The following letter was submitted to TLS: My name is Danielle Pierce and I am the mother of Justin A. Williams-Pierce, the 20 yr. old that was murdered on 10/15/2010 by Jahmell Crockham and another man named Darius Johnson. At this time our family is grateful and wants to thank the police, the prosecutors office, and anyone that helped to make the nightmare of not knowing who killed my son go away.
From the moment that we received the news a 5:30am-6am the morning of Oct. 15th, 2010, we have been Praying that the nightmare would end and that Justice would be served for my son Justin.
Justin was a child that was adored and loved by soooooo many family, friends & associates. He touched every persons heart he came into contact with and people describe their remembrance of him as “having a big heart”. Justin had faced his share of trouble with the law by making bad decisions but in the end his bad decisions were ultimately to help another. Unfortunately he was alone in his efforts to stand up to the negativity of what his circle of friends were doing, Justin physically fought with Jahmell Crockham and others after realizing that “this is not what he signed up for” meaning what his circle of friends was into. For this he was killed!
More about the type of person and accomplishments of Justin are that “he was the best big brother 4 sisters could ever have” (exact words from his sisters). Justin was raised by myself Danielle Pierce, his step-father David Pierce & his grandmother before she passed in 2007. As our son, he put us thru ups and downs but none of which myself or his stepfather regret. He graduated from Manchester High School in 2008. He also played football for Daytop Pittbulls, Pittsgrove, NJ & played basketball for the Ocean County Department of Probation. He & his family are members of Harmony Ministries, Lakehurst, NJ.
Justin also served for 1 year in the US Navy Civil Air Patrol as a cadet where he learned how to read the control panel of a plane in his endeavor to be a pilot. Justin was very creative with his hands and working with wood.
On Sundays, Justin was always on the couch by his stepfather’s side watching football and cracking jokes. Even though Justin was not residing with us at the time of his death, he made sure he came home to see his sisters and eat!! I remember and truly miss the daily phone calls from Justin asking “‘what’s for dinner mom”, and the long discussions we had about how he was feeling inside and what he was dealing within the streets. He had faith and read the bible regularly, loved to write poems and reflect on his life. Justin was an amazing child and person with a smile that will carry you to the ends of the earth.
Our feelings regarding the death of Officer Matlosz: We are truly grieving for this loss because he was murdered by the same man as my child. But I can’t help but to think about the fact that if Jahmell Crockham was caught for my son’s murder, then he would not be on the streets to commit the senseless murder of Officer Matlosz.
Our community and heads of our Community and County need to find a way to protect the victims and witness in a way that people can rely on and trust. We don’t blame the police or Prosecutors office for failing to do anything. I understand their reasoning for the delay on pressing the charges. It was because people were to scared to come forward to help with finding my son’s killer prior to Officer Matlosz’s death and the murderer being the same person and being apprehended and given a high bail to ensure he was not going to get out.
As for Mr. Crockham’s family, we just want to say our family knows first hand how the family hurts the most thru these types of situations. God Bless the Matlosz Family, Crockham Family & Johnson Family.
All we can say is THANK YOU for this day!
Respectfully yours,
Danielle.
May you know of no more sorrow.
Sorry for you loss.
Please do not bless the crockem family as they raised a murder and a daughter who gave birth to a murderer at 16 years old.
Beautifully written. So sorry for your loss.
Ouch! Sorry For Your Pain
We must thank the police daily for keeping these murderers off our streets. May He rest in peace.
I think since u lived thru this and saw what happened u can help others kids that want out of this gangs. May g-d give u the time and strength to help others. Sooo sorry for ur lost we are all sad with u
Mrs. Pierce,
Your beautiful letter has touched our hearts.
Our most sincere condolences for your eternal loss. As life goes on for all of us, we know that life truly never returns for a parent that lost a child – particularly in the way you have experienced. At least, some partial closure has been created with the apprehension of the accused murderer.
Our hopes and prayers are with you and your son – we pray that your sacrifice will result in an eternal good for mankind.
Sincerely,
A local Rabbi.
May he rest in peace
#2 that was really unneccessary to belittle someone that you do not even know. What happened to not casting judgement?
On another note, the question arises, why was he not apprehended sooner? (moderated).
as i am unsure if ms.pierce is interested in an outsider who has not experienced her pain , her husbands pain and her daughters pain. i am hesitant to suggest my idea, however i will and it can be discarded if she so chooses.
if the death of her child in the manner that it occured can be the catalyst for a grassroots effort in lakewood for her and her family to honor the memory of their son, then they will have accomplished much.
being upset that the wittness fear to come forward… is correct but wont help as these things dont change easily.
getting out on the streets ,in the schools,and in the ministries showing them a better way to life, a way to succeed, will mean more in the long run.
show them the horror of gang life and the beauty of real life.
ms pierce you can do it, your daughters can do it, your husband can do it. get the message out there.
teach them family, respect,love,honor for each other for their sake and you will change your sons murder from senseless and painful to senseless and less painful.
you will heal, you will inspire, you will change the world for the better.
my bet is that the gang members want out, you need to show them a way out, and certainly stop the younger ones from joining,by showing them a better way.
make ganglife of control fear and power disgusting in their eyes.
PLEASE GET THE GANGS TO STOP THEIR LETHAL WAYS OF JUDGEMENT.
Mrs. Pierce I am sorry for your loss, but its time for the friends and families of the victims to stand upto the gangs and speak to the police at the time of the murders. Officer Matlosz may have not been killed had your sons murderer been caught earlier. Its the cold shoulder that the police recieve and the lack of information they were able to obtain that delayed your sons murderer from being capturerd.
Just around the corner from were you sons body was found, another assasination took place a few years back with witnesses and yet no one came forward.
YOU ARE 100% correct. The police dont have a fool proof protection policy. They need to improve this to allow witnesses with information to come forward without being worried for their safety. This we saw with the barbershop murder when a witnesses girl-friends mother was killed the morning of the trial.
BUT YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFRENCE.
Bring down all the leading figures of your community INCLUDING Rev. Jesse Jackson and others to march and say directly to the teens THIS IS ENOUGH.
Call when you see a drug exchange or think your child is upto something. Its best he/she sit in Jail and live then g-d forbid get killed or kill another human being. At lease this way a mother can know her child will have a chane of turning around.
ITS GOING TO BE TOUGH LOVE TO CHANGE THIS GENERATION AND THE NEXT TO NOT BE PART OF GANGS. IF there is no tough love and unified response from the community at large there will be no change . The excuses has to stop. There are so many people who have made themselves succesful with out being rich. BILL CROSBY for one. There is enough FREE education options for one to excel and become someone respected.
Respect is not gained in gangs, as gang members think. Their thinking is distorded and deranged. They are brainwashed to believe in nonsense, that they are supreme and the lack of respect for others. This is why and how they kill others and themselves.
Mrs Pierce, you have suffered and taken a major loss with the murder of your son. PLEASE MAKE A DIFFRENCE.
MOTHERS AGAINST GANGS should be created so no mother needs to see graffited at her sons memorial M.O.B. (member of bloods).
I once bumped into a man name Mr. Williams who struck up a conversation with me and told me about the tradegy of his son. I’m assuming there was a divorce in the family. I admired this man because he accepted what God had taken from him but the sadness he felt was evident. I felt terrible for him. Wishing my condolences to all of Justin William’s family and friends. From what his father said, Justin did sound like a great person but had gotten involved in some things that werent good for him but he was trying to get out of if. God Bless you Mrs. Williams Peirce and Mr. Williams!
very well written
so sad some worthless scum (crockham) took two innocent lives. Now lets fry him and let the Crockhams suffer!!!!!!!!!!
To #2 and all others who don’t understand. Not always is a perpetrator’s family at fault for what he/she does. As the yiddish expression goes: “Der Eppel falt nisht veit fun boim” – except when there’s a wind… In fact, from what I hear, Crockham’s family is a group of very nice people whose son has unfortunately chosen a bad path. Please don’t pass judgements when you don’t know the facts. Dan l’kaf zchus may not be l’halacha here, but it sure is good practice.
Sorry for your loss.
Mrs. Pierce,
As a father myself my geart goes out to you. Let’s all get together and make a positive out of this. If we can get together and make a group that will be named after your son to help educate and detect issues when they are begining to convince teenagers that they will have more respect by being educated and a productive member of society. Your son will have a very honorable memory. If we all stop saying “this is the way it is” we can all stand up and identify the ones that are trapped and want out! We can make change. We can do it!
I guess the people who are feeling sorry for the crockam family must have not read the newspaper on 1-21-11.where the family says he is innocent that the police are setting him up .while others in his family were charged for murder and manslaughter. so i have no pitty for that family or any other family who puts the blame on someone else instead of dealing with the real situation .children are a product of how they were raised by the parents.a parent can’t control everything but must interact with their child and know whats going on in their lives.failure to do so means you failed your child and they turn else where for that love and may commit crimes and join gangs for attention and respect.
Thank you for your heartfelt letter – we feel your pain. Perhaps your having gone through this terrible experience will give you an opportunity to help today’s children listen with a different ear. You should speak to the youth in the high schools and explain to them what you are feeling. It seems like our youth has not learned to respect life. Nobody can represent your pain like you can yourself and if you can avoid any further deterioration in the youths disregard for the miracle of life, you will have accomplished greatness.
May you and your family find comfort in your loss
I am sure that you finally have a feeling of closure that is so badly needed now that Crackajack is behind bars.
The only thing I can say is that time heals all wounds. And that (hopefully) justice will be served.
I beg the Judge whom ever he/she may be (as if he’s reading this little dribble) to throw the book at Cracker with full force. If you are able to hit him with the death penalty – DO IT!
It is the right thing to do for man slaughter – especially a pervert who kills more than once, kills an officer, and kills with impudence.
Also, contrary to liberal sewage, the only thing that gangs respect is brutal force. You hit a man, we catch you, we fry you…and its not a protracted thing. You catch em, you fry em, you bury em.
No one deserves to go through what the Officers family and the Pierce family has been put through. But, if we will not show extremely strict intolerance for this kind of behavior, then we have no one to blame other than ourselves.
I am so sorry for your loss. I can not begin to imagine your pain. May you find comfort in the fact that his murderer will hopefully sit in jail forever. Best wishes to you and your family, and may you know of no more pain.
i’ve read so many comments here that say “fry him” , “burn the &@*&bag!”, and various others. i am angry with crockham and feel he should be punished to the fullest extent. but by crying out for vengance arent we lowering ourselves to their level? let justice for this officer and that young man be dealt from the court, not from the mobs noose. so #14 if you are truly without sin…………
sorry for your loss. WHere’s Curtis Sliwa
to all those advocating to change the gangs.
your intentions seem very heartfelt. however god gave all ppl a heart and a mind and we must use them both at all times.
when we see bad things happen we clearly dont want to be or have any part of it. but by no means we can avoid bad by making it good.
if you paint on top of rust it usually returns sooner or later unless you rid of it entirely first.
my point here is you cant expect gangsters to just become good because you showed them good. one must rid of his bad before trying to be good.
the first things gangsters gotta learn is consequences and responsibility for their actions. its not societies fault for what they are. ppl choose what they want to be.
so lets not fool ourselves by thinking liberally.
if you educate your children properly and show them the good in the first place maybe they would never dream of going even near the gangs. sorry but there always was and always will be the good and the bad. but remember its your choice, and your responsibility, and yes one way or another you gonna hafta answer to someone.
#15 I second the motion. You said the truth
May you find peace, comfort and consolation.
cant wait to read on the scoop one day..”jahmell crockham 19, of lakewood accused of 3 murders is sentenced to death” hopefully someday