In the early morning hours of Thursday, December 17, 2015, the quiet of a West Orange, New Jersey neighborhood was shattered by violence. On Joyce Street, just over the border from the neighboring city of Orange, a young man's life was tragically cut short. Naji Everett, a 26-year-old male resident of Orange, was discovered unresponsive outside a home. When West Orange police arrived, they found Everett suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:30 a.m.
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force immediately launched an investigation into the brutal slaying.
The investigation led by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and the West Orange Police Department moved forward, and in March of 2016, authorities announced the arrests of three men in connection with Everett's murder. The suspects were identified as Zaki Jones, 33, of Newark; Jarret Mceachin, 29, of Orange; and Rasuan Foster, 29, of East Orange. All three men were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and weapons offenses. A grand jury later returned a four-count indictment against the trio, and they were held on $750,000 bail.
The legal proceedings brought a measure of justice for Naji Everett's death. One of the suspects, Jarret Mceachin, entered into a plea agreement and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Zaki Jones, another of the accused, went to trial. In February 2019, an Essex County jury found Jones guilty on all counts, including murder and conspiracy. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. The case against the third man, Rasuan Foster, was reported to be pending trial. The conviction of Jones was seen by prosecutors as a just outcome for what they described as a brutal homicide where Everett was shot numerous times at point-blank range.
