Asbury Park Teen Tried As Adult, Gets 45 Years For Murder Of Fellow Teen

ASBURY PARK, NJ — On Tuesday, a Monmouth County Superior Court judge sentenced a 19-year-old Asbury Park teen to 45 years in prison for the 2022 shooting death of another teen.

Joseph Argilagos, now 19, shot Dariel Vernet, 19, five times, killing him, in the city of Asbury Park in July 2022.

Argilagos was 16 at the time he shot and killed his fellow teen, but in an unusual move by the Monmouth County Prosecutor, he was tried as an adult for the murder.

He was sentenced Tuesday to 45 years in prison. He must serve a minimum of 85 percent of that sentence before the possibility of parole.

Another young man, Lydell Brown, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for Vernet's death, and was sentenced in March to five years in prison; he also must serve at least 85 percent of his prison term.

The Asbury Park Press was at the sentencing and has photos of the teen being sentenced. They report the murder was point-blank, execution-style.

In a separate murder that occurred in Asbury Park, Ah’kim Esdaile, 19, was shot to death on Tuesday, April 8 in the city, the Monmouth County Prosecutor announced here. At 4:25 p.m. on that date, police responded to the 1100 block of Atlantic Avenue for a report of shots fired. There, they found the teen suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died.

Anyone with information regarding this matter is urged to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Aaron Shaw at 800-533-7443 or Asbury Park Police Department Detective Terrence McGhee at 732-734-1900.