February 4, 2022
FREEHOLD – Two Bayshore men have been arrested and charged in connection with the double homicide that took place in Neptune Township last month, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Friday.
Gabriel Braithwaite, 19, of Keansburg and Jerod Dearin, 22, of the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen are both charged with two counts of first-degree Murder and single counts of first-degree Conspiracy to Commit Murder, two related second-degree weapons offenses, and third-degree Hindering Apprehension in connection with the deaths of 18-year-old Samore Edwards of Plainfield and 19-year-old Isaiah Williams of New Brunswick.
Shortly before 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19, members of the Neptune Township Police Department responded to the 1300 block of Washington Avenue on a report of a shooting, according to the preliminary investigation. At that location, officers found the two victims in a parked vehicle; Edwards was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, while Williams was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
An intensive investigation involving members of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, the Neptune Township Police Department, and the Keansburg Police Department resulted in Braithwaite and Dearin being identified as suspects in the case, and they were taken into custody without incident earlier today.
“This was a brazen and brutal crime, and the swiftness with which it was investigated and these defendants apprehended is a testament to the quality of no small amount of stellar collaborative work,” Acting Prosecutor Linskey said.
Convictions on criminal charges of this nature are commonly punishable by terms of up to life in state prison. Despite the charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
This case has been assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Matthew Bogner and Stephanie Dugan.
Anyone with any information about this matter is still being urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Christopher Guy toll-free at 1-800-533-7443 or Neptune Township Police Department Detective Darell Harris at 732-988-8000, Ext. 408.
