Alleged Double Homicide Fugitive Accused of Killing Seton Hall Prep Grad

A fugitive arrested last month in West Orange for a double homicide in Seattle has been charged in the killing of a Livingston teen, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday.

Ali Muhammad Brown, 29, of Seattle, Wash., and Jeremy Villagran, 19, and Eric Williams, 18, both of West Orange, have each been charged in the June 25 slaying of Brendan Tevlin, a 19-year-old Seton Hall Prep grad who had just completed his first year at the University of Richmond.

Brown, a registered sex offender, was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

Villagran and Williams were each charged with felony murder, first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

The trio pulled up alongside Tevlin, who was driving his family’s Jeep Liberty, in the area of Northfield Avenue and Walker Road in an attempt to rob the teenager, the prosecutor’s office said. Williams stayed behind the wheel while Brown and Villagran got out and surrounded Tevlin’s SUV, the prosecutor’s office said.

There was a brief conversation before Brown, standing on the passenger’s side of the vehicle, fired 10 bullets—eight of which struck Tevlin, the prosecutor’s office said.

Williams and Villagran fled the scene, while Brown drove Tevlin and his vehicle to an apartment complex at 275 Northfield Ave., where Villagran lives, the prosecutor’s office said.

Brown became linked to the slaying when authorities discovered the same gun that killed Tevlin was also used in two Seattle homicides that he was suspected of committing, the prosecutor’s office said.

Brown was arrested last month in West Orange for the two Seattle killings and for a June 29 carjacking in Point Pleasant Beach.

Brown, who was previously convicted of molesting his 6-year-old daughter, was found on July 18 by members of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Major Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force and the West Orange Police Department who were canvassing a wooded area near Mount Pleasant Avenue where the Washington man had set up a makeshift camp area, the prosecutor’s office said.

Brown has been remanded to the Essex County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail and is awaiting extradition to Washington, while Williams and Villagran are each being held on $1 million bail.