Story by Ethan
On December 4th, 2025, the arrest of Justford Doe, age 23, and Giovanni Varanese, age 21, was announced by Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. Justford Doe and Giovanni Varanese were charged with first-degree Murder, first-degree Conspiracy to Commit Murder, first-degree Robbery, second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, second-degree Being a Certain Persons not to Possess a Weapon, and second-degree Eluding. The arrest and charges against Justford Doe and Giovanni Varanese were a result of an investigation handled by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Bordentown Township Police Department, Florence Township Police Department, and New Jersey State Police.
According to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, at approximately 11:30 p.m. on November 5th, 2025, local police were dispatched after receiving a call to the 7-Eleven/Valero gas station located at the intersection of Route 130 and Farnsworth Avenue. The call was made after the first victim who was shot, later identified at 22-year-old Daniel Patterson, entered the gas station and requested help from the employee working the counter. Daniel Patterson then exited the gas station before collapsing outside and passing away at the scene. The second victim of the shooting, later identified as 21-year-old Mason Knott, passed away after being taken to a local hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, to be treated for his wounds. Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Daniel Patterson died from the multiple gunshot wounds to his body, while Mason Knott died from a single gunshot wound to his head. Allegedly after the shootings both defendants fled in an unidentified Jeep, however after crashing the vehicle in Florence, New Jersey.
The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office stated that the charges against Justford Doe and Giovanni Varanese are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
