PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. (Warren County) — Members of the U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force on Thursday arrested a man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Kevin Clervil earlier this summer in Phillipsburg, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities said Dawes was taken into custody in Newark on Sept. 11. He was charged Aug. 28 in a complaint warrant with first-degree homicide, second-degree certain persons not to possess a weapon, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, and second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun without a permit. Prosecutors said homicide carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, while each of the second-degree charges carries a penalty of up to 10 years.
Dawes is being held at the Warren County Correctional Center in Belvidere, and the court is expected to hear the state’s motion for pretrial detention next week.
Authorities said Clervil, of East Orange, was fatally shot during a reported break-in attempt at a home on the 100 block of Summit Avenue in Phillipsburg on June 2. Officers responding to a 911 call found him outside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital Warren Campus, where he died.
The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation was conducted with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, New Jersey State Police, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and local police departments in Newark, Millburn, Greenwich, Lopatcong, and Pohatcong.
