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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2009

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

Man acquitted of 2006 murder arrested today and charged with Attempted Murder

A Roselle man who was acquitted on a murder charge earlier this year was arrested on Monday evening and charged with attempted murder, said Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.

Asher Conn DOB: 2/4/1982 had been charged with the November 24, 2006 shooting death of Maurice Barkley in Roselle, but after a lengthy trial, a jury found him not guilty of the murder. This came after several witnesses the trial recanted previous statements against Conn.  One witness even refused to testify at the trial, said Romankow.

Last night, Conn showed up at the Elizabeth home of a witness in his trial who testified against him, said Romankow. Conn confronted the man, furnished a gun and attempted to shoot the man, said Romankow. The police arrived on the scene and arrested Conn who is also charged with witness tampering and making terroristic threats.

Prosecutor Romankow commended members of the Elizabeth Police Department who arrived at the scene within moments of a 911 call and promptly arrested Conn.

This afternoon Union County Superior Court Judge William L’E Wertheimer set bail at $850,000 said Romankow. Conn is being held at the Union Count Jail and will have a first court appearance in the coming days.

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