By: Richard L. Smith
A Newark man has been found guilty of gunning down his stepfather outside the family’s South Ward home, following a five-day trial that ended with a jury’s verdict this week.
On August 26, 2025, jurors convicted 29-year-old Tyrone Cradle of first-degree murder and related weapons charges in the killing of 48-year-old Mr. Rasool Crews.
Prosecutors said the violence happened on May 19, 2023, when Crews and his daughter returned home and were confronted by Cradle.
According to testimony, Cradle was caught on surveillance video stepping from the side of the residence before opening fire multiple times, striking Crews as his daughter looked on.
He then fled the scene. Investigators later learned that Cradle had been forced to leave the residence just two days earlier after living there with the family.
Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Nicholas told jurors the crime was deliberate and calculated.
“The evidence demonstrated—and the jury confirmed—that this was a cold and calculated murder,” he said. Assistant Prosecutor Brianna Sandroni added that the verdict offers some measure of closure to the victim’s family.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office credited the Newark Police Division, the FBI, and the ECPO Homicide Task Force for their investigative work.
Cradle is scheduled for sentencing on October 27, 2025, where he faces a sentence ranging from 30 years to life in New Jersey State Prison.