A neighbor tells the Press that one man was dead in the street, the other in a car.
Two Red Bank men and a Fair Haven man were arrested and charged in connection with the predawn shooting that left two men dead on Locust Avenue Tuesday, two newspapers report today, citing the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office.
Found dead on the scene in front of an apartment building were Joseph Fann, 25, of Kimberly Court in Middletown and Sidney Wakefield, 26, of Long Branch Avenue in Long Branch, first assistant Monmouth County prosecutor Peter Warshaw told the Asbury Park Press.
The Asbury Park Press says the suspects “headed to the area with violence on their minds.”
“The investigation thus far reveals that this was an isolated incident, which was not random,” said Peter E. Warshaw Jr., first assistant Monmouth County prosecutor…
Charged with two counts each of murder and felony murder is Antonio D. Suarez-Perez, 21, of Locust Avenue, here, who was being held in lieu of $3,762,500 cash bail at the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township.
Suarez-Perez also faces multiple weapons charges, and is accused of tampering with physical evidence related to the crime.
Eric J. Figueras, 25, of River Street, here, and Samson Theodore Hearn, 26, of Maple Avenue in Fair Haven are each charged with two counts of felony murder and a single count of armed robbery, as well as weapons possession, hindering their apprehension and obstruction of law. They were being held in lieu of $1,877,500 bail each.
Warshaw declined to comment on possible motives behind the crime or to describe any relationship between the victims and their alleged killers. He also would not elaborate on the evidence tampering and obstruction charges, other than saying detectives recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the shootings.
Fann and Wakefield were long-time friends who loved life, music and football, said Fann’s sister, Alanna Harris.
“They will be greatly missed and never forgotten,” she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Harris, who is also a former girlfriend of Wakefield, stood in front of three burning vigil candles with friend Kyanna Johnson, 24, juggling the sadness of loss and the confusion over what events might have led to the two men’s grisly ends.
“Only the good die young,” Johnson said.
Throughout the day Tuesday, local police and county investigators remained on Locust Avenue, where a portion of the street between Leighton Avenue and Leighton Place was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape. A dozen small, yellow evidence markers were scattered across the pavement in front of the apartments at 8 Leighton Ave.
Detectives combed the neighborhood, going door-to-door multiple times during the day and at one point dug a hole and began sifting dirt into a box marked “forensics.”
One Locust Avenue resident, who declined to give his name out of fear of retaliation, said he heard the shots and saw one of the men lying dead in the street and another inside a car as police arrived.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said a car carrying Suarez-Perez, Figueras and Hearn was located in neighboring Middletown shortly after the shooting. All three men were brought to Red Bank police headquarters for questioning, the source said.
Warshaw declined to comment on the investigation, other than saying formal complaints charging each of the suspects were signed Tuesday evening. More information about the case is expected to be released Wednesday, he said.
The Star-Ledger reported Fann’s age as 23.
