Jury sees video of killing of ex-Marine in Camden

There is no question that Darrell Crone and Timothy Loper Jr. both went to the same bar on the same night near Camden's waterfront nearly a year and a half ago, but a jury will have to decide whether the gunman seen in a video shooting Loper is actually Crone.

The jury, seated this week, started hearing testimony Tuesday in the trial of Crone on first-degree murder charges in the killing of Loper, 27, of Pine Hill.

Loper, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan and who was the father of a daughter, then 6, was at the 20 Horse Tavern at Second and Spruce Streets with high school buddies when he was killed Dec. 1, 2013.

Camden County Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah on Tuesday told the jury in her opening statement that Crone was the gunman who shot Loper once in the back in the overnight hours that Sunday morning.

Crone, 32, of Camden has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Scott Cohen, told the jury that his client was at the bar but he was not the gunman.

At least one witness, Cohen said, described the gunman as wearing a hat and gray clothing. In the video, Crone is seen entering the bar about midnight with no hat, and wearing a different-colored sweater, his lawyer said.

Several witnesses took the stand Tuesday, including the tavern's manager who retrieved the video for police the night of the shooting. Surveillance cameras recorded a dark SUV arrive in the parking lot, but it is not clear who was in it. Seconds later Crone is seen walking into the bar.

A few hours later, Crone is seen leaving the bar. More grainy video shows people gathering in the parking lot where a dispute among several people escalated into a fight with pushing and punches thrown.

Shah replayed the video several times as Detective John Hunsinger of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office pointed to the top left corner of the screen, where he said the muzzle flash could be seen. Shortly after, the dark SUV is seen leaving the lot. Loper was taken to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities have said the fight was about a young woman. Loper was not involved in the dispute, but was shot trying to break up the fight, authorities have said.

Loper, who grew up in Blackwood, was a corporal who served four years in the Marines. After leaving the military, he began taking classes at Rowan University, Camden, and working as a supervisor for Keystone Industries, a chemical company in Cherry Hill.

Crone aspired to be a boxer, but with a criminal record had spent most of his adult life in jail. The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning before Camden Superior Court Judge Gwendolyn Blue.