3 Years Later: Union County Store Owner's Death Remains Unsolved

RAHWAY, NJ — Three years after a Union County entrepreneur was shot and killed in his Rahway sneaker store, authorities are continuing to ask the public for help to try and identify the two gunmen wanted and seen in surveillance footage.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office is re-releasing a video clip pulled from surveillance footage recorded just before the shooting took place at around 9:15 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced.

Jamal Gaines, 21, was found inside his store in the 1500 block of Irving Street in Rahway suffering from a gunshot wound. Gaines was pronounced dead shortly thereafter, Monahan said.

Two people who covered their faces with fabric went into the sneaker store through a back door and got into a physical struggle with Gaines that ended in the fatal shot being fired, according to an investigation with the Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Task Force, the Rahway Police Department and the Union County Sheriff's Office's Identification Unit.

The two suspects then ran out of the building through the back door and can be seen on the video clip running down the back alley. One of the two suspects can be seen with a limp, according to the report.

The suspect with the limp appeared to be wearing dark pants, light-colored sneakers, and a dark hooded sweatshirt with a light-colored patch on the left arm. The other suspect appeared to be wearing a lighter-colored hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and brown or beige shoes. Both had handguns, police report.

The investigation into the death of Gaines remains highly active, with tips continuing to be submitted and checked to this day.

Anyone with information about the shooting still is being urged to contact Sgt. Sofia Santos at 908-577-4256.

The Union County Crime Stoppers also are continuing to offer a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case; tips can be given anonymously by phone at 908-654-TIPS (8477), via text message by texting “UCTIP” plus a message to 274637 (CRIMES), or online at www.uctip.org.

(Video via Union County Prosecutor's Office)

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