Arrests Made in Two Unrelated Homicides

Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray along with Newark Police Director Eugene Venable and West Orange Chief of Police James P. Abbott announced today arrests in two unrelated murders.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the June 25 murder of 19-year-old Brendan Tevlin of Livingston.

A registered sex offender and a suspect in two Seattle homicides, Ali Muhammad Brown, 29, of Seattle, Washington, has been charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Also charged in connection with the Tevlin murder are Jeremy Villagran, 19, and Eric Williams, 18, both of West Orange. Both men have been charged with felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Tevlin was fatally shot in the vicinity of Northfield Avenue and Walker road in West Orange on June 25.  He was found dead in a Jeep Liberty in the parking lot of 275 Northfield Avenue in West Orange.

Villagran is a resident of the apartment complex where Tevlin’s body was found.

Brown was linked to the crime when it was learned that the weapon used to kill Tevlin is the same weapon used in two murders in Seattle, Washington. Brown was also charged in a June 29, robbery and attempted carjacking in Point Pleasant, N.J.

On July 18, members of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide /Major Crimes Task Force and the West Orange Police Department canvassed a wooded area in the Township and found Brown living in a makeshift camp area.  Brown was subsequently taken into custody.

Andre Fields, 31, of Irvington has been arrested and charged with the June 29 murder of Cheyanne Bond, 17, of Irvington. In addition to being charged with 1^st degree murder, Fields is also charged with felony murder, robbery, conspiracy, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Bonds and a 17-year-old male friend were walking in the 500 block of South 17th Street when they were confronted by two assailants who attempted to rob them of an I Phone. Both were shot. She was pronounced dead shortly after police arrived on the scene at 9:45 p.m. The other victim was transported to University Hospital. He survived his injuries. His name is not being released at this time.

The preliminary investigation indicates the motive in Bonds’ murder appears to be robbery.

In both cases the investigations are active and ongoing.

All four men are currently being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark. The Honorable Robert H. Gardner, Judge of the Superior Court, set bail for Fields at $1 million.

The Honorable Ronald D. Wigler, Presiding Judge of the Essex County Criminal Division, set bail for Brown at $5 million and bail for Williams and Villagran at $1 million.

All four are scheduled to make their first court appearance on Wednesday, Aug. 6. before Judge Wigler.

These are allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they enter a guilty plea or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.