Durrell Hearn, 24, and Leon Trent, 27, both of Newark, were indicted on Aug. 28 in connection with the Jan. 8 killing of 20-year-old Tykwan Crenshaw
NEWARK -- Two men have been indicted in the fatal shooting of a Newark man during a robbery in January at a city restaurant.
Durrell Hearn, 24, and Leon Trent, 27, both of Newark, were indicted on Aug. 28 in connection with the Jan. 8 killing of 20-year-old Tykwan Crenshaw.
Hearn was indicted on murder, felony murder, robbery and weapons charges, and Trent was indicted on robbery and felony murder charges. They are scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Sept. 22 before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler.
Hearn is currently serving a five-year prison sentence in an unrelated theft case. Trent remains in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $350,000 bail.
RELATED: Man shot and killed inside Newark restaurant, authorities say
The shooting occurred shortly before 5 p.m. at Royal Chicken and Biscuit, located at 402 Springfield Avenue in Newark, according to Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.
Police officers responded to the restaurant at about 4:51 p.m. on reports of a shooting, and discovered Crenshaw laying on his back with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, Carter said.
Crenshaw was transported to University Hospital and pronounced dead at 5:21 p.m.
Witnesses told police that after Hearn and Trent entered the restaurant, Hearn pulled out a gun and announced they were committing a robbery, Carter said. Crenshaw and two other individuals turned over money and/or cell phones to Hearn and Trent, Carter said.
Hearn then shot and killed Crenshaw, Carter said.
MORE: Homicide in Newark restaurant 'out of control,' neighboring business says
The incident marks at least the second fatal shooting on the restaurant's block in recent years.
In January 2014, two people were killed and three others were injured during a shooting at 408 Springfield Ave., near the intersection of Fairmount Avenue, authorities said.
After Crenshaw's killing, Sebastian Lopez, who works at New Owl Liquors on Springfield Avenue, indicated that violence in the neighborhood was "out of control."
"I remember the shooting last year, too. That one was in front of the store, and this one happened (in the restaurant) next door," Lopez said in January. "It's getting out of control."
Below is a photo Crenshaw tweeted of himself last year:
I be cooler than a Cooler [?] pic.twitter.com/DHWhJLYk0m
-- King Swift-Free Snap (@LawBoy_Swift) September 11, 2014
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
