GRAND JURY INDICTS THREE IN FATAL SHOOTING OF 17-YEAR-OLD JERSEY CITY GIRL

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On February 11, 2021, a Grand Jury in Hudson County handed up an indictment of three co-defendants in the July 6, 2020 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Tyeah Garner on Rutgers Avenue in Jersey City.

The indictment charges Heavenley Cherry, 19, of Jersey City, 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:5-2A(1) and 2C:11-3A(1), a crime of the first-degree; Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purposes in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4A(1), a crime of the second-degree; and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5B(1), a crime of the second-degree.

Jahquell Carter, 25, of Jersey City, was also charged in the indictment with Murder as an Accomplice in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:2-6 and 2C:11-3A(1)(2), a crime of the first-degree; Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2A(1) and 2C:11-3A(1), a crime of the first-degree; Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purposes in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4A(1), a crime of the second-degree; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5B(1), a crime of the second-degree; and Resisting Arrest by Flight in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2A(2), a crime of the fourth-degree.

Izmae Tinker-Trent, 19, of Jersey City, was also charged in the indictment with Hindering a Murder Investigation in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3A(2), a crime of the third-degree.

On Monday, July 6, 2020, just after 10:30 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to shots fired in the area of Rutgers Avenue and New Street in Jersey City.

Responding officers found the victim, a 17-year-old Jersey City female, later identified as Tyeah Garner, with a gunshot wound to the upper body. The victim was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased at 4:36 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2020. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death to be homicide.

The State is represented in this case by Assistant Prosecutor Najma Rana of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit.

The above charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).