Man Who Barricaded Himself In Burlington Co. House Identifed, Charged

BEVERLY CITY, NJ — There is new information regarding a man who died inside a Beverly City house and a second man who barricaded himself inside the same Beverly City structure on Tuesday, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.

Larry Brown, 27, of Burlington Township, was charged with second-degree certain persons not to have weapons, second-degree kidnapping and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon after the standoff, according to authorities.

Brown was sent to Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly to await a detention hearing in Superior Court, authorities said.

The events that led up to charges began at about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, when a woman contacted the Beverly City Police Department and told them Brown had called her from a house on Bentley Avenue in Beverly City, according to authorities. The woman also said that Brown notified her another man in the house, 34-year-old Cecilio Luciano of Highland Park, was killed, according to authorities.

Brown refused to leave the house when contacted by police, authorities said. A woman and four children who lived inside the house were able to get out safely during Brown's standoff with police, authorities said.

Brown ultimately surrendered at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and was taken into custody, according to authorities.

The preliminary investigation, utilizing information provided by some of the occupants, indicated that Luciano ... had been fatally shot," authorities said. "However, an autopsy ... indicated he had been bludgeoned to death."

No charges have been filed yet in connection with the homicide, and the investigation is ongoing, according to authorities.

The Beverly City School District was closed on Tuesday due to the police activity, the district's superintendent previously said. The district will make up the lost day on Monday, the superintendent added.

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