Two men charged in connection with an attempted robbery that resulted in the death of a Brooklyn man in Elizabeth nearly three years ago have been sentenced to 27 years in prison apiece for the crime, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Monday.
Ali Garner, 31 and Keon Lewis, 32, both of Elizabeth, must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before the possibility of parole under the terms set down Friday by state Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch.
According to authorities, at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, 2014, Elizabeth Police Department patrol units called to the area of Jacques and East Jersey streets in Elizabeth found 41-year-old Mamuka Chamiashvili, who had been fatally shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An intensive joint investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force, the Elizabeth Police Department, and the Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit 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 prosecuted the case. Upon the conclusion of a test drive of the vehicle, a physical altercation ensued and gunshots rang out, Cernadas said.
Lewis was charged in October 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. Garner was arrested by members of the Union County Homicide Task Force the week before. The two defendants pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in June 2017.
Two other men charged in connection with the case, Larry Jones, 35, of Elizabeth and 39-year-old Travis Picou of Paterson had previously pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree robbery.
They are expected to be sentenced later this month.