29-year-old Burlington County, NJ, man gets 90 years in prison for brutal murder

A 29-year-old Burlington County man was sentenced Monday to 90 years in prison for fatally beating a man inside a Beverly City home two years ago.

Larry Brown must serve 73 years before reaching parole eligibility; he would be 102 years old at that time.

A jury convicted Brown in March, finding him guilty of the slaying and also of additional charges related to barricading himself inside the home afterward with a woman and four children, creating a standoff situation with law enforcement officers who responded to the scene.

Specifically, after deliberating for several hours over three days, jurors found Brown guilty of first-degree murder, five counts of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree terroristic threats, and related weapons charges.

The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office says an investigation began June 14, 2022, at approximately 1:15 AM when the Beverly City Police Department received information that Brown had killed 34-year-old Cecilio Luciano after arriving at a home on Bentley Avenue, and was still inside the residence with the woman and children.

When Brown refused to exit, crisis negotiators from the New Jersey State Police were called and the woman and kids emerged unharmed over the next several hours. Brown, who primarily resided with a relative in Burlington Township, came out at approximately 8:30 a.m. and was taken into custody.

The NJSP TEAMS Unit then entered the home and discovered Luciano’s body.

An autopsy indicated that Luciano, of Highland Park, had been bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat.