Ocean County, NJ, Man Sentenced For Manslaughter, Drugs

A man from Ocean County has been sentenced to several years behind bars in connection to the fatal shooting of a man from Little Egg Harbor in 2021.

After pleading guilty to charges back in March, on Friday, 26-year-old Jahvontae Debose of Lakewood was sentenced to the following:

• Seven years for manslaughter
• Seven years for certain persons not to possess a weapon
• Seven years for possessing a firearm in the course of committing a drug offense
• Seven years for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute

These sentences will run consecutively and are subject to various parole directives.

On the night of February 21st, 2021, Lakewood Township Police were summoned to the area of Tudor Court in response to a 9-1-1 call about a man, 20-year-old Dajour Randolph of Little Egg Harbor, who had collapsed in the middle of the road.

Responding officers found Randolph with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest; he later died at an area hospital.

Ocean County Medical Examiner performed a post-mortem examination and determined Randolph died from multiple gunshot wounds.

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Two days later, Debose was taken into custody on drug and weapon-related charges following a traffic stop in Pleasantville.

A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit between February 21, 2021 and February 25, 2021, revealed that Debose was, in fact, the individual responsible for Mr. Randolph’s death.

On February 25th of that year, Debose, who was being held in the Ocean County Jail, was charged with Randolph's death.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer thanked the numerous law enforcement agencies that worked on this case, including the Lakewood Township, Brick Township, Toms River, Pleasantville, and Manchester Township Police Departments; the Ocean County Sheriff's Office; the New Jersey State Police, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, and the United States Marshals Service.