Toms River man’s testimony sent two fellow Bloods to prison for murder.

TOMS RIVER – In a rare case of a street gang member breaking ranks with his criminal associates, a judge Friday gave a Toms River man a break for testimony that helped put two members of the Bloods in prison for decades for the murder of an innocent teenager caught in the crossfire of gang violence.

Shadrach Correa, 21, was looking at 10 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in April to conspiracy to commit murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the Oct. 11, 2020, shooting death in Toms River of Javon Cutler, 19, of Berkeley.

Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan gave Correa what he said was a rare break and sentenced him to seven years in prison because his cooperation helped to convict two fellow gang members of Cutler’s murder.

State law allows judges to deviate from statutorily required prison terms in circumstances where the interests of justice require it and the mitigating factors substantially outweigh the aggravating factors, the judge said.