Crime & Safety
Man Charged With Murdering Mother, Grandfather At New Jersey Home
James Brown was charged after the two were found dead in an apparent homicide in a New Jersey home, authorities said.
A Springfield man was charged after two people were found dead in an apparent double homicide at a New Jersey home, authorities said.
James Brown, 27, has been arrested and charged with stabbing his mother and grandfather to death in the home they shared, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park and Springfield Police Chief John Cook jointly announced Tuesday.
Brown is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three related weapons offenses in connection with the deaths of 51-year-old Roth Brown of Montclair and 79-year-old Thomas Brown, according to the UCPO.
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Police responding to a request for a welfare check found the bodies of the two victims in their Meckes Street residence early Monday afternoon, after which a joint investigation involving the Union County Homicide Task Force, Springfield Police Department and Union County Sheriff’s Office Identification Unit was initiated.
The investigation quickly resulted in James Brown being identified as a suspect, and he was apprehended Tuesday morning when two Mountainside Police Department officers, acting on information given to police, spotted him walking along Route 22 near the border of Mountainside and Springfield, according to the UCPO.
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Brown was subsequently charged and taken to Union County Jail, where he was lodged on $2 million bail set by state Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim. He will be scheduled to make his first appearance in court in the coming days.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information about this matter is urged to contact Homicide Task Force Sgt. Michael Manochio at 908-966-2287 or Detective Brendan Sullivan at 908-966-0999.
The Union County Crime Stoppers also are offering 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.
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