Former teammate charged with killing high school wrestling star

Both teens had recently graduated from Pemberton Township High School, where they both stood out on the wrestling team.

PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP -- A recent high school graduate is facing charges he fatally shot his former wrestling teammate in a township garage early Thursday morning, according to authorities. 

Neven Salas, 18 of the Browns Mills section of Pemberton, is charged with fatally shooting an acquaintance in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 28, 2016. (Photo provided)
 

The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said Nelven Salas was charged with aggravated manslaughter, possession of a handgun with a permit and hindering apprehension in the death of 18-year-old Davon Coleman.

Coleman, Salas and a third person, who was not identified, were in the detached garage of the unidentified person's home on the 300 block of Bayberry Street at about 1 a.m. when Coleman was shot in the chest. 

First responders transported the teen -- a school record-breaking wrestler during his time at Pemberton Township High School -- to Deborah Hospital, where he was soon pronounced dead.

Police on the scene were first told the shooting was the work of three masked intruders who broke into the garage and assaulted Coleman before fleeing.

However, the investigation by the county prosecutor's office and township police revealed the gun used to kill Coleman was actually hidden in the garage. Salas, who was also a star wrestler on the team, produced it for authorities.

According to the Burlington County Times, Coleman and Salas were in the same group of friends who would often hang out in the garage. 

The teens' wrestling coach told the newspaper that Coleman was someone who could always make others smile, and who always "brightened up a room." He worked at Wawa full-time and was due to start classes at Rowan College at Gloucester County this fall. He also planned to wrestle for the school.

"He was like a son to me," his coach, Gerald Hewitt told the newspaper. 

Salas remains in Burlington County Jail in lieu of $250,000 full bail. He's expected to make a first appearance before Burlington County Superior Court Judge Terrence Cook Friday afternoon.