In the early morning hours of November 22, 2014, the sound of multiple gunshots shattered the quiet of an Irvington, New Jersey neighborhood. When police responded to the 600 block of Chancellor Avenue at approximately 5:45 a.m., they discovered a grim scene. Two young men had been struck by gunfire.
One of the victims, Shaqkille Kirkland, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other, a 20-year-old male named Dashawn James, was rushed to University Hospital in a desperate attempt to save his life. Despite the efforts of medical staff, James succumbed to his injuries a short time later. Both he and Kirkland were residents of Irvington.
The investigation into the double homicide was undertaken by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force, which included detectives from the Irvington Police Department. Their work over the following weeks led them to identify two suspects. On January 9, 2015, authorities arrested 28-year-old Altariq Thomas and 24-year-old Aljumar Derrick, both also from Irvington.
Thomas and Derrick were subsequently charged with two counts of murder and multiple weapons offenses in connection with the deaths of Dashawn James and Shaqkille Kirkland. Both men were taken to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, where their bail was set at $1 million each.
