Gang member pleads guilty to killing former N.B. resident

NEW BRUNSWICK — A member of a street gang pleaded guilty June 25 to aggravated manslaughter in the drive-by fatal shooting of a rival gang member during a dispute in New Brunswick two years ago.

Morgan Brown, 21, of New Brunswick, admitted killing former North Brunswick resident Dyshon Thompson, who was 24 at the time, who died after being shot in the hip as he stood in a parking lot in front of his apartment at 17 Hampton Road in New Brunswick on Nov. 5, 2007, according to a press release from Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan.

Under a plea agreement reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Manuel Sameiro, Brown faces up to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison when he is sentenced Aug. 20 by Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick. He will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Brown's co-defendant, Shakeira Summers, 22, of Riverside, will also be sentenced Aug. 20. She pleaded guilty June 15 to wounding Thompson's friend, Derwin Booker, 25, of New Brunswick, during the drive-by shooting.

Summers will be sentenced to serve up to 10 years after pleading guilty to a count of attempted murder.

She also pleaded guilty to an unrelated count of possessing heroin and intending to distribute it in a school zone in New Brunswick on April 4, 2007. She is facing a three-year prison term that will run concurrently with the attempted murder count.

In addition, according to the release, the driver of the car used in the drive-by shooting, Scott Belnavis, 20, of New Brunswick, is facing a probationary term of up to five years after pleading guilty on March 13, 2008, to a count of hindering his own apprehension by denying his role in the shooting when he initially was questioned by police. No sentencing date has been set.

An investigation by New Brunswick police and members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office determined that Brown, a member of G'Shine, a faction of the Bloods street gang, had a dispute with Booker, who was identified as a member of a gang known as NHB, or the Neighborhood Bloods.

Brown subsequently gathered Summers and Belnavis, also members of G'Shine, and searched for Booker. Brown, armed with an AK-47 automatic weapon, and Summers, armed with a semi-automatic .380-caliber handgun, opened fire at 9:13 p.m. and struck Thompson and Booker, who sustained superficial wounds to his leg and knee.

Thompson was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was pronounced dead at 11:44 p.m.

Police determined that Brown fired at least seven shots from the AK-47, and Summers fired at least four shots from the handgun.