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Two of the teenagers face murder charges, they said.
A Howell juvenile and an 18-year-old fugitive from Asbury Park were arrested in connection with a March 23 homicide at a home on DeWitt Avenue in Asbury Park, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Jamir Styles, 20, of Asbury Park and the 16 year old juvenile from Howell were charged on Thursday with first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and weapons charges, the prosecutor said.
Styles, a G-Shine Blood gang member, was part of the criminal enterprise identified in Operation Golden State, as reported here. U.S. Marshals helped arrest Styles in Georgia, authorities said.
The Howell juvenile also is facing an attempted murder charge stemming from an Oct. 29 shooting at the same DeWitt Avenue home,
On March 23, Christian Lahens, 24, was shot inside his home, Gramiccioni said, and was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.
The investigation found that Styles and the Howell juvenile carried out the murder of Lahens as part of the ongoing effort to target gang rivals, Gramiccioni said.
In addition to the charges against the 16-year-old and Styles, law enforcement officers additionally charged 19 year old Jayson Freeman, of Lakewood, with hindering the apprehension of another, a third-degree crime, for aiding the two shooters, Gramiccioni said on Tuesday.
Freeman was arrested on an outstanding warrant by the Wall Township Police.
No one was hurt during the Oct. 29, which also involved a 14-year-old suspect, who has been charged as a juvenile with attempted murder and weapons charges, the prosecutor said.
Both juveniles were being held in the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center, pending an appearance in Family Court.
Authorities urge anyone with information about these shootings to call Detective Terrence McGhee of the Asbury Park Police Department at 732-774-1300 or Detective Stephen Cavendish of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 800-533-7443.
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