East Camden

An unidentified man was fatally shot in East Camden on Wednesday in the eighth homicide this month, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. The shooting occurred near North 23d and High Streets, the Prosecutor's Office said. Details were not immediately available. The violence this month is part of a particularly violent year so far. Two people were killed on Saturday; three were killed on July 11; one person was killed on July 10, and another on July 2. By comparison, five people were killed last July; a sixth who was attacked that month died in August.

Two people were shot dead in Camden over the weekend, authorities said. Franklin Morales, 39, was found lying in a driveway on the 900 block of Biedeman Avenue in East Camden around 9 p.m. Saturday. He was pronounced dead at Cooper University Hospital. Around 11 p.m., Khalil Cotton, 23, of Camden, was shot near Mount Ephraim Avenue and Morton Street in the Whitman Park section. He was driven to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The deaths brought the city's homicide tally to 33, compared with 23 at this time last year.

The sight of broken TVs, an old couch, and wooden debris scattered along Adams Avenue in East Camden on Monday morning was familiar for the Rev. William "Jud" Weiksnar. The pastor of St. Anthony of Padua parish has fought the city and Camden County for about seven years to end similar illegal dumping a few blocks away in Von Neida Park. But instead of his usual rage over the mounds of garbage, Weiksnar had an ear-to-ear smile Monday as he stood behind Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd, who was in the neighborhood to announce a new initiative designed to crack down on illegal dumping in the city.

In a city where there is seldom any good news, the story of Camden youngster Jorge Cartagena is a refreshing story of good triumphing over evil. Last June, Jorge, 9, was caught in the cross fire between two drug dealers. He was shot in the face and callously left on a city sidewalk. After spending months in the hospital, he woke up from a coma blind. His alleged assailant was arrested shortly after the shooting that forever changed a young boy's life. Jorge could easily be a poster child for senseless violence in Camden, ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

  It's Sunday morning at Sacred Heart Church in Camden, and Jorge Cartagena feels the warm embrace of a new family. From the pulpit, Father Michael Doyle gives a shout-out to the young parishioner, and Jorge, 9, answers with a happy wave. He still needs a few prompts from his mentor, Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson, who guides him through the rituals of a 90-minute Mass. Until recently, Jorge was not a churchgoer, and he is blind. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!"

When Randy Primas was elected Camden's mayor in 1981, the history he most wanted to make had little to do with his age (31) or his race (African American). A historical first on both counts, the gentlemanly political leader, business executive, and family man who was laid to rest Friday at Harleigh Cemetery most dearly hoped to rescue his hometown from ruin, and even restore some of its glory. If the task proved too big for Primas - as it did for every other mayor, before or since - his decades of devotion nevertheless loom large.

By the time all the dignitaries, friends, and others close to former Camden Mayor Melvin R. "Randy" Primas Jr. arrived at his funeral Friday, most were done mourning. Friday's ceremony, which started with a two-hour viewing and concluded with a 90-minute "home-going" service at St. John Baptist Church in East Camden, featured more laughs than tears. It was a reunion for current and former politicians, clergy and residents. People hugged and waved from opposite sides of the church, which was filled with nearly 1,000 people.

A Camden man detained Thursday as a suspect in a robbery is expected to also be charged in a series of daytime sexual assaults in the city in the area of Farnham Park, near Baird and Park Boulevards, authorities said. Kevin D. Cleveland, 19, of the 400 block of Rand Street, was taken into custody earlier in the day in the robbery of a "juvenile female" in Farnham Park about 12:30 p.m. Jan. 2 - more than two weeks before the first of three confirmed sexual assaults, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and Camden police said.