Pleasantville man convicted in fatal carjacking

A Pleasantville man was convicted in a carjacking that killed a Somers Point man in 2021.

Jermaine Wharton, now 33, was on probation with four pending charges when he shot 41-year-old Ivan Smith in Pleasantville on Nov. 13, 2021, and took his vehicle to Millville.

A jury convicted him Thursday of murder, felony murder, carjacking, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of a handgun without a permit.

A ShotSpotter alert brought Pleasantville police to the 900 block of North Main Street at about 9:19 that morning, when they found Smith dead.

Wharton first tried to break into a witness' car before approaching Smith and his vehicle, an investigation that included surveillance video found at the time.

The day before, he allegedly struck his girlfriend in the face with a handgun and strangled her, BreakingAC reported at the time.

Wharton was given probation months before the killing, after pleading guilty to a gun charge in a case where he allegedly threatened a family member.

He faces a minimum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced March 31.

Wharton remains in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.

During his detention hearing in December 2021, Wharton claimed had been "kidnapped with no charges."

“It makes sense that this is all happening now,” he told the judge via video from the Atlantic County jail. “All the illegal activity and manipulation of dates is to fit some timeline that just isn’t true.”