A Union County grand jury has returned indictments against the man accused of fatally shooting a Plainfield resident last summer following a verbal dispute over a game of dice, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Monday.
Johnathan Sylvester, who was 28 at the time of the killing of 24-year-old Rashawn Bryant, was indicted Friday on charges of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Spagnoli, who is prosecuting the case.
It was approximately 5:15 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2014 when Bryant and several friends were rolling dice in front of a home on the 300 block of Evona Avenue in Plainfield, Spagnoli said. Following an argument, Sylvester allegedly entered his home, then returned a short while later, produced a handgun, and fired several shots at Bryant. Bryant was struck by gunfire and was transported via medical helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1 a.m. on Saturday, August 23, 2014.
Sylvester currently remains lodged in Union County Jail on $1 million bail.
Convictions on murder charges typically result in sentences of 30 years to life in state prison.