Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that an Essex County grand jury has indicted Nafee Cotman, 19, of Irvington and Taquan Harris, 22, of Newark for the murder of New Jersey Institute of Technology student Joseph Micalizzi, 23, of Toms River.
Micalizzi was fatally shot on May 2, during a burglary at Tau Kappa Epsilon off campus fraternity house located in the 300 block of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Newark.
Both Cotman and Harris are charged with murder, felony murder, robbery, burglary, unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, according to Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant, who is handling the case.
The defendants are expected to be arraigned on the charges in the indictment on Oct. 17.
Both remain at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.
These are accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they enter a guilty plea or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.