Accused Trigger Man in Livingston Teen's Slaying Linked to Alleged Crime Spree

The slaying of a popular college student last month in West Orange was one of several brutal attacks in a span of just a few weeks linked to the accused trigger man.

Ali Muhammad Brown, 29, of Seattle, Wash., along with Jeremy Villagran, 19, and Eric Williams, 18, both of West Orange, each pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges related to 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, could be extradited to Washington and face the death penalty for the June 1 double homicide of a gay couple, according to The Star-Ledger. Authorities called the double homicide a “violent, senseless, and seemingly unprovoked” execution, according to the report.

Brown’s alleged vicious crime spree continued a few weeks later in New Jersey when he fired 10 shots into Tevlin’s SUV, striking the teen eight times during an apparent robbery, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said. The prosecutor’s office had initially said Tevlin was targeted in the attack based on the number of gunshots, but later realized the shooting stemmed from a random robbery attempt.

While Villagran and Williams fled the scene, Brown pushed Tevlin’s body into the passenger’s seat and drove off in his SUV, the prosecutor’s office said. Brown eventually parked the vehicle about a mile away outside Villagran’s apartment complex where Tevlin was later found that night, the prosecutor’s office said.

Just four days after Tevlin’s killing, Brown allegedly tried to carjack a Washington, D.C. man at gunpoint in Point Pleasant Beach.

Brown is now also a suspect in a West Orange armed robbery where the victim was stuffed in the trunk of a car on July 10, according to The Star-Ledger. The incident occurred outside the Crest Ridge apartment complex on Mount Pleasant Avenue, the report said.

The masked robber was seen running into a wooded area near the complex, the report said. Brown, who has been described as a transient, was apprehended on July 18 in a wooded area off Mount Pleasant Avenue where he had set up a makeshift camp site, the prosecutor’s office said.

Brown’s criminal history dates back to his teenage years when he was charged in 2002 and 2003 with reckless endangerment, reckless driving and fourth-degree assault, the Ledger reported. Brown was charged in 2004 along with 13 others in an alleged bank fraud ring, the Ledger reported.

Brown was arrested again in 2010 when he was accused of raping a 6-year-old family member. He ended up receiving four years probation and forced to register as a sex offender when the charges were reduced to three counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

Brown has not been remanded to the Essex County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail. Villagran, who has been jailed since July 9 on an aggravated assault charge stemming from a Newark shooting, and Williams are each being held on $1 million bail.