Prosecutor: 18-Year-Old Found Guilty of 2022 Murder

An area teen and 20-year-old have been convicted and indicted, respectively, on charges in connection with a 2022 Asbury Park murder, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Friday.

Joseph N. Argilagos, 18, of Asbury Park, was found guilty on one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and one count of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in connection with the murder.

While after a two-week trial before Superior Court Judge Jill Grace O’Malley, the shooter, Argilagos, was guilty on all counts against him, the jury did not, however, reach an agreement on the charges against co-defendant Lydell Brown.

Later that same day, upon the conclusion of the trial and dismissal of the jury, Brown, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder. During the plea proceedings, Brown admitted that he did in fact conspire with Argilagos to kill the victim, stating that, with knowledge Argilagos had a gun, both defendants followed the victim to the Frederick Douglas Apartment Complex with the express intent to shoot and kill him.

Argilagos, originally a juvenile defendant, was waived to adult court in September of 2023, upon motion by the prosecution, shortly before a Monmouth County Grand Jury indicted both he and Brown as accomplices in the shooting murder of the victim.

At a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 12, 2025, Argilagos will face a minimum of 30 years in a state prison. The state will recommend a sentence of five years in prison for Brown. Both sentences will require 85 percent of time served before the possibility of parole, in accordance with New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).

The case background …

The jury heard evidence establishing that shortly after 5:45 p.m. on Friday, July 8, 2022, Asbury Park police responded to a report of gunfire originating from the 100 block of Prospect Avenue, near the intersection at Atlantic. Upon arrival at the scene, police found 19-year-old Dariel Vernet, of Asbury Park, who had sustained multiple gunshot injuries. He was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead approximately one hour later.

The investigation into Vernet’s death, led by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Bureau and the Asbury Park Police Department, resulted in Brown and Argilagos, both Asbury Park residents, being identified as the individuals responsible.

Argilagos was arrested just days after the shooting, and Brown was found and arrested in Toms River (Ocean County) in May of 2023 by members of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Asbury Park Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office