Florence, New Jersey lost a 27-year-old father and fiancé when Ronald Walker was found in an alley near his West Second Street residence on the evening of September 21, 2016. Walker, who had moved from Camden five years earlier and worked for a logistics company, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby medical center.

The Florence Police and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office major crimes unit led the investigation. No suspect emerged for months until an arrest was made on May 23, 2017, when Anthony Harris was taken into custody in connection with Walker’s death. Harris’s first trial in early 2018 ended in a hung jury. A later 2018 trial convicted Harris of aggravated manslaughter and firearms offenses and resulted in a 50-year sentence with a minimum of 42 years to be served.

That conviction was appealed and, in September 2022, a New Jersey Superior Court overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial, finding that trial errors had deprived Harris of a fair proceeding. Walker’s family and friends continue to mourn his loss; anyone with information about the shooting is asked to come forward.