On Monday, March 6, 2023, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit charged three individuals in connection with a 2019 shooting in Jersey City.
Austin Be-Kwao, 25, Malcolm Horton, 36, and Khadijah Neal, 36, all of Newark, are each charged with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1), a crime of the first degree; Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 and 2C:11-3a(1), a crime of the first degree; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1), a crime of the second degree, and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a(1), a crime of the second degree.
On September 3, 2019, at approximately 12:48 a.m. the Jersey City Police Department was notified of a shooting on Wegman Parkway between Bergen Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive. Responding officers located a male victim – later identified as Lawrence Reid, of Jersey City – with an apparent gunshot wound to the upper body. He was transported by Emergency Medical Services to Jersey City Medical Center. Reid, 31, subsequently died on November 20, 2020. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the Cause of Death to be Complications of a Gunshot Wound and the Manner to be Homicide.
The three defendants are currently in custody on separate matters and will remain in custody pending their first court appearances. Prosecutor Suarez credited the Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department with the investigation. The above charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6)
