A murder suspect turned fugitive who was wanted in connection to a fatal shooting in Asbury Park last summer is now in custody, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Lydell Brown, 19, of Asbury Park is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, and two related second-degree weapons offenses, according to the statement from the Prosecutor’s Office. Brown was located in Toms River on Thursday, where he was arrested in a coordinated operation involving local, county and federal authorities.
The murder of 19-year-old Dariel Vernet of Asbury Park took place shortly after 5:45 p.m. on July 8, 2022, in the 100 block of Prospect Avenue near its intersection with Atlantic Avenue, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
Vernet had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was pronounced dead about one hour later. An autopsy ruled the death was a homicide, according to the statement.
The Major Crimes Bureau of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Asbury Park Police Department conducted an investigation that concluded Brown and an unnamed 16-year-old boy were responsible for the shooting, the statement said.
The juvenile was arrested on July 12 and remains in custody pending the outcome of future court proceedings.
Brown was arrested by officers from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Asbury Park Police and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service, all according to the statement.
The Prosecutor’s Office continues to ask that anyone who may have additional information about the murder to contact Detective Sgt. Christopher Guy at 800-533-7443 at the Prosecutor’s Office or Asbury Park Police Detective Anthony Troublefield at 732-774-1300.
The case has been assigned to Assistant Prosecutors Caitlin J. Sidley and Alexandra Strzykalski.