Three young men charged in deadly Long Branch gun attack
Freehold, NJ – A Monmouth County grand jury has indicted three young men on murder and weapons charges in the fatal daytime shooting of an 18-year-old man near a Long Branch park earlier this year.
Aiden Terlecki, 19, of Middletown, Joshua Moore, 21, of Neptune Township, and Jahsaad M. Banks, 19, of Asbury Park were each charged with first-degree murder and first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, along with multiple weapons and hindering offenses tied to the killing of Tristan Reeves. Moore faces an additional charge for unlawful possession of a weapon as a prohibited person.
The shooting happened Sunday, March 16, at about 12:34 p.m. near the John R. Lewis Commons in Long Branch. Responding officers found Reeves suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau and the Long Branch Police Department identified Terlecki, Moore and Banks as the suspects responsible for the shooting. Terlecki was arrested Thursday evening, October 9, by Port Authority Police and remains held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. Moore was taken into custody in Neptune Township on Thursday, October 2, and is also being held at the county jail. Banks was already detained at the facility on an unrelated matter at the time of the indictment.
Banks and Moore were ordered detained following a court hearing Wednesday, October 15, before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Henry P. Butehorn. Prosecutors said the case will be handled by the Major Crimes Bureau and the office’s Trial Division.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Key Points
- Three men were indicted on murder and weapons charges in a Long Branch homicide
- The victim, 18-year-old Tristan Reeves, was shot near John R. Lewis Commons
- All three suspects are currently being held at the Monmouth County jail