A Pleasantville man who recently pleaded guilty in a gun case is now charged with the deadly carjacking of a Somers Point man.
Jermaine Wharton, 32, is accused of shooting Ivan Smith on Nov. 13, and then stealing the victim’s vehicle and driving it to Millville.
Smith, 41, was found lying on the sidewalk in the 900 block of North Main Street after Pleasantville police responded to a ShotSpotter alert and 911 call about a shooting at 9:19 that morning, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Cary Shill said.
An investigation that included surveillance video and witness interviews found that Wharton first tried to break into a witness’ vehicle, but was unsuccessful, according to the affidavit obtained by BreakingAC.
Wharton then approached Smith and his vehicle. A short time after, there were gunshots and Smith was found dead, the affidavit states.
The day before the deadly attack, Wharton allegedly struck a woman in the face with a handgun and strangled her, according to a Pleasantville police report.
Pleasantville Detective Jeffery Raine received information about that assault on Nov. 24. Wharton was arrested Dec. 15 in that case and is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, along with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Five days after his arrest on those charges, Wharton was charged in Smith’s killing.
He was already in the Atlantic County Justice Facility when he was served the charges of felony murder, murder, carjacking, and weapons offenses.
Wharton was last released from jail in June, after pleading guilty to a gun charge in a case where he allegedly threatened a family member.
The woman told police that Wharton came into her Atlantic City home Jan. 13, 2020, “paranoid with a gun.”
He was pointing it out the windows saying he was going to kill somebody, according to the affidavit.
Wharton stayed at the residence, and woke up the next morning, put the gun in the woman’s face, and demanded her phone, the affidavit states.
Wharton was scheduled to be sentenced in that case in August, but it doesn’t appear he showed up to court, records indicate.
Wharton also was arrested in a stabbing case in Pennsylvania in 2019.
According to charging documents, Wharton admitted to having engaged in an argument with the victim over $20 that he was owed but denied using or displaying a knife.
He was charged with simple assault, harassment, and weapon possession, court records show. It’s not clear what the outcome of that case was. It has been marked closed.
Court records now mark that case closed.
NOTE: The Atlantic County jail does not release mugshots under an order by the former county prosecutor.
