On the evening of April 18, 2016, the sound of gunshots shattered the somber atmosphere outside the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Corlies Avenue in Neptune, New Jersey. Inside, a repast was being held, with about 100 people in attendance. When police, who were on patrol nearby and heard the shots, arrived at the scene around 8 p.m., they discovered a large crowd gathered in the rear parking lot. There, they found 33-year-old Corey Basden, a male resident of Neptune City, lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics were called to the scene, but Basden was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m.
An extensive 18-month investigation into the shooting was launched by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Neptune Township Police Department. Their efforts eventually led them to identify Calvin 'Little C' Johnson, a 40-year-old from Neptune Township, as the individual who had shot Basden.
Johnson was formally charged on October 31, 2017, while he was already incarcerated at Northern State Prison in Newark on unrelated charges. A Monmouth County grand jury later handed up a four-count indictment against him, which included first-degree murder and weapons offenses.
In April 2019, Calvin Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, admitting that he had shot Corey Basden multiple times. Subsequently, a Monmouth County Superior Court judge sentenced Johnson to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison. The terms of his sentence are subject to the 'No Early Release Act,' which mandates that he must serve 85 percent of his term before becoming eligible for parole. This sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to the one he was already serving for a parole violation connected to a prior aggravated manslaughter conviction. Upon his eventual release, Johnson will be under parole supervision for five years. Despite the conviction, investigators believed there might be other witnesses who had not come forward and continued to encourage anyone with information to contact them.
