A Trenton, New Jersey man accused of gunning down 30-year-old Daquan Basnight posted a photo of himself to Facebook moments after the murder, and inadvertently helped cops identify him in the process.
As reported by the Trentonian, Matthew Tanner, who goes by the name “John Wick (Skippa),” allegedly posted a photo to Facebook on Aug. 2 showing him in black pants, a black T-shirt, and white “reflective” shoes with a black tongue. This apparently was the same outfit he wore while murdering Basnight the day before, homicide detective Shawn Bruton wrote in an affidavit.
“The shooter is clearly seen wearing a black T-shirt, black pants and white reflective shoes with a black tongue,” Bruton wrote.
Detectives asked that the Facebook page be preserved while they obtained a data warrant. They didn’t offer any motive for the killing in court records that outlined the evidence they had gathered against Tanner, age 36, who is currently locked up.
The affidavit read that in the early morning of Aug. 1, police found Basnight laying on his back, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the face and body. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital, and while canvassing the scene, authorities discovered more than a dozen 9mm shell casings stamped with the word “extreme.”
The police then obtained “high-quality” surveillance footage from the crime scene, New Home Liquors, which identified Tanner as the killer. Tanner continued firing on Basnight as he was slumped on the ground, then stood over his body for two minutes before "calmly" leaving the area as cops arrived.
Additional footage also caught Tanner walking to the 800 block of Stuyvesant Avenue, near his last known address. Since Tanner was so clearly identified in the CCTV footage, police were able to easily find his Facebook profile, which was where they found what they called the "smoking gun” photo of Tanner in the same outfit.
