On the morning of August 9, 2020, gunfire erupted near 300 Centre Street in Trenton, New Jersey. Eighteen-year-old Julius Raymond Vargas, a Hispanic male known as Juelz, was found shot inside a nearby corner market and was transported to a hospital, where he died. Another 18-year-old, William Irizarry, was found in the street with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators linked the attack to gang-related retaliation after a Facebook post seen as disrespecting the H-Block gang. Surveillance showed a black Chrysler 300 with Pennsylvania plates circling the area before parking; two masked individuals wearing all black exited and opened fire. The Chrysler had been stolen from Bensalem, Pennsylvania about a week earlier, and detectives later recovered a 9mm Taurus handgun under the driver’s seat after a pursuit and crash.

In October 2020 authorities arrested Treizon Thompson, Tyzir Hamilton, and Darnell Davis; Thompson and Hamilton were identified as the shooters and Davis as the driver. Thompson and Hamilton were later sentenced in January 2024, and Davis was charged for his role. Did anyone in the community have information about Julius, where he spent time, or what happened that morning?