94-year-old’s murder case dismissed. The victim’s family says he committed a civil crime.

Now criminal case against 94-year-old Trenton man charged with shooting neighbor The man, who was fired in 2021, was fired earlier this year, records show.

Mercer County authorities are prohibited from disclosing why for privacy reasons, but the victim’s family says it’s because the man, Clent Morris, was institutionalized after a judge ruled he couldn’t be tried for murder.

Carl Jones, the son of Cheryl Jones, whom Morris is accused of killing at her Sheridan Avenue home in April 2021, said Morris had a civic resolve.

And Carl isn’t too happy with the way the case is going. His family has no justice for their mother, and he is deeply dissatisfied with the justice system and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

“It was a mess, a huge mess, and no one took responsibility for it,” Jones said.

Cheryl Jones, 65, took care of Morris, taking him on errands and generally taking care of her elderly neighbor a few doors away.

Morris showed up at her door one night when he was 90, and for unexplained reasons, brought a gun and shot Jones multiple times. (Carl Jones suspects he’s having a mental breakdown, but he’s not sure.)

Trenton police officers heard the gunshots from the department’s nearby parking lot and rushed to the home and arrested Morris on the interior stairs of Cheryl Jones’ home, feet away from Jones’ boyfriend, who was sick in her bedroom at the time.

They found the gun on the stairs and its holster outside next to the mortally wounded Jones.

Prosecutors initially argued in court to keep Morris detained detained to be trieda judge agreed.

Carl Jones said it was Morris’ years of behavior that led to the collapse of the criminal case. Morris did not attend court hearings and refused to leave his cell. Jones believes prosecutors waited too long to have him evaluated by a psychiatrist.

He suspected Morris was turning to an insanity defense, and the information from prosecutors became more vague.

On April 22, the case against Morris was dismissed in the Supreme Court. The final filing simply reads: “This indictment was dismissed in court on Monday, April 22, 2024.”

No other explanation is given. His exact whereabouts are unknown.

Morris was charged with murder, two firearms counts and burglary.

The Public Defender’s office representing Morris did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

At that time, Carl Jones held an online meeting with Mercer prosecutors and said prosecutors tried to explain the incident but were unable to share some details. “They kept saying ‘their hands are tied,'” Jones said.

“Even ‘How would you feel if you were me?’ I asked.”

“And there was nothing but silence,” Jones said.