On the evening of January 22, 2020, Tyshun Kearney, a 30-year-old Black male, was fatally shot outside a barbershop in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The incident occurred around 6:55 p.m. near the corner of Jackson Avenue and Bond Street. Responding to reports of gunfire, Elizabeth Police Department officers arrived to find Kearney suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was quickly transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into Kearney's death was a collaborative effort involving the Union County Homicide Task Force, the Elizabeth Police Department, the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, and the Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit. Their investigation led them to two suspects, Charles Leach, 38, and his nephew, Bashir Pearson, 22, both residents of Elizabeth.
In February 2023, following a three-week trial, a Union County jury found both Leach and Pearson guilty of the murder of Tyshun Kearney. During the trial, it was revealed that Leach and Pearson had shot Kearney multiple times. Elizabeth police officers who were in the vicinity at the time of the shooting quickly responded and were able to detain Leach, who matched the description of one of the suspects. Surveillance footage from the area showed both men fleeing the scene and discarding handguns. These weapons were later recovered by law enforcement and, through ballistics testing, were confirmed to be the firearms used in the homicide.
The jury convicted Leach and Pearson on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose. Following their conviction, both men faced the possibility of life in prison.
