Judge Pedro Jimenez is leaving Mercer County at the end of the week after 7 years on the bench in the criminal courthouse
TRENTON -- Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez, who handled criminal cases in Mercer County for seven years, is leaving the county at the end of this week, his office confirmed Wednesday.
A spokesperson with New Jersey Courts said Thursday that Jimenez was moving on to Middlesex County Vicinage.
Jimenez was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
A representative from the Mercer Vicinage Administration Office said that Superior Court Judge Thomas Brown, who works in the family court division, will take over for Jimenez.
Jimenez first took the criminal court position in 2009 after moving from the civil division.
He said at the time that, as a person of color, he hoped minority defendants would see him as someone they could relate to.
Prior to his time as a judge, Jimenez also worked as an assistant prosecutor in Middlesex County and as a deputy attorney general in the state Attorney General's Office.
During his seven-years as a criminal court judge in Mercer County, Jimenez presided over several prominent cases and trials, most recently the trial of Raheem Currie, the Trenton who shot and killed 19-year-old James Austin - son of a former police officer - in the city in 2013. Currie was found guilty by a jury last month.
Judge suspended for a month for inappropriate conduct
Jimenez also handled the end of the long-drawn-out case of Latin Kings gang leader Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete, who killed a mother and fellow gang member in 2004.
Negrete's 2009 conviction was overturned and his case went before a jury in Jimenez's court room last year.
Negrete was convicted again and Jimenez put an end to the decade-old case when he sentenced Negrete to life in prison last year.
Jimenez's departure marks the latest in a series of changes in the criminal courthouse in Mercer County.
Most recently Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi took the bench in April, easing the hefty caseloads of the court's five other judges.
And last year, the court faced a highly-publicized departure after former Mercer County Presiding Judge Gerald Council was accused of mistreating a coworker and calling defendants inappropriate names.
Council was suspended for a month and transferred to the family division of Middlesex Superior Court.
Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw took Council's position as presiding judge and Superior Court Judge Timothy Lydon moved into Council's job overseeing drug court.
This story has been updated to reflect that Jimenez is moving to Middlesex County.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman