Payback: Ali Muhammad Brown, 29 (left), accused of killing 19-year-old college student Brendan Tevlin (right), allegedly told police he was seeking retribution against the US for its military action in the Middle East
- Ali Muhammad Brown, 29, allegedly told investigators that Brendan Tevlin's June killing was retribution for Muslim lives lost in Middle East
- Brown, a devout Muslim, descried US military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Syria as 'evil'
- Tevlin, 19, was found dead June 25 in his parents' jeep in West Orange, New Jersey
- Brown is also accused of killing two gay men and another person in Seattle in April and June
- The suspect's alleged accomplices charged with shooting dead Cheyanne Bond, 17, June 29 in Newark after a robber demanded her iPhone
Prosecutors in the case of a man accused of killing a University of Richmond student earlier this summer said he may have been seeking retribution for U.S. military action against Muslims in the Middle East.
Ali Muhammad Brown and two accomplices are facing charges in connection to the slaying of 19-year-old Brendan Tevlin, who was shot multiple times in his car on June 25 in New Jersey.
Brown, 29, also has been named a suspect in three other deadly shootings in Washington.
According to court documents filed last month and cited by NJ.com, Brown told police he considered it his mission to kill Tevlin, a Livingston, New Jersey native, as an act of 'vengeance' for innocent lives lost in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Iran at the hands of American troops.
‘All these lives are taken every single day by America, by this government. So a life for a life,’ he was quoted as telling detectives, according to the documents.
Firebrand: Talk radio host Todd Pettengill blasted mainstream media for failing to draw attention to what he called Brown's act of domestic terrorism
Prosecutors described Brown as a devout Muslim who considered U.S. military action in the Middle East 'evil.'
Brown's case was brought to the forefront this week by talk radio host Todd Pettengill, who devoted eight minutes of his program, The Todd Show on WPLJ Wednesday, to what he described as an 'act of domestic terrorism.'
Pettengill called out mainstream media and President Obama for not focusing enough attention on the case, despite Brown's statements about retribution against the U.S.
‘It was in fact an act of jihad, perpetrated by a fellow American who sympathized more with those who want to annihilate us than with his own country and its people,’ he said.
The 29-year-old suspect was one of four men arrested last month in connection to the deaths of 19-year-old Tevlin and a second New Jersey teen, 17-year-old Cheyanne Bond.
Mr Brown also has been charged with three other shooting deaths in Seattle in April and June.
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
Accomplice: Jeremy Villagran was also charged in Brandon Tevlin's death
Ali Muhammad Brown pleaded not guilty in the Tevlin murder in August
After spending the evening of June 25 at a friend’s house playing video games, Brendan Tevlin reportedly texted his mom to say he was heading home, before getting in the family’s Jeep Liberty between 11.30pm and 12.00am.
As he was sitting at a stop light at the corner of Walker Road and Northfield Avenue in West Orange, Tevlin was approached by Ali Muhammad Brown and Jeremy Villagran, 19, who allegedly intended to rob the young man.
Over an iPhone: Williams lost her life because Fields wanted her iPhone, authorities said
After a brief exchange, police said the two fired 10 rounds into the college student's car, killing him.
'He was, at this time, a simple victim of an intent to rob,' Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said last month.
After the shooting, Villagran jumped into a getaway car driven by Andre Fields and fled the scene. Meanwhile, Brown moved Tevlin's body into the passenger seat and drove the Jeep to an apartment complex, where he ditched the car, police said.
Brown is also wanted in the double murder of two gay men in Seattle, according to police. The registered sex offender and vagrant was arrested July 18, and a gun found in the makeshift tent where he lived was linked to all three murders, said Murray.
The crime spree that would eventually claim multiple lives started on April 27 when police discovered the body of Leroy Henderson, 30, laying in the street in Seattle. Brown was linked to the killing thanks to shell casings found at the scene.
The 29-year-old also has been charged in the murders of two gay men from Seattle, Ahmed Said and Dwone Anderson-Young on June 1.
Enlarge
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
Close: Brendan, here with his younger brothers and sister Allison was the closest of siblings
The 29-year-old suspect is being held on $5million bail at Essex County Jail. Brown could potentially face the death penalty if extradited from New Jersey to Washington state and convicted of the murders.
Brown's alleged accomplice Andre Fields has been charged with the killing of Cheyanne Bond, who was gunned down June 29 after two other men demanded her iPhone. She graduated from Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark only days before her death.
She was shot in the head; Bond's friend was wounded but survived.
She planned to study nursing at Union County Community College, family told NJ.com. Her classes would have started next month.
Riding the waves: Brandon was an avid surfer and spent summers at the Jersey shore with his family
Brendan Tevlin 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.
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.
Tragic: Brendan Tevlin (left) texted his mother (right) about 11.30pm Wednesday to say he was coming home before he was shot dead
School: Brendan Tevlin graduated last year from Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, New Jersey (pictured)
No comments:
Post a Comment