Trenton Shootout Victim Was A Family Man, Father Of 6

TRENTON, NJ — Robert Powell was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the 56-year-old Powell, of Trenton, walked home from a local store early Wednesday morning, he got caught in the crossfire between Trenton Police and a convicted sex offender, authorities said Friday afternoon. As police attempted to get Powell to safety, he was struck in the back by a bullet, and was killed.

A 35-hour standoff ensued, and ended with the arrest of 35-year-old Tyleeb Reese, of Trenton. Reese is charged with murder, five counts of attempted murder, five counts of aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and five counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said. He was detained without bail, pending trial.

Powell was struck in his ankle and hip, but it was the bullet that pierced his back and passed through the front of his body that proved fatal, Onofri said.

“He was a family man with six kids who was expected a grandchild,” Onofri said. “He loved to read and he loved his wife of 30 years. He was an innocent bystander just walking home from a local store.”

After Powell was struck, police officers brought him to safety and attempted to revive him, authorities said. Three Mercer County Sheriff’s Officers were struck by gunfire and were rushed to the hospital.

They have since been released and are home with their families, Onofri said. An officer with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and an officer with the New Jersey State Parole Board were also struck, Onofri said during Friday’s news conference. He said police are working with the family to assist them in any way possible.

“Our condolences go out to the family of a man who was gunned down senselessly,” Director Elie Honig, Office of the Attorney General, Division of Criminal Justice, said.

"He was a good guy. He was a family man," Powell's cousin Darren Stokes told 6 ABC. "And it's really sad that this was the way he had to go out. He had a great outlook on life, and he loved family, and he was a community man."

'He was a good man, a family man' says Robert Powell's family. The 56 yr old was in the wrong place @ wrong time; costing him his life @6abc pic.twitter.com/iKj9vIILR8
— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) May 12, 2017

Reese ultimately surrendered to police at about 5:15 p.m. Thursday evening. The situation began at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when he shot at police from a second-story window.

Reese barricaded himself in the home after authorities attempted to serve him a warrant for failure to appear in court on an issue related to a Megan’s Law offense, Onofri said.

In 2006, Reese sexually assaulted a child between the ages of 13 and 16 in Trenton, according to NJ 101.5. He was sentenced to over a year in jail in 2010. In 2013, he was charged with not registering as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, and served 47 days in jail.

After he surrendered, he was brought to the State Police barracks in Hamilton Township, where he complained of chest pains. He was subsequently taken to a local hospital, where he remained Friday afternoon.

No police fire struck Reese, according to authorities. The incident remains under investigation.

Attached image: People react during a standoff between police and a man in a home in Trenton, N.J. The man killed in the shooting was an innocent bystander with six children and a grandchild on the way. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)