Ali Muhammad Brown pursuing ‘jihad’ admits to murder & terrorism in New Jersey, calls crimes ‘a mistake’.
Ali Muhammad Brown, 34, admitted to shooting Brendan Tevlin, 19, in West Orange on June 25, 2014, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. As jury selection was underway in his case, he decided to plead guilty, the prosecutor’s office stated.
Unprompted, Brown also admitted to three other killings in Washington before he came to New Jersey. Two of the people he killed because he thought they were gay and the other was part of a road-rage incident, according to the prosecutor’s office. He described the killings as part of a jihad.
Brown faces a mandatory life prison sentence.
“We did not negotiate with this defendant. From the beginning, our position has been that he had to plead to all the charges or we would go to trial and let the jury decide,” acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino stated in a release. “Today, this defendant, in open court, admitted to the heinous acts he committed the night he took Brendan Tevlin’s life. Because of his admission, we expect that when he is sentenced on May 1, it will mean that he will never be a free man again.”
Tevlin lived in Livingston and was a 2013 graduate of Seton Hall Prep, where he played lacrosse and was part of the National Honor Society. He had just finished his freshman year at University of Richmond, according to his obituary.
Brown is already serving a 35-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison for an armed robbery in West Orange. He was previously convicted of bank fraud, sexual contact and aggravated assault.
“This defendant is no martyr, he’s just an admitted terrorist who will now spend the rest of his life in prison,” Assistant Prosecutor and Director Jamel Semper stated. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Tevlin family, and all those affected.”
