Jersey City man accused of killing 22-year-old girlfriend in shooting

JERSEY CITY — A 26-year-old man has been charged with the shooting death of his 22-year-old girlfriend, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Jaishawn Gaston, of Jersey City, has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of unlawful weapons possession, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said Wednesday.

Francis Villa was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head on the evening of August 31 in a Forrest Street apartment in Jersey City, according to Suarez.

Gaston was arrested Tuesday about 7:30 p.m. when he turned himself in at the prosecutor’s office in Jersey City accompanied by his attorney.

The manner of death was ruled homicide on Monday by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

As previously reported by The Jersey Journal, which cited family members, Villa had been living with her boyfriend at his mom’s apartment on Forrest Street.

The same report said the boyfriend, now identified as Gaston, called police the day of Villa's death.