NJ Man Sentenced For Monmouth County Gang Crimes: Prosecutor

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 17 years in state prison for his role in various criminal street gang activity across multiple Monmouth County locations, Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia Alonso said.

Xavier “HS” Reed, 34, of Jackson Township, was sentenced on Wednesday, July 9, by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley.

Multiple investigations were launched into Reed’s criminal activity, with some dating as far back as the summer of 2019. These investigations identified Reed as a high-ranking member of the G-Shine set of the Bloods, Alonso said, a local street gang.

According to prosecutors, Reed made efforts to join forces with other local gangs to be the “ringleader” of a criminal enterprise that consisted of members from different gangs (including the G-Shine Bloods), as well as 47 NHC and Grape Street sets of the Crips, that would ultimately work toward a common goal of having “a lot of the power” of local gang activity.

This activity was mostly centered in the areas of Asbury Park, Neptune and Freehold Township, Alonso said.

The focus of the racketeering and criminal enterprise centered around transfers of community firearms, drug distribution, retributive assaults, dogfighting, and gang-related shootings that plagued the Asbury Park and Neptune areas during 2020, prosecutors said.

The gang-related violence included the shooting homicide of Christian Lahens, 24, of Asbury Park, on March 23, 2020.

According to prosecutors, Nahzee Z. Coger, 21, was sentenced on February 21, 2025, to 15 years in an NJ state prison after pleading guilty to one count of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in connection with Lahens’ death.

Reed had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree racketeering conspiracy, Alonso said. His sentence is subject to the provisions of NJ’s No Early Release Act (NERA), which mandates that 85 perfect be served prior to the possibility of parole.

Reed will also be subject to parole supervision for five years upon his release from prison.

Alongside Reed, prosecutors said 29 other codefendants previously pled guilty to various crimes ranging from racketeering conspiracy, aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms, distribution of CDS, and dogfighting.

The case was handled by Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner, Director of the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau, and Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Cummings, Director of the Narcotics and Criminal Enterprise Bureau. Reed was represented by Michael Cirigliano, Esq., of Iselin.

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