Two Jersey City Gang Members Charged with Murdering Pregnant Woman and Two Others

Markell Brown, a/k/a “Sayboy,” 32, and Terence Shaw, a/k/a “Sweet Meat,” 32, both of Jersey City, are each charged with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, three counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and three counts of causing death through use of a firearm.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Jan. 16, 2017, Brown and Shaw allegedly murdered a rival gang member with whom they had been feuding, as well as the gang member’s pregnant girlfriend and their own associate, who had accompanied them to commit the murders. Brown and Shaw used a stolen U-Haul truck and two-way walkie-talkie radios during the murders. They used their associate to obtain access to the rival gang member’s apartment. After entering that residence on Fulton Avenue in Jersey City shortly after 10:00 p.m., Brown and Shaw executed the rival gang member, shooting him in the back of the head, the left arm, and the right shoulder. They also shot the woman in the back of the head and the chest. As Brown and Shaw left, they shot their associate in the chest in order to eliminate the possibility that he would provide information to law enforcement.

Brown and Shaw each face a potential mandatory life sentences for each of the counts charging murder in aid of racketeering. For each count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, they face a potential mandatory consecutive sentences of 10 years in prison. The count of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The counts of causing death through use of a firearm each carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea, as well as special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. 

This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole Board, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace Latzer, Acting Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.