Essex County Convicted Felon Charged In June’s Phillipsburg Shooting Death
Friday, September 12, 2025, 5:30 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
PHILLIPSBURG, NJ.- Yesterday, a 34-year-old Newark, New Jersey, man, wanted in connection with the June 2, 2025, early morning shooting death in the Town of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, was taken into custody and jailed after being formally charged with the alleged murder of Kevin Cervil.
According to Acting Warren County Prosecutor Jessica L. Cardone, following an investigation, on August 28, 2025, James R. Dawes, 34, of Newark, New Jersey, was formally charged with first-degree Murder; second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; and second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose. Dawes was additionally charged with one count of second-degree Certain Persons Not Possess Weapons.
U.S. Marshals Apprehend Dawes Yesterday
On Thursday, September 11, 2025, Dawes was taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force in Newark, New Jersey. He was transported to the Warren County Correctional Center, where he was processed on the charges and remanded to custody pending future court proceedings in Warren County Superior Court in Belvidere, New Jersey…