On the evening of October 11, 2020, 19-year-old Javon Cutler was fatally shot in Toms River, New Jersey. Cutler, a resident of Bayville and a 2019 graduate of Central Regional High School, was a passenger in a vehicle with two friends, leaving the Toms River Apartments on Main Street at approximately 8:15 p.m. when an individual opened fire on their car.
Cutler, who was seated in the rear, was struck in the head by a gunshot.
The driver of the vehicle immediately drove to Community Medical Center to seek help for Cutler. From there, he was transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he succumbed to his injuries three days later on October 14, 2020. The Ocean County Medical Examiner later determined that the cause of death was an intermediate-distance gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Following a nearly three-week investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, three suspects were identified and arrested. Shadrach Correa, 18, Daivon Sullivan, 18, and Leyron Jones, 23, all from Toms River, were charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. Investigators determined that the three men 'acted together and in support of one another' in carrying out the shooting. While a motive for the shooting was not publicly disclosed, the investigation was described as a complex effort that involved numerous law enforcement agencies working around the clock.
In June 2021, a Grand Jury in Ocean County indicted all three men on charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and weapons offenses. Subsequently, Shadrach Correa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful possession of a weapon. Following a three-week trial in August 2023, Daivon Sullivan and Leyron Jones were found guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and unlawful possession of a weapon. In October 2023, Leyron Jones was sentenced to 50 years in state prison for murder, with an additional 10 years for attempted murder to be served consecutively. Daivon Sullivan received a sentence of 40 years for murder, also with a consecutive 10-year sentence for attempted murder.
