News

N.J. man killed after apparently refusing to hand over $20 withdrawn from ATM

September 1, 2004

Trentonian.com: Ronald "Ronnie" McNeill, 44, entered the foyer of a Fleet Bank in Trenton, N.J., at 12:30 a.m., on Sept. 1, withdrew $20 from the ATM and left the bank. Outside, police said, McNeill was approached by a suspect, who pulled a gun and demanded the cash. McNeill refused to hand it over, and the suspect fired one shot into the victim's neck. McNeill stumbled back to his car, where he collapsed. Ambulance crews arrived after an anonymous 911 call was placed from a pay phone across the street from the bank. McNeill was alive when crews arrived, but was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Police are looking for a black male suspect last seen running from the scene. "I cannot believe this," McNeill's cousin Tina Dent told Action News in Philadelphia. "You can't get that much out of an ATM machine ... $400 is the limit. It's just ridiculous." Detectives plan to interview witnesses who may have seen the shooting. The Fleet branch is located in one of the city's toughest neighborhoods and is overrun by drugs and gangs, residents said.