Bloomfield Man Helped Murder Irvington Resident, Gets Prison Sentence

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Bloomfield man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for acting as an escape driver during the murder of an Irvington resident almost two years ago, authorities announced Tuesday.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Lamar Sommers, 36, of Bloomfield, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for conspiring to kill Jahque Benbow, 23, of Irvington.

Prosecutors released the following statement about the murder:

“On May 11, 2022, Sommers, along with two unidentified men, conspired to shoot Benbow at the Irvington gas station where he worked. Sommers drove the two men to Irvington, where he dropped them off a block from the station. The two shot the victim five times while Sommers waited in the car. Sommers then drove the shooters away from the crime scene.”

Sommers fled New Jersey after the crime. He was apprehended in North Carolina on June 16, 2022, prosecutors said.

In October 2023, a jury found Sommers guilty of first-degree conspiracy, first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

“Mr. Benbow was hunted, then executed in a public place where innocent bystanders ran for their lives when shots rang out,” said assistant prosecutor F. Garnes, who tried the case with assistant prosecutor J. Ventola.

“The fact that Mr. Benbow’s baby, born hours after his death, will never know him, further compounds this tragedy,” Ventola said.

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