Keansburg, Cliffwood Cousins Sentenced For Double Murder In Neptune

NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP, NJ — Young men from Keansburg and Cliffwood — cousins — were sentenced for the execution-style murder of a young man and woman in Neptune Township in 2022, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced Monday.

Gabriel Braithwaite, 21, of Keansburg, pleaded guilty this past July to two counts of first-degree murder, plus illegal gun charges.

Meanwhile his cousin, Jeron Dearin, 24, of the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.

The prosecutor says Dearin drove Braithwaite, his younger cousin, from Keansburg to the scene of the shooting and back, whereas Braithwaite was the one who pulled the trigger.

Braithwaite will serve 40 in prison. Dearin will serve five. They were sentenced Friday, Jan. 5.

"The utterly senseless and callous nature of this crime can’t be overstated," said Prosecutor Santiago on Jan. 8. "It was an ambush of two unarmed individuals sitting in a car together who had nowhere to escape to and no time to react."

"We hope this serves as a message to those who (commit) gun violence in Monmouth County," he added.

Shortly before 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, Neptune Twp. Police were called to the 1300 block of Washington Avenue on a report of a shooting. At that location, officers found the two victims, Samore Edwards, 18, of Plainfield and Isaiah Williams, 19, of New Brunswick, in a parked car.

The young woman, Edwards, was pronounced dead at the scene. Williams was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center but died shortly after arrival.

Braithwaite and Dearin were arrested without incident less than a month after the shooting. They've been behind bars at the Monmouth County Jail ever since.

Their guilty pleas were negotiated and agreed to only after the Prosecutor’s office consulted with the families of Edwards and Williams.

Several members of those families, some donning clothing and holding signs showing photos of the murdered young people, read statements into the record on Friday, each recalling gregarious young adults who were eager to begin pursuing personal goals when their lives were suddenly cut short.

This case was investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's office Major Crimes Bureau, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, Neptune Township Police and the Keansburg Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by MCPO Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner, Director of the Major Crimes Bureau, along with Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan. Braithwaite was represented by Joshua M. Hood, Esq., while Dearin was represented by Carlos Diaz-Cobo, Esq., both attorneys with an office in Freehold.