Trenton man gets 65 years for deadly ambush at annual street party

TRENTON, NJ — Tuesday — A Trenton man was sentenced to 65 years in state prison after ambushing and killing a man during an annual neighborhood party in 2021, ending a four-year investigation into a shooting that shocked the Stuyvesant Avenue community.

Matthew Tanner, 40, was convicted of first-degree murder and multiple weapons charges in April and sentenced on Wednesday by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene J. Pereksta. Prosecutors said Tanner must serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

The shooting occurred in the early hours of August 1, 2021, during “Sha-Day,” an annual party held in memory of a local resident killed in 2013. As the celebration continued past midnight on the 800 block of Stuyvesant Avenue, police responded to a ShotSpotter alert indicating 13 gunshots. They arrived to find 28-year-old Daquan Basnight lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds to the face and body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators from the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and Trenton Police recovered 13 shell casings around Basnight’s body and secured surveillance footage from a nearby business. The video captured a lone gunman ambushing the victim from a shortcut between two homes before fleeing down Craft Alley.

Tanner, wearing a black t-shirt, black pants, a light strip of fabric on his back, and white reflective sneakers, was identified by detectives from footage just minutes before and after the shooting. He was later interviewed by detectives while still wearing the same clothing seen in the surveillance video.

Prosecutors said Tanner left the party earlier that night, changed clothes at a home on Hoffman Avenue, and returned just minutes before the shooting. He was seen on video near the victim both before and immediately after the attack. At trial, Assistant Prosecutors Michael Mennuti and Matthew Samel argued that Tanner intentionally tracked and ambushed Basnight as he was leaving the event.

Tanner was found guilty on all counts, including murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and being a certain person not to possess a firearm due to a prior conviction.

He was defended by attorneys from the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. No motive was disclosed during trial.

Key Points

Matthew Tanner was sentenced to 65 years in prison for the 2021 murder of Daquan Basnight in Trenton
Surveillance footage showed Tanner ambushing Basnight during an annual street party and fleeing
Tanner was convicted on all charges, including first-degree murder and multiple weapons offenses

A gunman who waited in the shadows during a street party is now facing decades behind bars.

Phil Stilton Latest posts

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

Readers can submit story tips, corrections, public records, or media inquiries through the official Shore News Network website or its verified social media channels. Shore News Network welcomes corrections and updates when new information becomes available as part of its ongoing commitment to accurate and transparent journalism.