In the early morning hours of December 19, 2021, the life of 32-year-old Sergio Chavez-Perez, a male resident of Lakewood, New Jersey, was tragically cut short in a violent double homicide. The incident unfolded at an apartment complex on River Avenue, shattering the morning's quiet with the sound of gunfire. Responding to reports of shots fired around 7:20 a.m., Lakewood Township police officers arrived at a grim scene. Inside one of the apartments, they discovered the bodies of Chavez-Perez and another man, Nicholas Hardy, 36, of Toms River. Both men had been fatally shot in the head.
The investigation into the deaths of Chavez-Perez and Hardy quickly led to a suspect who was found at the scene. Police officers responding to the initial call were given a description of the shooter and located a man matching that description in front of the apartment building.
The man, identified as Tyshaun Drummond, 39, of Toms River, was acting belligerently and refused to comply with police orders to get on the ground. Officers were forced to use a taser to subdue and arrest him.
In the subsequent investigation and court proceedings, a motive for the brutal slayings began to emerge, pointing to a personal dispute. It was revealed that Drummond had been having an affair with Chavez-Perez's wife. In a chilling turn of events, Drummond first went to a downstairs apartment where he shot Nicholas Hardy. He then proceeded upstairs and shot Chavez-Perez in front of his wife and children.
Tyshaun Drummond was charged with two counts of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and burglary. In October 2024, following a nearly month-long trial, a jury found Drummond guilty on all charges. In January 2025, he was sentenced to 60 years in New Jersey State Prison for the murders of Sergio Chavez-Perez and Nicholas Hardy. He received two consecutive 30-year sentences, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the senseless act of violence that claimed two lives.
