By: Richard L. Smith
Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey announced that a Trenton man has been sentenced to 65 years in state prison for the 2021 ambush-style killing of 29-year-old Daquan Basnight.
On Wednesday, August 13, 2025, Superior Court Judge Darlene J. Pereksta sentenced Matthew Tanner, 40, to an aggregate 65-year prison term. 
Under the No Early Release Act, Tanner must serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The charges stem from an incident in the early morning of August 1, 2021, when Trenton police responded to the 800 block of Stuyvesant Avenue after a ShotSpotter activation alerted them to 13 rounds of gunfire.
Officers arrived to find Basnight lying motionless in the street with multiple gunshot wounds to his face and body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators with the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and Trenton Police recovered 13 shell casings near the victim and obtained surveillance footage showing the attack.
The video revealed Basnight was ambushed from behind by a lone gunman hiding between two homes before firing multiple shots and fleeing through a nearby alley.
Detectives later identified Tanner as the shooter. Surveillance screenshots captured him in the area before and after the murder wearing the same clothing as the gunman, a plain black t-shirt, black pants, and reflective sneakers.
When interviewed at the prosecutor’s office, Tanner arrived wearing the same outfit seen in the video. He also identified himself in multiple images, including one standing next to the victim’s body just seconds after the last shot was fired.
In April 2025, Assistant Prosecutors Michael Mennuti and Matthew Samel presented the case during a four-week trial before Judge Pereksta.
Prosecutors argued that Tanner left a party on Stuyvesant Avenue shortly before the shooting to shower and change at a nearby residence, then returned in clothing that matched the shooter’s.
Evidence showed he tracked Basnight, used shortcuts through the neighborhood to set up the ambush, and carried out the fatal attack.
A jury convicted Tanner on all counts, including first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, and certain persons not to possess a firearm.
Prosecutor Marbrey said the sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and ensures accountability for a violent act that devastated the Trenton community.