PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An 18-year-old and a juvenile have been arrested in a “Who Done It” Princeton murder case that occurred earlier this month.
Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Brian K. Cochran says that the Princeton Police Department has solved a recent murder case that occurred on June 8th, 2024, on Kee Street in Princeton. According to Cochran, “The Princeton Police Department has been working non-stop on this case since it occurred, and the officers working this case have been keeping Chief Tim Gray and I informed of every development, and last night, they were able to obtain a search warrant and ultimately arrest Carlos Lopez, age 18, of Princeton, West Virginia, for the first-degree murder of Sam Patel.”
Also charged was a juvenile who assisted Lopez in the murder. According to Cochran, Lopez will be seen by a circuit court judge on Monday, June 24th, 2024, and the juvenile, detained in a juvenile detention facility, will appear before a circuit court judge once a juvenile petition is filed Monday morning.
Cochran praised the Princeton Police Department on this case and other law enforcement officers for other recent shootings in Mercer County. Cochran said, “The Princeton Police Department did a great job on this case and did exactly what police officers should do.” “The officers did not let the public pressure to make a quick and premature arrest get to them, but instead, they worked the case like they should have and gathered the necessary evidence, and the result is that they are sure about the charges brought against the suspects of this horrific crime.”
“I am super proud of the Princeton police officers involved in this case and the rest of our law enforcement officers’ work over the last three weeks.” “It has been a very tough few weeks here in Mercer County for all of us.” “We’ve had two shootings that have resulted in two deaths and a third shooting that resulted in multiple injuries, all isolated and unrelated incidents.” “But thankfully, our police officers now have all those responsible for these crimes in custody.”
“We are blessed here in Mercer County to have outstanding police officers working hard to ensure we’re safe.” “A lot of us don’t realize it, but we have almost 60,000 law-abiding citizens in our county who always do the right thing all of the time, but there are a few that we need to prosecute to get them sent away and out of our county.” “That’s my job as your prosecutor, and that’s what you elected me to do. I assure you that we are working very hard every single day to get them out of our community as soon as possible, and I think we will eventually get it done.” “Of course, I must say that all of those charged in these crimes are presumed innocent until a Mercer County jury finds them guilty.”
Police and deputies in Mercer County have been busy working tirelessly on three different crime recently to get those responsible in custody. Back on June 15, 2024, a shooting in Mercer County left five injured, including a five-year-old child.
