Six young men, all aged 16 to 24.
Two of them dead.
The other four arrested on murder charges.
Yet more than a week later, law enforcement authorities have revealed little information about the circumstances of the Oct. 25 deaths of two men from Paterson — Brian Astacio, 21, and Davonte Scudder, 22 — in the parking lot shared by the Meadowlands Racetrack and FanDuel Sportsbook in East Rutherford, N.J.
The men were found by state police at 9:25 p.m. Sunday, when the site is home to sports bettors and to racetrack gamblers viewing simulcasts.
Tariq Gathers, 24; Victor Geslicki, 19; Nyshun Morris, 19; and an unnamed 16-year-old boy — all from Jersey City — were arrested.
Not that it is much consolation given the magnitude of the tragedy, but it is not clear that wagering had anything to do with the crime.
Gunshots — and a botched escape
A New Jersey State Police trooper who was patrolling the complex heard gunshots in the parking lot, followed by the sight of three men running from the area who jumped into an Audi SUV, according to authorities.
The Meadowlands Sports Complex since its opening in 1976 has been overseen by such troopers because even after the privatization of the site over the past dozen years, the real estate within the complex still is owned by state taxpayers.
A state trooper then followed the Audi, which had been reported stolen from a home in Tenafly, a highly affluent Bergen County suburb about a dozen miles east of the sports complex.
The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, which sped onto nearby northbound Route 120 before hitting a concrete divider. The three men, along with a driver, were quickly captured along with a .38-caliber revolver and a 9 mm handgun.
According to a report, one of the suspects ran into the nearby American Dream Meadowlands shopping and entertainment complex before being apprehended by a security guard.
Back in the racetrack/sportsbook parking lot, Scudder and Astacio were found in an Acura sedan. Scudder, a passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene. Astacio, who was in the driver’s seat, was pronounced dead — also from gunshot wounds — at a nearby hospital a short time later.
The victims — and the suspects
Gathers and Morris both have a history of gun and drug charges. In addition to murder charges, police added weapons offenses and “receiving stolen property” for all four who were charged.
The victims were remembered as “quiet, respectful, and hardworking,” according to a local media report.
The simulcasts of out-of-town horse races seven days a week at the track attracts a mostly older clientele.
The FanDuel Sportsbook — located inside the racetrack grandstand and a popular social scene before the COVID-19 pandemic — continues to cater to a much younger, also mostly male clientele. They tend to make in-person, cash wagers on sporting events.
The Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks were in the midst of a nationally televised NFL game at the time of the shooting. New Jersey sports betting law allows for live “in-game betting,” which has accounted for a majority of wagers in the two years since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sided with New Jersey in opening the door for any state — not just Nevada — to legalize such gambling.
State police said they believe the four people who were charged “committed additional crimes in the area.” They encourage anyone with information to call the New Jersey State Police Major Crime North Unit at 609-947-6024.
