Three men, one a confirmed street gang member, were indicted for the murder of a
From left, Quincy Oliver, 22, of Rahway, Tyrell Dekle, 22, of Woodbridge, and James C. Sears, 23, of East Orange were indicted for the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Rahway man last June. (Union County Prosecutor's Office) ELIZABETH -- On an early June night last spring, 21-year-old Nigel Morton answered a knock on the door of his Rahway home and faced a gunman who shot him once in the chest.
Morton was rushed to University Hospital in Newark where he was pronounced dead hours later, authorities said.
On Wednesday, a Union County grand jury indicted three men, one of them a known street gang member, on charges stemming from the fatal shooting, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said in a statement.
Quincy Oliver, 22, of Rahway, Tyrell Dekle, 22, of Woodbridge, and James Sears, 23, of East Orange, are each charged with murder, a first-degree crime. All three men are also charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, and two second-degree weapons offenses, Park said.
She said Sears is a confirmed member of the Piru set of the Bloods street gang.
Union County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Henn said that shortly after 10 p.m. on June 8, 2015, Morton opened the door of his home on the 1200 block of Westfield Avenue in Rahway and was wounded by a single gunshot.
Police responding to calls of a shooting arrived at the home about 10:10 p.m. and found Morton inside the house on the first floor, authorities said.
They said Morton was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:45 a.m. the next morning.
A joint investigation involving the Union County Homicide Task Force, Rahway police, and Union County Sheriff's Office Identification Unit led to the arrest of Oliver about a month after the shooting, Park said.
She said Dekle and Sears were arrested last October.
No details were released about the motive for the shooting, or which of the suspects fired the fatal shot.
Murder charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years to life in prison upon conviction.
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.