NEPTUNE – Two men have been sentenced to state prison in relation to the shooting deaths of a young man and woman in Neptune Township, officials said.
Gabriel J. Braithwaite, 21, of Keansburg was sentenced to 40 years and Jeron D. Dearin, 24, of the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen was sentenced to five years in state prison. A total of 85 percent of both terms must be served before the possibility of parole, under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.
On the evening of January 19, 2022, officers responded to 1300 Washington Avenue on a report of a shooting. Authorities found the two victims, 18-year-old Samore Edwards of Plainfield and 19-year-old Isaiah Williams of New Brunswick, in a parked vehicle.
Edwards was pronounced deceased at the scene, while Williams was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival.
According to police, Dearin drove Braithwaite, his cousin, from Keansburg to the scene of the shooting and back. Braithwaite was the one who pulled the trigger, officials said.
The pair were arrested without incident less than a month after the shooting and have remained in custody at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution ever since.
During a hearing held in July 2023, Braithwaite pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree Murder and a related weapons offense, while Dearin admitted to second-degree Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Assault.
The pleas were negotiated and agreed to only after members of the Prosecutor’s Office consulted with the families of Edwards and Williams, officials said.
Several family members read statements into the record, thinking of these two young adults who were eager to begin pursuing personal goals before their lives ended.
“The utterly senseless and callous nature of this crime can’t be overstated – it was an ambush of two unarmed individuals sitting in a car together who had nowhere to escape to and no time to react,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. “While the conclusion of this criminal matter can’t bring them back, we hope it offers the victims’ loved ones some sense of solace and also serves as an unambiguous message to those who contribute to the scourge of gun violence in Monmouth County.”
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