On a Monday afternoon in April 2020, 31-year-old Shawn Watford was fatally shot in East Orange, New Jersey, at about 1:22 p.m. near North Arlington Avenue and Williams Street. Watford was taken to University Hospital in Newark and pronounced dead at 1:49 p.m.

Investigators say three men planned and carried out the attack. They reportedly staked out Watford’s apartment, waited for him to leave, and followed him as he walked to visit his mother. Anthony Hagans followed in a vehicle and shot Watford multiple times; a second vehicle then arrived, Shaquan Adams driving, and Clarence Johnson allegedly exited and fired a single shot to Watford’s head after he fell.

All three men later pleaded guilty for their roles. Anthony Hagans and Clarence Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun; Shaquan Adams pleaded guilty to first-degree conspiracy to commit murder. Hagans and Johnson received 30-year prison sentences and Adams received 10 years. Did anyone in the East Orange area know anything about Watford’s movements or the vehicles involved that afternoon?