Gunn Hill Road. Investigators believe that Wilson may have been involved in dealing drugs in this same area. Investigators reviewed New York City Police records that revealed that Wilson, under the alias Alrick Campbell, had been issued a summons twice by the NYPD, once for disorderly conduct and a second time for smoking marijuana. On both occasions, Wilson produced false identification to evade capture on the arrest warrant in the killing of Hernandez.

      Once Wilson’s whereabouts were narrowed down to the Bronx, Kammler and Cope called on the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Fugitive Task Force for assistance. The Task Force is comprised of deputy U.S. Marshals, New York City Detectives and U.S. Immigration agents. The task force targets violent drug offender fugitives in New York City and the North Jersey area.

      Teams of Task Force officers employed discreet investigation and covert surveillance in the target area, while Kammler continued to provide investigators with information. Their tactics paid off when Wilson was spotted late Friday on Jerome Avenue. In a coordinated effort, NYPD Detectives Archibald Austin, Gonzalo Gonzales, Cruz Algarin and Deputy U.S. Marshals Dan Potucek and Steve DePasquale arrested Wilson without incident.

      Wilson will remain in New York City detention pending extradition proceedings to Mercer County.

      The trio arrested after the 1997 shooting was Kurt Richard Martin (DOB 1/29/71), of Morrisville, Pa., Roberto Esteban Flores (DOB 2/11/77), of Morrisville, Pa. and Wigberto Gonzales (DOB 8/30/70), of Trenton.

      Gonzalez pleaded guilty this year to aggravated manslaughter and faces a maximum 20-year-sentence, requiring that he spend 85 percent of that time without parole; Flores pleaded guilty last year to the same charge and faces a maximum 18-year term, requiring him to spend 85 percent without parole; while Martin also pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter charges in 1998 and faces a maximum 15-year sentence, requiring that he spend 85 percent of that term without parole.

      As a condition of their plea agreement, all three men must testify truthfully in court against Wilson.

      Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Meidt is the prosecutor handling the case.