Leon Trent, 28, of Newark, was arraigned Tuesday on charges related to the Jan. 8 killing of 20-year-old Tykwan Crenshaw
NEWARK -- A Newark man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of being involved in the fatal shooting of a man during a robbery in January at a city restaurant.
Leon Trent, 28, entered the plea when he was arraigned before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler on charges related to the Jan. 8 killing of 20-year-old Tykwan Crenshaw.
Trent was indicted on Aug. 28 on robbery and felony murder charges. He remains in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $350,000 bail.
His co-defendant, Durrell Hearn, 24, also of Newark, is accused of fatally shooting Crenshaw during the robbery. Hearn is scheduled to be arraigned before Wigler on Sept. 29 on murder, felony murder, robbery and weapons charges.
Hearn is currently serving a five-year state prison sentence in an unrelated theft case.
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Authorities have said the incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. at Royal Chicken and Biscuit, located at 402 Springfield Avenue in Newark.
Leon Trent, 28, and Durrell Hearn, 24, both of Newark, pictured left to right, have been indicted in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Newark resident Tykwan Crenshaw during a robbery at a city restaurant on Jan. 8, 2015. When police officers responded to the restaurant on reports of a shooting, they discovered Crenshaw laying on his back with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, authorities said.
Crenshaw was transported to University Hospital and pronounced dead at 5:21 p.m., authorities said.
Based on interviews with witnesses, police learned Hearn and Trent entered the restaurant, and Hearn pulled out a gun and announced they were committing a robbery, authorities said.
After Crenshaw and two other individuals turned over money and/or cell phones to Hearn and Trent, Hearn shot and killed Crenshaw, authorities said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.