The man charged with the July 2016 murder of a Pleasantville man, and with the subsequent kidnapping of a witness to that murder, has been arrested in the State of Georgia, Acting Prosecutor Diane Ruberton announced.
Hassan Montague-Reed, 22, of Pleasantville, was arrested in Cobb County, Georgia earlier this week on unrelated charges, and is being held by the Cobb’s County Sheriff’s Department, pending extradition to New Jersey.
According to authorities, Pleasantville Police responded to Vola Lane, on July 14, 2016, at approximately 11:23 p.m. S
after numerous 9-1-1 calls.
Upon arrival, police found Mark Smith, 19, of Pleasantville, on the ground, bleeding from a head wound. Smith was transported by emergency medical responders to the AtlantiCare Medical Center—City Campus, where he was pronounced dead by Dr. Ali at 12:15 a.m., July 15, 2016.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit detectives also responded to the scene and to the hospital.
Next-of-kin were notified. An autopsy performed the next day by Southern Regional Medical Examiner Office Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds of the head and neck, and the manner of death to be homicide.
An intensive investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Pleasantville Police Department resulted in the following charges against Montague-Reed:
Murder—a crime of the 1st degree, for the shooting death of Mark Smith; and
Kidnapping—a crime of the 1st degree,
Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping—a 2nd degree crime,
Witness Tampering—a 1st degree crime, and
Conspiracy to Commit Witness Tampering, a 2nd degree crime. A man and a woman, Dijon X. Emory, male, M19, of 223 Abbey Lane, Pleasantville, NJ, and Shaheedah T. Frisby, female, 21, of 17 West Brighton Avenue, Pleasantville, NJ, were charged with:
Kidnapping—a crime of the 1st degree,
Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping—a 2nd degree crime,
Witness Tampering—a 1st degree crime, and
Conspiracy to Commit Witness Tampering, a 2nd degree crime.
The State alleges that, after the killing of Smith, Montague-Reed, Frisby, and Emory forced a person who witnessed the murder into the basement of 223 Abbey Lane, Pleasantville, confining the person for a substantial period of time to induce or otherwise cause the witness to withhold information and evidence from law enforcement.
The defendants eventually released the kidnapping victim.
Frisby and Emory were arrested without incident at 223 Abbey Lane during the execution of a search warrant at the residence on the night of Saturday, July 16, 2016, by members of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Pleasantville Police Department, and Atlantic County Regional SWAT.
Both were lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility on bail set by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Mark Sandson at $500,000 full cash/no bond. Montague-Reed remains at-large at this time, bail set by Judge Sandson at $1,000,000 cash.
A conviction for murder carries a potential sentence of incarceration in New Jersey State Prison for a period of 30 years to life.
The potential prison sentence for a conviction of the 1st degree charges 10-20 years of imprisonment. A 2nd degree conviction carries a potential penalty of 5-10 years.