Case Profiles #86
Tashawn Brown
On the evening of Wednesday, May 19th, 2021, single mother of eight, Latasha Brown, was enjoying a family cookout in Edgewood Park in New Haven, Connecticut. The cookout was to commemorate her cousin, Charles, who had recently died due to complications with COVID. At some point during the family festivities and celebration of life, an argument broke out between some young men, including more than one of Latasha’s sons. She sent her kids off and told them they could come back later when the instigating party was gone and everything had calmed down. When her kids came back later, so did the young men who were arguing earlier. The only difference was that this time they had brought guns. In fact, Quaymar Suggs, the son of recently deceased cousin Charles’s girlfriend, had parked his car in another driveway and fired his gun through the window, spraying bullets into the park. 18-year-old Tashawn Brown was hit, and despite first aid rendered by family members at the scene and emergency personnel, Tashawn was pronounced dead at the local hospital. It wouldn’t be until March of 2023 when Quaymar Suggs was arrested in relation to not only Tashawn’s death but other violence-related charges. In June of 2024 he was found guilty and in January of 2025, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Another member of Quaymar’s gang, the Exit 8 Gang, Tyjon “T.J.” Preston was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Tashawn’s death.
Dwaneia Turner
29-year-old Dwaneia Alexandria Turner, lovingly nicknamed “Nene”, was an incredible mom to her two children and was an amazing cook. A friend wrote in her obituary, “Beautiful, kind, loving, free spirit… An amazing spirit that goes unnoticed.. Loving, caring, full of joy & surprises… she left an imprint on everyone no matter if she knew them for 10 years or an hour, Nene is just that amazing person.” On March 16th, 2021, at 10:15 p.m., 32-year-old Brianna Triplett called 911 and told the operator “I just shot my girlfriend. I don’t think she’s breathing.” When the 911 operator began giving instructions to Brianna to perform CPR, Brianna refused. New Haven, Connecticut police were dispatched within three minutes of the initial 911 call and arrived on scene to find Dwaneia “unresponsive, on her back lying on the ground, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.” Brianna was standing next to her holding a gun. Dwaneia was transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. Police found that another woman, a close friend of Dwaneia’s, had also called 911 as she had been shot in the hand. During her police interview, Brianna said that she and Dwaneia had been in a two and a half year long relationship, but over the last two days, they had been in a huge fight. Earlier in the day on March 16th, Dwaneia broke things off with Brianna. Brianna left the home and returned several times, with the last time at 10:00 p.m. resulting in a verbal altercation that became physical. Dwaneia had yelled for her friend to get a knife, and when Dwaneia began slashing Brianna’s tires, Brianna fired several gunshots that hit Dwaneia in the back and her friend in the hand. Brianna was arrested initially for the assault of Dwaneia’s friend, but charges were later escalated to murder, first-degree reckless endangerment and unlawful use of a firearm in April of 2021. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Image sources:
nhregister.com - “‘They took my golden star’: Family, friends mourn loss of slain 18-year-old New Haven man”
gunmemorial.org - “Dwaneia Turner, age 28”