A fourth defendant has been arrested and charged with felony murder in connection with the killing of a Brooklyn resident last year after an attempted robbery in Elizabeth went awry, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Thursday.
Larry Jones, 33, of South 13th Street in Newark was arrested at his home without incident by members of the Union County Homicide Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service Wednesday night, charged in connection with the death of 41-year-old Mamuka Chamiashvili.
It was approximately 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, when police were called to the area of Jacques and East Jersey streets in Elizabeth to find Chamiashvili, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
An intensive joint investigation by the Homicide Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department revealed that the victim was in the area responding to an online posting on the website craigslist advertising a Mercedes-Benz SUV for sale in the city, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Albert Cernadas Jr., who is prosecuting the case. Upon the conclusion of a test drive of the vehicle, armed men approached and gunshots rang out, Cernadas said.
Keon Lewis, 30, of Elizabeth was charged with felony murder inOctober 2014 following a weeklong effort by the Prosecutor’s Office, the Elizabeth Police Department, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office to locate and arrest him. Ali Garner, 29, of Elizabeth had beenarrested by members of the Homicide Task Force the week before.
A third defendant found to have been involved in orchestrating the robbery, 37-year-old Travis Picou of Paterson, was arrested and charged in January 2015.
Bail for Jones was set at $750,000 Wednesday by state Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield. Convictions on felony murder charges can carry sentences of 30 years to life in state prison.