Vineland, NJ, man gets 45 years in prison for 2015 triple shooting
A Vineland man is headed to prison for several decades in connection to a triple shooting in 2015 that left two people dead.
The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office says earlier this week, 44-year-old Sheldon M. Goldsborough, Sr., was sentenced to 45 years behind bars on the following charges:
- First-degree aggravated manslaughter
- Second-degree reckless manslaughter
- Second-degree aggravated assault
During the early morning hours of March 8th, 2015, officers with the Vineland Police Department responded to the 100 block of West Grape Street for several gunshots that had been fired. There, they found a vehicle with three occupants inside and one outside.
- Damien Mills died at the scene
- Kevin Peterson, who was shot four times, later died at a hospital
- A woman was shot in her leg
- A fourth victim (female) did not suffer any injuries
Officers found a flip phone near shell casings and the victim’s vehicle. After examining the phone’s contents, a phone number led them to a home on the 200 block of E. Oak Rd. in Vineland where Goldsborough’s co-defendant and co-conspirator, Michael R. Loftin, Jr., was a resident.
The flip phone was swabbed for DNA and returned positive as a match to Loftin. Another phone number that called the flip phone at the time of the homicide was associated with Goldsborough.
An investigation revealed that Loftin and Goldsborough were together at the time of the homicide and Goldsborough’s cell phone was pinging to a tower near the crime scene.
Goldsborough was acquitted of both original murder counts while Loftin was sentenced to 20 years on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Goldsborough must serve 85% of his sentence, or just over 38 years, before becoming eligible for parole. This latest sentence is consecutive to another sentence he currently serves on an unrelated matter.
Cold cases: Unsolved murders in Cumberland County, NJ, from past summers
Gallery Credit: Chris Coleman