In the late hours of a summer night in Jersey City, New Jersey, the life of 35-year-old Jason Eric Dunbar was tragically cut short. On August 27, 2019, at approximately 11:45 p.m., police responded to reports of gunfire in the vicinity of 169 Fulton Avenue. Upon their arrival, they discovered an unresponsive male who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene and transported Dunbar to the Jersey City Medical Center.
Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at approximately 12:30 a.m. on August 28, 2019. The cause of death was later determined by the Regional Medical Examiner's Office to be multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit, with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department, immediately launched an investigation into the shooting. While initially no arrests were made, law enforcement officials indicated that they did not believe the murder of the father of five was a random act. The investigation led to a significant development in early October 2019. On October 1, 2019, Darius Bolden, a 33-year-old resident of Jersey City, was arrested and charged with the murder of Jason Dunbar. At the time of his arrest, Bolden was already incarcerated at the Hudson County Correctional Facility on narcotics charges. In connection with the case, a 30-year-old Jersey City woman, Yasmin Tejada, was also charged with hindering the investigation for allegedly providing false information to law enforcement.
Prosecutors alleged that the motive for the fatal shooting was retaliation for a video posted on Facebook that reportedly showed Dunbar pushing Bolden during a fight, causing embarrassment. The legal proceedings against Bolden culminated in a trial where he was convicted of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon on July 5, 2022. Subsequently, in November 2022, Darius Bolden was sentenced to 45 years in New Jersey State Prison for the murder of Jason Dunbar.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, an appeals court overturned Bolden's murder conviction in May 2025. The court's decision was based on issues related to unauthenticated video evidence presented at the trial, footage of a police interrogation, and improper remarks made by the prosecutor. Following the appellate court's ruling, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office stated that they were reviewing the case to determine whether to proceed with a new trial.
