On Friday, November 3, 2023, an Elizabeth man was sentenced to 60 years in state prison for the shooting death of Antwoine Thompson in 2021, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel, Elizabeth Police Director Earl Graves, and Elizabeth Police Chief Giacomo Sacca announced today.
On May 16th, Michael Rogers was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon following a 5-week trial before Union County Superior Court Judge Thomas K. Isenhour. Today, Judge Isenhour sentenced Rogers to 60 years in State Prison, requiring him to serve at least 85% of the term before the possibility of parole.
In the early afternoon of April 26, 2021, Elizabeth Police patrol units responded to the intersection of Second and Bond streets where they found Thompson having sustained six gunshot wounds, according to Assistant Prosecutors Jillian Reyes and Joseph Cho, who prosecuted the case. Thompson was rushed to Trinitas Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 3pm.
Prosecutor Daniel hopes that this sentence can provide some assurance to the victim’s loved ones, as well as the community, that we will not tolerate these egregious offenses and will expend all of our efforts to bring the offenders to justice.