ASBURY PARK, NJ – Asbury Park shooting suspect, Lydell Brown, who had been on the run since last summer, was arrested on Friday, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago. Brown is charged with first-degree Murder, first-degree Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and two related second-degree weapons offenses.
The shooting incident occurred on July 8, 2022, at around 5:45 p.m., when the Asbury Park Police Department received reports of gunfire originating from the 100 block of Prospect Avenue, near the intersection with Atlantic Avenue. Upon arrival, officers found 19-year-old Dariel Vernet of Asbury Park, who had sustained multiple gunshot injuries. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead approximately an hour later. The autopsy showed that Vernet’s death was a homicide.
The investigation into Vernet’s death was led by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Bureau and the Asbury Park Police Department. Brown and a juvenile defendant were identified as the suspects responsible for the shooting. The 16-year-old juvenile, who was not named due to his age, was apprehended on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, and he remains in custody awaiting court proceedings.
Brown had been on the run since the incident but was finally located and arrested without incident in Toms River, Ocean County, on Thursday, May 5, 2023. The arrest was carried out by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Asbury Park Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.