In the early morning hours of September 23, 2018, the life of 33-year-old Laquan Tywom Clark was tragically cut short in Jersey City, New Jersey. At approximately 2:10 a.m., police responded to reports of a shooting on New Street. Upon their arrival, they discovered Clark inside a car, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
The Regional Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed that the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and torso, ruling the manner of death a homicide.
The investigation into Clark's murder was swift. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Unit, with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department, quickly identified a suspect. Just three days after the shooting, on September 26, 2018, authorities arrested 25-year-old Michael Weathersbee of Jersey City. He was taken into custody without incident at the prosecutor's office and charged with murder, as well as several weapons offenses, including possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Following his arrest, Weathersbee was indicted by a grand jury on December 19, 2018. His trial commenced in early 2020. After approximately two weeks of testimony and evidence presentation, a Hudson County jury found Michael Weathersbee guilty on all charges on February 10, 2020. On August 5, 2021, a Hudson County Superior Court Judge sentenced Weathersbee to 35 years in New Jersey State Prison for the murder of Laquan Clark. The sentence included a stipulation that he must serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole. He received an additional consecutive five-year sentence for a weapons charge.
