Young killers of NJ taxi driver get short prison sentences

🔶NJ taxi driver killed by young teens
🔶Teens convicted of murder get short sentences
🔶Victim mourned as hard working immigrant father of two

FRANKLIN (Somerset) — Three young teens convicted of robbery and murder that targeted a taxi driver in Somerset County have received rather brief prison terms.

Kofi Addo was shot and killed while picking up a fare on May 11, 2023, just before 10 p.m.

Franklin Township Police were called to a shooting in the area of Rose Street and Sydney Place in Somerset, where they found the 57-year-old victim.

Investigators found three male teens— ages 14, 13, and 13 — were involved in the robbery and killing, before running from the scene that night.

Read More: Funds raised for NJ slain cab driver, accused killer is arrested

The 14-year-old, a Somerset resident, was sentenced to 11 years for first-degree murder and robbery, as well as weapons offenses.

One of the 13 year-olds, from New Brunswick, was sentenced to eight years for first-degree felony murder and robbery.

The other 13 year-old, also from Somerset, was sentenced to four years for first-degree robbery.

Since they were younger than 15, the juveniles could not be prosecuted as adults, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Also, there are no mandatory minimum prison terms for juvenile offenders.

Read More: Man guilty of own mother's NJ murder, greed as alleged motive

The victim, a North Plainfield resident, had moved to the U.S. in 2006 from Ghana with his two young sons, according to a GoFundMe campaign setup by one of his mourning children, who said their father “lived a remarkable life of humility and dedication.”

“Kofi worked tirelessly as both a bus driver by day and a taxi driver by night,” the same campaign said, driven by the desire to “witness his two sons graduate from college.”

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