The Union County Prosecutor’s Office
32 Rahway Avenue   Elizabeth, NJ 07202
Theodore J. Romankow
Prosecutor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2010

Contact: John Holl
(908) 527-4621 jholl@ucnj.org

Arrest Made in Linden Homicide

A suspect was arrested last night in connection with the fatal shooting that occurred in Linden on Sunday June 13, announced Union County Prosecutor Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.

Evidence gathered at the scene and witness statements gathered by detectives led authorities to charge Anthony Johnson DOB: 9/28/1984 of 11 East 20th Street in Linden with 1st Degree Murder and weapons offences, said Romankow.

Johnson was arrested without incident just before Midnight by members of the Albany Police Department and the United States Marshal Service. He was found inside a relative’s apartment at 45 Central Avenue in Albany.

According to the investigation around 8:30 a.m. on June 13, Sean Garris, 29, of Linden was shot once in the upper body while near the intersection of 18th Street and South Wood Avenue, said Romankow. He managed to make it to the rear of a house on 19th Street where he collapsed. Paramedics were called to the scene, but Garris died from his injury a short time later.

It appears that Johnson and Garris had a series of ongoing disputes that led up to the shooting, said Romankow. The county medical examiners office ruled the cause of death to be homicide.

Prosecutor Romankow thanked Det. Frank Leporino and members of the Linden Police Department for their exceptional work and cooperation during this investigation.

Union County Superior Judge Stuart Peim set bail at $500,000 and Johnson will be lodged at the Union County Jail upon his return to New Jersey.

Anyone with additional information relating to the shooting is urged to call Homicide Task Force Detective Joe Vendas at (908) 527-4618.

These criminal charges are mere accusations.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.