Four suspects have been arrested in the shooting deaths of two New Jersey teens - one a straight-A prep school student and the other a recent high school graduate.
Ali Muhammad Brown, 29; Jeremy Villagran, 19; Andre Fields, 31; and Eric Williams, 18, were arrested and charged separately in the deaths of Brendan Tevlin, 19, and 17-year-old Cheyanne Bond.
The two victims were killed in separate attacks in and around Newark, the largest and most-dangerous city in the Garden State.
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Arrested: Ali Muhammad Brown (left) and Jeremy Villagran (right) were charged in Brandon Tevlin's death
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Also charged: Eric Williams (left) was implicated in Tevlin's murder. Andre Fields is wanted in the shooting death of Cheyanne Bond and two gay men in Seattle, police said
Tevlin was reportedly shot dead June 25 in his SUV after being robbed of several items. He graduated from a local prep school with straight-A's and was attending Richmond University. His sophomore year was due to start later this month, according to NJ.com.
Williams reportedly stayed behind the wheel of a getaway car while Villagran and Brown had a conversation with Tevlin before firing eight bullets into him, authorities said.
'He was, at this time, a simple victim of an intent to rob,' Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said at a Monday press conference.
Brown is also wanted in the double murder of two gay men in Seattle, according to police. The registered sex offender was arrested July 18, and a gun found in the makeshift tent where he lived was linked to all three murders, said Murray.
The suspected triple-murder is being held on $5million bail at Essex County Jail.
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The victims: Brendan Tevlin and Cheyanne Bond were only just starting their lives when they were senselessly gunned down in robberies gone bad
Bond was gunned down June 29 by Fields after two other men demanded her iPhone, according to the site. She graduated from Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark only days before her death.
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She was shot in the head, a friend of hers was also shot but survived, according to police. A second suspect is still at large, but Fields was linked to the murder.
She planned to study nursing at Union County Community College, family told NJ.com. Her classes would have started next month.
The arrests came just over one month after about 1,000 people attended Tevlin's funeral.
A full Irish pipe and drum band sounded as a black hearse carrying the teen's body arrived for the service in a long funeral procession, flanked by around a dozen police outriders.
Once inside Reverend Brian Needles paid tribute to the, ‘Amazing, gifted and respectful’ 19-year-old and spoke of his family’s, ‘unbearable pain and unrelenting grief’. He added that no one could understand why the model student’s life had been cut so tragically short.
He went on to say, ‘It’s not supposed to be like this, a mother and father are not supposed to bury a child.
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Life cut short: Rev. Brian Needles of the Church of St.Philomena officiated at the sad service. 'Brendan, an amazing gifted young man¿ with so much potential, so much to look forward to, so much to offer this world, never getting a chance, it¿s just not supposed to be like this,' he said
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‘Brendan, an amazing gifted young man… with so much potential, so much to look forward to, so much to offer this world, never getting a chance, it’s just not supposed to be like this.’
At the end of the hour-and-a-half long Catholic service, held at The Church of Saint Philomena in Livingston, Brendan’s two brothers Brian and Sean and sister Michaela paid tearful tributes to, ‘the best brother in the world’.
They also thanked the local community for the outpouring of grief and the countless offers of support the family has received since Brendan’s brutal slaying in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Between tears, Brendan’s sister Michaela told the congregation how he touched the lives of, ‘Every person he ever encountered’ and lived every day to the fullest. She also described him as someone who truly made a difference.
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Close: Brendan, here with his younger brothers and sister Allison was the closest of siblings
At the end of the emotionally charged ceremony, that brought the small town of Livingston to a standstill, Brendan’s siblings, his father Michael, mother Allison and around a dozen other relatives comforted each other as they left the church.
They then drove off to a private burial service at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey.
Brendan’s family and friends have been absolutely devastated by his brutal slaying, which has left everyone who knew him utterly stunned.
After spending the evening at a friend’s house playing video games, he reportedly texted his mom to say he was heading home, before getting in the family’s Jeep Liberty between 11.30pm and 12.00am.
He stopped at a Seven Eleven, but was shot soon after. Bizarrely his car was then moved to an apartment complex around a mile away. Police found his body still in the Jeep.
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Riding the waves: Brandon was an avid surfer and spent summers at the Jersey shore with his family
The teen had finished his freshman year at the University of Richmond, where he was planning to major in business, the school said. He graduated last year from Seton Hall Preparatory School.
Matt Cannizzo, the director of admissions at Seton Hall, told MailOnline students and faculty are ‘stunned’ by the death.
‘He was never in any trouble. Nobody had a problem with him ever. He was a model citizen,’ Cannizzo told MailOnline.
Tevlin’s family is heavily involved in the school, where his uncle Patrick Tevlin is a former administrator and started the lacrosse program.
While at Seton Hall Prep he excelled in everything he did. He was a member of the Student Council and an outstanding student maintaining a 4.0 grade point average all four years.
He was also a member of the National, Math and Spanish Honor societies; was president of Gaelic Club and served as a Eucharistic minister.
When not involved in school activities, he was an avid surfer and spent summers down the shore with his family in Lavallete. He was also a bagpiper with the Essex County Shillelagh Pipes & Drums.
Dozens expressed their grief on Twitter after hearing news of his death.
'You were a great friend and brother to many,' wrote one user.
Another wrote: 'Brendan Tevlin was everything that was right in this world, and the monster that took his life is everything that’s wrong with it. RIP.'
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Tragic: Brendan Tevlin (left) texted his mother (right) about 11.30pm Wednesday to say he was coming home before he was shot dead
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People need to know what kind of person he was,' said Christian Breslin, who played on the lacrosse team with Tevlin at Seton Hall.
'This kid, there was nothing bad about him. He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known.'
The prep school's head, Monsignor Michael Kelly, said the entire school was grieving.
'Brendan was a wonderful young man, friend of everyone, liked by all,' he wrote in a news release.
'Our community is praying for the family and his grandparents, who were very close to Brendan and to Seton Hall Prep.
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