Trenton Man Indicted for 2008 Willingboro Gang Slayings

A county grand jury indicted a Trenton gang member for the fatal shooting of two Willingboro men in separate incidents in September 2008, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi announced Thursday. 

Tarik J. Mackins, 32, of Cuyler Avenue in Trenton, was indicted on two counts of first degree murder, first degree conspiracy, second degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth degree aggravated assault. The indictment was returned on Oct. 9. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court in Burlington County.

The investigation revealed that on Sept. 22, 2008, at approximately 6:15 p.m., Deion Madison was in the driver’s seat of his Lexus in the parking lot of a Charleston Road strip mall in Willingboro. The indictment alleges he was approached by Mackins, who reached through the open window on the passenger side and fired several shots from a .357 magnum handgun. Madison, 28, was struck five times in the abdomen, elbow and upper leg. He died four days later at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

Two days before Madison was killed, 23-year-old Darryl Sample was fatally shot—once in the chest and once in the leg—as he was walking toward Beverly-Rancocas Road in Willingboro at approximately 9:20 p.m. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Manor and Melbourne lanes. He was later pronounced dead at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County.

Sample and Madison both had ties to the Bloods street gang. Mackins was an associate of a rival gang known as MOE (Muslims Over Everything), according to the indictment. It is believed the motive for both shootings was retaliation for a threat made against an MOE member by a member of the Bloods.

Prior to becoming an MOE associate, Mackins was affiliated with a Bloods set in Trenton, according to authorities.

The investigations were conducted by detectives from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force, special agents from the FBI’s Trenton office, agents from the Trenton office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and detectives from the Willingboro Police Department.

This information comes directly from the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.