LAKEWOOD – A township man has been charged with murder after shooting a man multiple times in the chest.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Lakewood Township Police Chief Gregory Meyer announced that Jahvontae Debose, 24, of Lakewood was charged with murder after investigation revealed he had shot the victim.
On February 21, Lakewood Township Police responded to a 911 call about a male who had collapsed in the middle of the road on Tudor Court. The victim was identified as Dajour Randolph, 20, of Little Egg Harbor, and was found with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.
Randolph was quickly transported to Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, in Lakewood where he subsequently succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. The post-mortem examination determined the cause of Randolph’s death to be multiple gunshot wounds.
On February 23, Debose was pulled over for a motor vehicle stop in Pleasantville which resulted in him being arrested. Debose was the charged with Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, Possession of more than Fifty Grams of Marijuana, Possession of a Firearm in the Course of Committing a Drug Offense, Being a Certain Person not to Possess a Weapon and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
On February 25, an investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit revealed that Debose was the suspect responsible for Randolph’s death and subsequently was charged with Murder.
“Law enforcement officers at the local, county, state, and federal levels demonstrated outstanding teamwork in connection with this very deliberative and comprehensive investigation. I am extremely grateful for their hard work and perseverance in expeditiously solving this horrendous and senseless crime,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.
Prosecutor Billhimer and Chief Meyer commend the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center, Brick Township Police Department, Manchester Township Police Department, Toms River Township Police Department, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Pleasantville Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service, for their collective and collaborative efforts relative to this investigation, ultimately leading to Debose’ arrest and appropriate charges.
Anyone in possession of additional information concerning this investigation is urged to contact Detective Brant Uricks of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, or Detective Eric Cicerello of the Lakewood Township Police Department at 732-363-0200.
The public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
