On a Tuesday evening in Jersey City, a report of gunfire on Dales Avenue ended the life of Jovahn Horne, a 23-year-old Black man from Tenafly. It was approximately 9:05 p.m. on November 1, 2022, when Jersey City Police Department officers were dispatched to the scene. They found Horne in the vicinity of 74 Dales Avenue, suffering from a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Emergency Medical Services rushed him to Jersey City Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead at 9:41 p.m.
Investigators later determined that the shooting occurred during a planned robbery. An acquaintance had arranged for Horne and an associate to conduct a narcotics transaction at the Marion Gardens Housing Complex. When they arrived, they were met by two men who held them at gunpoint in an attempt to rob them of their narcotics supply. A struggle ensued, during which one of the assailants shot and killed Horne. His associate managed to flee the scene.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department launched an investigation into the killing. Their work led them to identify a suspect, and by early December 2022, authorities had arrested Roger Pickett Jr., a 22-year-old from Newark, for his role in Horne's death. He was taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
The case was prosecuted in federal court as part of a larger case against members of a local gang for a series of violent crimes. In December 2024, a jury convicted Roger Pickett Jr. for the murder of Jovahn Horne. According to the evidence presented at trial, Pickett was the gunman who fired the fatal shot during the botched robbery. The case is now considered solved, and Pickett’s sentencing is scheduled for April 25, 2025.
