A local man has been convicted of all charges against him in connection with a fatal shooting that took place outside a Linden convenience store nearly two years ago, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Linden Police Chief David Hart jointly announced today.
Following a nearly month-long trial before Union County Superior Court Judge William A. Daniel, the jury found Darwens Cadet, 20, of Roselle, guilty on charges of murder and two related weapons offenses for the killing of 27-year-old Brian Pierre.
The verdict brings to a close an incident that began at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, when Linden and Roselle police units were called to the 1800 block of East St. Georges Avenue (Route 27) on a report of shots being fired, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutors Jillian Reyes and Cynthia Ritter, who prosecuted the case. At that location, they found Pierre in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He later died from those wounds while being transported to a local hospital.
A swift-moving Union County Homicide Task Force investigation, assisted by members of the Linden Police Department, Roselle Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office Identification Unit, and Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit, resulted in Cadet being identified as a suspect in the case. He was taken into custody without incident the day after the shooting.
The jury deliberated for several hours over parts of two days before delivering the verdict last Wednesday, after reviewing crucial surveillance video and ballistics evidence that helped to prove the State’s case. Sentencing has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, April 17, before Judge Daniel, at which time Cadet will face a term of up to life in state prison.