Three local residents have been indicted on attempted murder charges after police and county detectives completed an investigation into an incident in which shots were fired into a Toms River home.
Lyjhahn Cromartie, 19, of Lakehurst; Shazir Vallade, 20, of Lakewood; and Javir Askew-Mayweather, 21, of Manchester, were each indicted by a grand jury sitting in Ocean County on three counts of attempted murder in connection with an incident that occurred on Jan. 13, 2025, in Toms River. Additionally, Vallade was also indicted on charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a high capacity ammunition magazine.
Lyjhahn Cromartie (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
The charges originated after an incident on Jan. 13, 2025, at approximately 1:55 a.m., when officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to the area of Justice Court in the Hopes Crossing complex for a report of shots fired. An investigation by responding officers determined that three males had fired gunshots into a residence; an adult and two children were present in the residence at the time of the shooting, a statement from prosecutors said.
An investigation by police and the county sheriff’s office CSI team found that Askew-Mayweather was one of the individuals responsible for firing the shots into the residence, according to the statement. On Feb. 3, 2025, Askew-Mayweather was charged with three counts of Attempted Murder; a warrant was issued for his arrest, and his name was entered into the National Crime Information Center database. The following day, he was taken into custody by the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in Atlantic City. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey’s bail reform law.
According to prosecutors, further investigation identified Cromartie and Vallade as the other two individuals who participated in the January shooting. On Feb. 27, 2025, Cromartie and Vallade were each charged with three counts of attempted murder. On Feb. 28, 2025, Cromartie was taken into custody without incident at his residence by the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been detained since that date. Vallade was likewise taken into custody without incident the same day at his place of employment in Berkeley Township by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, and Berkeley Township Police Department. Vallade was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of the bail reform policy.
A trial date has not yet been set.
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