Willingboro man sentenced for fatal holdup of Lindenwold woman
MOUNT HOLLY – A Willingboro man has received a life sentence for fatally shooting a 21-year-old woman during a holdup.
Marvin Coleman Jr., 25, has no chance of parole under his prison term, said the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
He was found guilty earlier this year of killing Maribely "Bely" Lopez of Lindenwold as the victim sat in her car in the Millbrook Park section of Willingboro.
Lopez had driven to the first block of Medley Lane after arranging an online sale of a cellphone to Coleman on the night of March 6, 2019, the prosecutor’s office said.
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Her body was found just before 8:30 a.m. the next morning.
Lopez had been shot in the head through a partially opened window of her car. The phone she planned to sell was still in the vehicle and the car's engine was still running, the prosecutor's office said.
In announcing Coleman's indictment in July 2019, the prosecutor's office urged people selling items to strangers to utilize safe zones offered by many local police departments.
Willingboro's police station has a dedicated area with 24-hour video surveillance in its parking lot.
Coleman, whose Marlboro Lane was near the crime scene, was found guilty of murder, felony murder, robbery and weapons offenses.
He was sentenced Friday by Superior Court Judge Gerard Breland in Mount Holly.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Maribely Lopez of Lindenwold drove to Willingboro to sell a phone
