A teen has been charged in the killing of a Ventnor grandfather outside the older man's home.
Sunil Edla was planning a Nov. 27 trip to see his mother in India and celebrate her 95th birthday.
But as he headed to work at about 7:45 Thursday night, a man shot him in the head, leaving him dead and taking off in his car.
The Subaru Forrester was later found in the 1600 block of Sewell Avenue by Atlantic City police officers, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said.
That helped investigators track the suspect with help from the Atlantic City surveillance center.
A 16-year-old from Egg Harbor City was arrested about a block away, in the 1500 block of Sewell, at 10:18 Friday morning by members of the Atlantic City SWAT team.
He is charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, carjacking and weapons offenses.
His name is not being released due to his age. He is being held at the Harborfields Juvenile Detention Center.
“The speedy arrest of the juvenile charged for this homicide is an example of the success of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office working collaboratively with the Ventnor City Police Department and the Atlantic City Police Department to cooperatively investigate violent crime in our region," Tyner said. "I thank them all for their hard work and commitment in this and every investigation. The professionalism of these three agencies is directly responsible for the arrest of this individual."
Private surveillance camera captured shooting, neighbor says. Man on bike waited for victim to come downstairs and shot him, taking the car ... https://t.co/dZ7Qm7vwVM pic.twitter.com/eopyXmzUBf
— Lynda Cohen (@LyndaCohen) November 16, 2018
Private surveillance video captured the shooting on camera, neighbor Brian Wells said.
Edla has just taken his grandchild upstairs and was coming back to the car to leave for work when he was shot, Wells said the video shows.
The suspect rode up on a bike and hid in wait for Edla to return, he said.
When the father of two and grandfather of three came back down the stairs, the man came up behind him and fired, Wells said. Then he took off in Edla's gray Subaru Forrester.
He was a generous man with no enemies, Edla's family said.
"We will miss him at church," a friend said of Edla, who played piano at Chelsea Presbyterian Church.
An autopsy showed Edla died of multiple gunshot wounds.
