Roselle Man Charged With Attempted Murder Of Witness
ELIZABETH—A Roselle man who was acquitted on a murder charge earlier this year was arrested on Monday evening and charged with attempted murder, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.
Asher Conn, 27, had been charged with the Nov. 24, 2006 shooting death of Maurice Barkley in Roselle, but after a lengthy trial, a jury found him not guilty of the murder. The acquittal came after several witnesses the trial recanted previous statements against Conn. One witness even refused to testify at the trial, according Romankow.
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On Nov. 23, 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, according to Romankow. The police arrived on the scene and arrested Conn, who is also charged with witness tampering and making terroristic threats.
Romankow commended members of the Elizabeth Police Department who arrived at the scene within moments of a 911 call and promptly arrested Conn.
Union County Superior Court Judge William L’E Wertheimer set bail at $850,000, Romankow said.
