Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit has arrested and charged Mr. Jaishawn Gaston, of Jersey City, with the shooting death of 22-year-old Ms. Francis Villa, who was found with a fatal gunshot wound in a Forrest Street apartment in Jersey City on August 31.
Prosecutor Suarez said Gaston, 26, was arrested at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City when he turned himself in with his attorney.
Gaston has been charged with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3A(1)(2), a first-degree crime; Possession of a Weapon (firearm) for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4A(1), a second-degree crime; and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (firearm) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5B(1), a second-degree crime.
According to police, on Monday, August 31, just before 6 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to an apartment on Forrest Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Ocean Avenue where they found a lifeless 22-year-old female.
The victim, later identified as Ms. Francis Villa, had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased at 6:04 p.m. at the scene by Dr. Lee of the Jersey City Medical Center.
The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was ruled homicide by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office on September 14, 2020.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department for the investigation and arrest.
The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).