Neptune Man Sentenced to 50-Year Prison Term for Eatontown Murder

A Neptune man convicted in December for his role in the 2008 murder of an Eatontown man received a 50-year jail sentence on Friday, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office announced in a press release.

Tahj J. Pines, 27, along with his brother Aron T. Pines, 23, Lashawn Fitch, 22, all of Neptune, and Kenneth M. Bacon-Vaughters, 23, of Asbury Park, traveled to 24-year-old Nathaniel Wiggins’ Eatontown apartment on March 11, 2008 intending to rob him, authorities said.

Once they arrived at the apartment, Tahj Pines, Bacon-Vaughters and Fitch approached the apartment, while Aron Pines remained in the driver’s seat of the car, according to authorities.

Bacon-Vaughters knocked on Wiggins’ door, while a masked Tahj Pines and Fitch stood wait, the release stated. A shot fired during the robbery proved fatal to Wiggins and the four men fled the scene, prosecutors said.

Police responded to a 9-1-1 call and arrived to find Wiggins on the floor of his apartment with a serious gunshot wound. He was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center but died from his injuries the next day.

Tahj Pines was found guilty of felony murder, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Bacon-Vaughters was found guilty of the same charges in March 2011 and sentenced to a 40-year prison term in June 2011. Aron Pines was convicted of conspiracy to commit second-degree robbery and second-degree robbery in February 2012 and sentenced to an 8-year prison term.

The case against Fitch is pending trial.