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Gabriel Braithwaite, 21, of Keansburg was sentenced to 40 years in state prison on Friday, Jan. 5, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced. Braithewaite pleaded guilty in July 2023 to three charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.
Jeron Dearin, 24, of Aberdeen was sentenced to five years in state prison. He also pleaded guilty in July 2023 to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.
Neptune Township police were called to a shooting at a home on Washington Avenue just after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, according to prosecutors. Officers found a man and a woman shot inside a parked car.
Samore Edwards, 19, of Plainfield was declared dead at the scene. Isaiah Williams, 19, of New Brunswick was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Investigators said Dearin drove Braithwaite, who was his cousin, to and from the scene of the shooting. The investigation also found that Braithwaite shot and killed both victims.
Braithwaithe and Dearin were arrested about a month after the killings. They've been held at Monmouth County Correctional Institution since their arrests.
Prosecutors said they consulted with the families of Edwards and Williams before reaching the plea agreements. Several family members also appeared at the sentencings to read statements into the court record.
They also wore shirts and held signs honoring the murdered teens.
“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,” said Santiago. “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.”
Santiago said under New Jersey's No Early Release Act, Braithwaite and Dearin must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
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