In the late hours of September 7, 2020, Camden County Police Department responded to a report of an injured man at the Gulf Gas Station on Kaighn Avenue. Before the police arrived, the victim, 45-year-old Michael Milton, was transported to Virtua Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An investigation revealed that Milton had suffered a gunshot wound in the head while in his vehicle about a quarter after 11 p.m. but had not been found for more than half an hour later.
Surveillance footage revealed that an individual had approached Milton’s vehicle and fired a single shot into the front driver’s side before walking away. The person responsible for Milton’s death was found to be 35-year-old Cornell Tarte. The U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested the 35-year-old on September 28, 2020 on charges unrelated to the shooting. During his arrest, Tarte’s cell phone had been confiscated and was found to have photos of a handgun that matched the casing collected at the scene of the shooting.
On December 20, 2022, a jury found Cornell Tarte guilty of first-degree Murder, second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and second-degree Certain Persons not to Possess Weapons, ending the seven-week trial.
On March 23, 2023, the defendant appeared before the Honorable David Ragonese, J.S.C., and was sentenced to 63 years in NJ State Prison and is subjected to the No Early Release Act.
