Monmouth County grand jury charges trio with murder, conspiracy, and weapons offenses in March homicide.
FREEHOLD, N.J. – A Monmouth County grand jury has returned a 10-count indictment against three men accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Tristan Reeves of Long Branch earlier this year, Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Tuesday.
Aiden Terlecki, 19, of Middletown; Joshua Moore, 21, of Neptune Township; and Jahsaad M. Banks, 19, of Asbury Park, are each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, two counts of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and three counts of third-degree hindering apprehension. Moore faces an additional count of second-degree certain persons not to possess a weapon.
Deadly shooting near John R. Lewis Commons
The charges stem from a shooting that took place on Sunday, March 16, around 12:34 p.m., when Long Branch police responded to reports of gunfire in the area of the John R. Lewis Commons housing complex. Officers arrived to find Reeves suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported 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 launched an extensive investigation that identified Terlecki, Moore, and Banks as suspects in the shooting. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killing.
Arrests across multiple agencies
According to the prosecutor’s office, Moore was arrested in Long Branch on October 2 without incident. Terlecki was taken into custody a week later, on October 9, by Port Authority Police officers. Banks was already being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on an unrelated case at the time he was charged.
All three men remain detained at the correctional facility pending trial. Banks and Moore were ordered held following a detention hearing before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Henry P. Butehorn on October 15.
Prosecution moving forward in Monmouth County court
Assistant Prosecutors Matthew Bogner, Director of the Major Crimes Bureau, and Christopher Dize of the Trial Division are handling the state’s case. Banks is represented by Lauren Musarra, Esq., of Freehold; Moore by Anthony Cherry, Esq., of Eatontown; and Terlecki by Mitchell Ansell, Esq., of Ocean Township.
Prosecutor Santiago credited the swift coordination among county detectives, Long Branch Police, and the Port Authority Police Department for securing the arrests. The case will now proceed through the Monmouth County Superior Court as the defendants await trial on murder and related charges.