Township Man Given 27-Year Sentence In 2017 Shooting Death Of Woman

A township man must serve a minimum of 23 years in state prison for the August 2017 shooting death of  18-year-old Chamari Webb in front of a relative’s Battle Place home.

Tamar Reaves, 20, of Park Street, was sentenced on May 16 to 27 years in state prison with 23 years of parole ineligibility after his defense team and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office agreed on a plea deal.

Whike making his guilty plea, Reaves said that Webb owed him money, and that he only intended to scare her by pointing the gun at her, said SCPO spokeswoman Det. Jeanne Trillhaase.

Witnesses told police that there was an ongoing dispute between Reaves and Webb, Trillhaase said.

Reaves had originally been arrested on Aug. 9, 2017 on charges of 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Possession of a Handgun Without a Permit, and 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun. According to a release from the SCPO, after “extensive pretrial litigation,” Reaves on April 2, 2019 plead guilty to 1st Degree Aggravated Manslaughter, 2nd Degree Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose and 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun.

State Superior Court Judge Kevin M. Shanahan, sitting in Somerville, set the sentence in accordance with the plea agreement, according to the release.

Authorities said that Webb encountered Reaves – aka “T-Mac” – at a Millstone Road deli at about 7:50 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2017. Reaves then followed Webb back to the Battle Place home, authorities said, where he shot her in the back of her neck with a 9 mm handgun.

Following the shooting, Reaves first went to a friend’s home in New Brunswick, and then to his grandmother’s home in the township, Trillhaase said.

While at his grandmother’s house, Reaves “ordered a pizza and made several posts to various social media accounts, including a photo of the pizza, as well as a video of himself singing the lyrics of a song which mirrored the circumstances of the shooting he just committed,” according to the release.

The lead investigators on the case, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Det. Randy Sidorski and Franklin Township Police Sgt. Kevin Fitzharris, were assisted by surveillance video recordings supplied by local business owners and residents, according to the release.

Police at the Battle Place crime scene on Aug. 9, 2017.

Lt. Mark Pappas and Det. Brandt Gregus of the New Brunswick Police Department recognized Reaves as the person in the surveillance video and helped in locating and arresting him six hours after the shooting, according to the release. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms assisted in the case by showing, through an unrelated investigation of Reaves, that Reaves owned a 9 mm handgun similar to the one used to kill Webb.

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