Police Investigate Homicide on Jacoby Street in Maplewood

A 29-year-old Newark man was shot to death early this morning and Maplewood Police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said they are investigating the death as a homicide.

Police officials said 29-year-old James White of Newark was pronounced dead at the scene at 159 Jacoby St., which is an apartment building a the corner of Jacoby Street and Boyden Avenue. The shooting was reported at approximately 5 a.m.

Few details were available, though police were still on the scene several hours later. Questions about the shooting were referred to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

One man, who declined to give his name, but said he lived about a block away from the incident, said he'd heard about the shooting from a friend. The friend reported that someone ran out of the building around 5 a.m. and banged on his door, telling him about the shooting. "That's the first time anything like this has happened in this building," he said, adding that the apartment building was not known for being noisy or boisterous.

Police said the investigation into the case is continuing.