BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Three men have pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old during a drug transaction in a Walmart parking lot in October 2021, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced.
Jayviyohn Earley, 22, of Willingboro, agreed to an 18-year prison sentence, while Tarik Jenkins, 28, of Pemberton Township, and Kayhree Simmons, 22, also of Willingboro, each accepted 15-year terms as part of plea agreements with the Prosecutor’s Office. The pleas were entered on October 29 in Superior Court in Mount Holly before Judge Mark P. Tarantino, who scheduled sentencing for January 6, 2025.
The defendants admitted that they went to the Walmart on Route 541 in Burlington Township on October 7, 2021, for a drug transaction. During the encounter, gunfire erupted, and 17-year-old Albert Williams of Hammonton was fatally shot. His father, Dion Williams, was also struck by gunfire but survived the attack.
Charges are still pending against a fourth defendant, Kweli McCants, 23, of Willingboro, as well as a fifth individual who has pled guilty to hindering the investigation into the shooting.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors Katharine Dolin and Stephen W. Bondi. The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Burlington Township Police Department, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, the Willingboro Township Police Department, the FBI’s Greater Safe Streets Task Force in Trenton, and SWAT and police units from surrounding areas.
The three defendants are expected to serve their sentences without parole eligibility for a substantial portion, as required by New Jersey’s No Early Release Act for violent crimes.
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