Delran Man Released From Prison Early Charged In Fatal Shooting

DELRAN, NJ — A Delran man who was released early from prison amid the coronavirus pandemic has now been accused of fatally shooting two people in Edgewater Park, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Ronny Paden, 27, was arrested on May 7 in connection with the fatal shooting of two people at a party in Edgewater Park that took place in January, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Edgewater Park Township Police Chief Robert D. Hess.

He was arrested after he had been released from state prison in November, months shy of his scheduled release, under a law designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus in prisons, authorities said.

The law automatically reduced prison sentences with less than one year remaining on their sentences, according to authorities.

“While no one wants state inmates or detainees placed at undue medical risk, the data suggests that inmates are no more likely to die of COVID-19 than any other New Jersey resident,” Coffina said. “Due to ‘COVID credits’ applied to his sentence, this defendant and many other inmates have been released early from duly-imposed sentences without any individualized consideration of the crime for which they were convicted or the risk that they will resume their criminal activities. A risk assessment is done before a defendant is released from pretrial detention, while the presumption of innocence still attaches; no less of an assessment should be done for people who actually have been convicted of a crime, especially a violent crime.”

Paden was to have served five years in prison after he pleaded guilty in 2017 to a drive-by shooting that injured a victim in Willingboro, according to the Burlington County Times.

After his early release, Paden is now accused of fatally shooting 29-year-old James Gist III, of Westampton, and 29-year-old Marcus Thompson, of Willingboro, at a birthday party in which 10 people had gathered at a home in the 200 block of Dogwood Road in January.

Gist had been shot while inside the driver’s seat of a parked car outside the home, and Thompson was shot inside the home, authorities said. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

They were the only two people struck by gunfire, but authorities believe they were not the intended targets.

“Our residents have been traumatized by the pandemic over the past year-plus, forced to fear for their health, their jobs and their children’s education,” Coffina said. “They shouldn’t have to fear indiscriminate gun violence as well. Our residents’ safety ought to be given at least equal weight to the health risks to our inmates, especially since our prison system has effectively managed the coronavirus to keep prisoners safe.”

Paden has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree certain persons not to have firearms.

Paden will be held in jail until the charges are adjudicated, a judge ruled during a detention hearing on Wednesday.