A Newark man will spend at least the next three decades behind bars for gunning down a 20-year-old during a street argument last year. Wadi Brown, 34, was sentenced to 40 years in New Jersey state prison for the May 2025 shooting death of Keion Alston near the intersection of Bergen Street and Harding Terrace in the city's South Ward.
According to New Jersey Hills Media Group, the fatal shooting happened on the afternoon of May 10, 2025. As detailed by RLS Media, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced the sentence after trial evidence showed Brown met Alston on Bergen Street, then walked with him around the corner to Harding Terrace, where the two argued before Brown fired six shots into Alston's back.
Official prosecutor statements and school memorial records identify the victim as Keion Alston, a founding student at Newark's Spark Academy and Newark Lab High School and a member of the Class of 2023, according to a tribute shared by KIPP New Jersey
The New Jersey Hills Media Group story spells the victim's first name Keion, not Deion.
A Swift Verdict After Trial Testimony
An Essex County jury deliberated for approximately three hours on July 16, 2026, before finding Brown guilty on all three counts, including first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, per the same account from RLS Media. Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Simon co-prosecuted the case alongside Assistant Prosecutor Meredith Mona in Essex County Superior Court before Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Arre, who presided over both the trial and the October sentencing.
Mona said the prosecution was thankful to secure justice for Alston and appreciated the support of his family and loved ones, per New Jersey Hills Media Group's reporting. The trial unfolded at the Veterans' Courthouse in Newark, which houses the Criminal Part of New Jersey Superior Court Vicinage 5, a venue that serves all 22 municipalities in Essex County, according to background compiled on Wikipedia.
What the 40-Year Term Actually Means for Parole
Under New Jersey's No Early Release Act, codified at N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2, violent first-degree felons must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to an explainer from Brett Rosen Law. That threshold requires Brown to serve roughly 34 years in custody before parole consideration, followed by a mandatory five-year term of parole supervision once released. The law applies automatically to murder convictions in New Jersey.
New Jersey statute N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3(b)(1) sets first-degree murder's statutory penalty range at 30 years to life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of 30 years without parole, notes Ratliff Jackson LLP. Brown's 40-year sentence falls within that framework; New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007, leaving lengthy prison terms as the maximum punishment available for murder convictions in the state.
A Prosecutor's Office Handling a Quarter of New Jersey's Felony Cases
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is the largest county prosecutor's office in New Jersey, prosecuting roughly one-fourth of all felony criminal cases statewide, per the office's own account at njecpo.org. Stephens is the county prosecutor.
The office is encouraging anyone with information about criminal activity to come forward. Essex County residents can call the office's tip line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC (1-877-847-7432); calls are confidential.
